Despite incentives encouraging communities against wanton cut down of trees, Zomba Plateau forest reserve still under threat

* Zomba Forest Lodge’s environmental conservation programme, TREEZ sponsors 17 groups, who each have designated areas and each of them is given an amount of money equivalent to the number of trees in their area

* This means that the more trees there are, the more money the groups receive — but despite the incentive, the wanton cutting down of trees is continuing

By Duncan Mlanjira

Distressed by the high rate of wanton cutting down of trees on Zomba Plateau’s Enchanted Forest, Zomba Forest Lodge — through its Reforestation of the Environment and Ecosystem of Zomba (TREEZ) project — is incentivising communities having taken cognizance that poverty is what leads them to this illegal practice.

Zomba Forest Lodge posted on its official Facebook account of pictures of over 30 indigenous trees that were cut down to produce charcoal and timber. The pictures were captured by its TREEZ patrol teams from Kasonga area, which the lodge’s management described as “heartbreaking — but hardly surprising”.

“To us, the privileged, this is heart-breaking, as the possibility of the loss of the Enchanted Forest, and its precious eco-system, looms,” reports the lodge’s management.

“But the reality is that people are poor, and getting poorer. They are desperate and getting more desperate. To protect the forest, we need to provide an incentive to not cut down the trees.

“TREEZ is working on doing just that: it sponsors 17 groups, who each have designated areas, and each of them is given an amount of money equivalent to the number of trees in their area.

“This means that the more trees there are, the more money the groups receive. All groups are jointly responsible for looking after the Enchanted Forest, as the area has many trees, and we couldn’t fairly allocate it to any one group.”

However, despite the incentive, the wanton cutting down of trees is continuing, probably by invasions outside the Enchanted Forest sorrounding communities — thus, the lodge’s management takes note that there is the need to do more to protect it.

“So now, we are considering providing a bonus, each month, for every month where there is no loss of timber in the forest… and for this, we need some extra help,” says Zomba Forest Lodge, and the encouraging wellwishers that might wish to make a donation to contact TREEZ through: https://treez.enthuse.com.

Some followers of the Enchanted Forest responded to the post, with Jeremiah Thula Nkhata suggesting that there need to engage the area’s traditional leaders as a good start.

“I believe conservation should be bottom up,” Nkhata said. “Let the surrounding villagers feel the meaning of conservation, the work that you have there will be lightened. We can draw lessons from Soche Mountain Conservation Trust and Maravi Forest in Chilobwe.

Nkhata also offered that “for nuanced community outreach approaches”, TREEZ can reach out to his organisation; Malawi Archaeology and Heritage Society.

Heidi Rachael Campbell wandered if there are alternative sources for fuel energy and gave an example of her friend “who makes charcoal balls using the charcoal dust and mixing it with river sand”.

“It’s long burning and you can turn one bag of charcoal into the equivalent of 3 or 4 bags using this method,” she said, while adding that “it’s also super important for Malawians to move away from maize as a staple [because] it takes AGES to cook; is nutritionally void; bad for the soil and probably responsible for the high levels of type 2 diabetese too”.

To which Jeremiah Nkhata responded, saying: “that’s a kind of a solution that would require state intervention. It is sad, though, that politicians here are quiet about the environmental man-made disaster and destruction because they are also the beneficiaries.”

In January last year, during the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration, the Ministry of Natural Resources & Climate Change announced that Malawi Defence Forces (MDF) soldiers would be deployed-on-Zomba-Plateau-to-stop-alarming-theft-of-trees/ as an immediate measure to protect depletion of natural resources that was alarmingly rampant.

The pledge was made by former Minister, Owen Chomanika during a Zomba plantation stakeholders meeting held at Sunbird Ku Chawe Inn, which was organised to, among others, find solution to the alarming illegal harvest of trees from the forest reserve.

Chomanika maintained that the Ministry noticed with sadness the rate at which illegal sawyers were harvesting trees from the plantation, posing a threat to the future generation — and as an immediate solution, from the following week, the MDF and the police were to be deployed “who will be here for months or years”.

He had emphasised that the MDF will be given all the powers to deal with anyone found entering the plantation and harvesting timber — but there were no other reports to the effect that the soldiers, nor the police, were indeed patrolling the plateau’s forest.

In his response to Zomba Forest Lodge’s post, Emmanuel Ricco Likoya observed that commendable efforts have been done by all involved but “the sad reality that conservation efforts face is poverty situations”.

He further wondered if there is anything else being done “in a participatory way with the communities apart from just giving them money”, which he contends that it can’t be sustained for the longest term.

“Both conventionally, and in way that communities understand, the forest provides services that are far valuable than the timber and charcoal,” he said. “Efforts to highlight these go a long way in providing incentives grounded simply on the understanding of nature’s value.

“Alternatively, providing incentives through initiatives around non-timber forest products and services provides more win-win solutions. A space where stakeholders collaborate would also help pool efforts.

“One such piece of effort would be working towards generational mindset change; we need to raise the next generation with much better understanding of nature’s value. Market alternatives for products that drive this careless behavior could also go a long way because it’s not just a problem at the source.

“All this can’t be done by one person/organisation; so I hope there is a working platform for collaboration at the district and community levels. All of us should find ways to get involved too.”

Huzaifah Esat, while applauding Zomba Forest Lodge’s TREEZ project for their Thank “great work” in the environmental conservation efforts, painted a grim picture of what other tourists may have, saying:

“I just can’t enjoy Zomba Plateau the way I used to anymore — I can’t help but notice how many trees have been cut down, or are still being cut down. This awareness has taken away all the fun this place used to bring,” he said.

Established in 2014, the TREEZ project works with local communities and the Forestry Department to restore Zomba Plateau Forest Reserve’s ecosystem following the devastating effects of deforestation the plateau, which also hosts to Sunbird Ku Chawe.

Through the Zomba Run4Reforestation athletics event and other fundraising activities, TREEZ has been active around the plateau’s community to restore the tree cover as well as protecting the important water sources that people depend on.

In working with the communities, the funds raised are also channeled towards the communities volunteer work of raising tree seedlings; training them in sustainable agricultural techniques so as to build climate resilience, as well as fuel efficient stoves to minimise the use of wood in a country that still depends on wood for cooking, heating and building.

TREEZ — conservation project registered as a company limited by guarantee operating as a not-for-profit in Malawi and as a charity in the UK — enhances tree planting exercise, promotes natural regeneration and builds fire prevention systems in the forest reserve in order to increase water retention, reduce soil erosion, provide clean air and water, and protect and preserve Malawi’s biodiversity while generating income in the local communities.

“TREEZ believes in putting communities first in order to ensure that conservation lasts,” maintains TREEZ on its website.