Malawi forest cover risks disappearing—Norwegian envoy

Norwegian Ambassador Kikkan Haugen has warned that Malawi’s forest cover risks disappearing in the next 50 years if no serious reforestation is done.

He said this on Tuesday in Balaka where he was guest of honour during the launch of the 2017 Tree Planting Season organised by National Smallholder Farmers Association (Nasfam).

During the launch, the area’s parliamentarian Shanil Dzimbiri led in planting 4 000 trees.

“It is an alarming situation. Malawi is losing its forest by three percent every year and that is very serious. If no serious afforestation intervention is done, the whole forest cover might disappear in the next 50 years.

“We are here to support Nasfam and the government of Malawi. We are financing a food security programme in the country through Nasfam and this exercise is a component of our projects in the country,” said Haugen.

Nasfam board chairperson Maggie Phiri said they chose Balaka because it is a disaster-prone district due to climate change.

“The effects of climate change in Balaka are as a result of massive deforestation that is taking place there by some community members who cut trees to burn charcoal. This is a worrisome trend not only in Balaka but also in many parts of the country. n