Introduction
 Deforestation is one of the major problems currently facing Malawi. This has a direct impact on several sectors such as agriculture, energy and fisheries. It also directly impacts on the basic human requirements for fuel, poles, fodder, medicines and food production. 90% of the country's energy requirements are met by fuel wood which is obtained from natural forests, planted forests and trees on farm. One of the country's National Forestry Policy objectives is to satisfy the people's many diverse and changing needs particularly those of the rural people who are the most disadvantaged. Specifically the policy provides an enabling framework for the participation of local communities and the private sector in forest conservation and management. Establishment of community and individual nurseries is one of the strategies employed. The IGPWP provides material and technical resources to enable interested communities to establish nurseries and plant trees. There are currently 905 clubs participating in forestry in the fifteen IGPWP beneficiary districts of Malawi..
Objectives
The Forestry component's objective is to enhance productive local forestry activities
for the provision of fuel wood, poles, timber and fruit trees.
Implementation
Modality
 Participation in Forestry component activities is open to all villages that have an interest in planting trees. Sensitization meetings take place at district assembly, traditional authority and village headman levels. Only villages with a demand for tree products will then approach the programme and register their interest
The Forestry component activities are implemented through village forestry clubs. Clubs are usually made up of an average 30 members who have interest in forestry activities. The members come together and identify committee members made up of a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer plus committee members. The programme opens an account for each participating community with the club leaders as signatories.
Participating communities receive a bonus for good management of nursery and plantations over a period of 18 months. The bonus is paid out as an incentive for communities to manage their trees better. This also assists in ensuring that trees are taken care of from seedling stage until they are 18months old when the trees' chances of survival are better.
Activities and Targets
Our target is to plant 35,500,000 trees and manage 2700 of existing forest areas with a total of 1605 clubs over a 5 year period. The component's implementation process was developed to be executed over the course of a year with a follow-up process the following year to confirm sustainability. The approach followed is depicted in the diagram below
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Forestry implementation method |
6. January
Tree planting
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7. March
Evaluation and payment for trees planted. (MK 5,000)
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1. April - May
Planning and meetings with District Assemblies, Traditional Authorities
and others. Sensitization and selection of prospective villages |
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2. June - July
Committee/club training. Nursery construction
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5. November - December
Nursery management training. Preparation for planting out.
Nursery evaluation and payment
(MK 7,000) |
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4. October
Seed sowing.
Nursery management training |
3. August - September
Distribution of inputs, pot filling. Technical training.
Evaluation and payment for previous plantings (MK 5,000) |
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 The component season begins in April/May when district and community level sensitization takes place. Following the sensitization meetings interested communities then approach the programme to register their interest in participating in the Forestry component activities. Prior to registration of communities component staff visit each village to confirm on whether they have adequate land available for planting of trees and whether they have a good source of water to enable them to water the tree seedlings in the nursery. Upon confirmation the visited village is taken up. Once a village has been confirmed for participation the Forestry technician facilitates the formation of a club committee to assist in the management of activities at club level. Once elected committee members are trained in group dynamics, tree nursery establishment and management, tree out-planting and plantation management. For ease of supervision clubs within a 5km radius are grouped into clusters and at cluster level another committee is elected. This committee is responsible for overseeing all activities taking place in the specific cluster.
 Following the training of committees which takes places in June/July communities are trained in nursery site selection and nursery fence construction. In August /September nursery fences are constructed and at the same time inputs are delivered to the communities. Concurrent with first season activities during the month of September the final evaluation for trees planted in the previous season takes place based on which the club is paid MK6,000 for every 4500 trees surviving. During the same month of September the slow growing tree species are sown. Sowing continues until October when the fast growing tree species are sown. Communities continue to receive nursery management training. In November an evaluation of the nursery activities is done based on which MK9, 000 is paid for every 9,000 seedlings raised and properly taken care of. Depending on the rains tree planting takes place during the period December to February. In March an evaluation is done to determine the survival rate of the seedlings planted during that season based on which MK6, 000 is paid for every 4,500 communally planted trees that survive. In total four evaluations take place over a period of 18 months during the months of November, March, September 1 and September 2
Achievements
A total of 24,000,000 trees of the target 35,500,000 have been planted by 905 clubs during the first two seasons. In addition to planting of trees management of existing forest areas which incorporates firebreak creation, management of natural regeneration, enrichment planting and formulations of byelaws governing the use of the forest areas has started in 300 clubs , which are managing 900hectares of existing forest areas.
Benefits to the Community
- Addressing deforestation
Malawi has amongst the highest rates of deforestation in the SADC region. According to the department of forestry, at the moment statistics show that the rate of deforestation per year is around 2.8 per cent. Over the past five seasons the component has supported communities who planted 42,718,811 trees covering an area of 8,580 hectares
- Time spent collecting fuel wood
one of the major constraints facing communities and especially women is the availability of fuel wood. Often women spend hours going out to collect fuel wood or alternatively they use either maize or tobacco stalks as fuel wood. The tobacco stalks may be hazardous to the family members inhaling the stalks. By introducing both communal and individual woodlots which are usually within a kilometer radius from the homestead in cases of communal plantations or within a few meters in the case of individual woodlots, far less time will be spend on collection of fuel wood giving communities more time to spend on other productive activities
- Pressure on indigenous woodlots reduced
Forestry department statistics show that 50,000 hectares of indigenous forests are lost annually. Most of the trees cut down are utilized as fuel wood or are made into charcoal. Considering that an individual requires on average 68 trees of 8cm diameter per year for fuel wood the total number of trees planted are enough to provide fuel wood for 517,644 people for a year. Most of the species that are the programme is promoting coppice very well and as a result a consistent supply of fuel wood will be made available once harvesting starts. The establishment of both communal and individual woodlots will lead to a decrease in the pressure on the indigenous forests
- Provision of poles
Trees are also utilized for the provision of poles and stakes for construction of buildings as well as for staking of tobacco. Where communities had to buy trees for poles and stakes, this will no longer be the case as within the first 18 to 24 months after establishment of plantations they can already harvest stakes and some good size poles
- Soil fertility improvement
declining soil fertility is one of the major problems facing small holder farmers in Malawi. This has led to declining production with subsequent food insecurity for the affected households. Very few individuals can still afford to purchase organic fertilizers for replenishment of soil nutrients. In order to address the problem of soil fertility the Forestry component provides seed for tree species that assist in improving soil fertility. Faidherbia albida is systematically inter-planted with food crops. The leaves are high in Nitrogen and they are also shed during the crop growing period resulting in improved soil fertility without shading of crops. In addition to Faidherbia albida communities in Ntcheu are also planting Gliricidia sepium another Nitrogen fixing tree species with a high Nitrogen content
- Training
the component provides technical training to all the participating communities. Following confirmation of the communities' interest in participating in the communities identify members that will lead in the implementation of all Forestry component activities. The elected committee members are then trained on their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of Forestry component activities. All club members then undergo training on nursery site identification, pot filling, seed pretreatment, sowing as well as nursery management in general. Concurrent with the nursery training communities are also taught how to do proper pitting, how to plant and management of plantations.
At a different level, IGPWP signed a memorandum of understanding with the department of forestry whereby 9 technicians were attached to the program to undergo training on all technical and administrative management of forestry activities. At the end, attached technicians will remain in their duty stations and will continue to monitor progress in the participating communities
- Protecting soil from erosion
the impact of rainfall on bare ground results in soil erosion. Loss of soil as a result of erosion will impact on the soil fertility, storage capacity of reservoirs as a result of siltation. All these will lead to decline in productivity. The planting of trees in bare areas provides cover that will reduce the direct impact of rainfall on the soil, will produce a layer of litter that will enhance the infiltration of water into the ground recharging the ground water table and increasing availability of water for later use
- Cash injection
MK57, 197,673 was paid out as village investment fund. The timing of the fund is such that two of the three payments made in any one year are made in the months of November and March. During these months most communities have run out of food and the cash is utilized for procurement of food items. In some communities the village investment account has been used as a basis for getting the Department of Water to sink boreholes for the communities. The Village investment fund is then used to obtain any broken parts for the repair of the boreholes. Other communities have utilized the funds to procure utensils that are used during communal gatherings such as weddings or funerals. In addition to direct utilization of the money for activities that will benefit the communities there are cases where the money from the fund was invested in other income generating activities such as the buying and reselling of tobacco . The fund has also been used for the procurement of inputs which have been used for the production of maize for feeding the vulnerable groups within the participating villages
- Improving nutritional status
each participating club receives 30 fruit tree seedlings upon payment of a deposit of MK10 per seedling. The community preferences for fruit trees are mainly mango and citrus but they also request for guava, paw paw, bananas, etc. By providing the community with fruit trees the program is assisting in improving the nutritional status of the community while also providing them with a potential source of income
- Provision of inputs
each of the participating communities is issued with all the material resources required to enable them to establish nurseries as well as to manage plantations. The tool set comprises 6 hoes, 2 slashers, 1 panga, 3 watering cans, 1 ball of string, 5 nail clippers and a 20m planting rope. The community will continue to utilize the same set of tools for expansion of their plantation after the initial 2 years during which the programme supports them
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