The Ministry of Natural Resources Tuesday said the country has managed to restore 1.8 million hectares of degraded land and forests out of 4.5 million hectares it pledged in 2017, when it pledged to restore forest cover by 2030.
Malawi committed to restore 4.5 million hectares of degraded land and forests under the Bonn Challenge after it attended a World Conservation Congress, which took place in Hawaii, USA.
With seven years to 2030, Minister of Natural Resources Eisenhower Mkaka has called for concerted efforts among stakeholders, both in the private and public sector, to achieve the target.
“There is a need for many hands. We have restored 40 percent of the target. With so many players involved, we should be able to achieve our target and even do more,” he said
Mkaka made the call at a multi-stakeholder platform for forest landscape restoration and policy acceleration held in Lilongwe Tuesday.
One of the stakeholders, World Resources Institute Forest Economist and Senior Associate Rene Zamora Cristales, said there is a lot that needs to be done to ensure that there is both private and public investment in the restoration drive.
“How we manage the soil and how we manage the water is important for the livelihoods of the people. We need policies and funds. We must engage each other and see how policies can help us bring more funds from the private and public sectors into the restoration initiative,” he said
Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy Programmes Coordinator Alfred Kambwiri recognised efforts that the government has made at national level, citing the review of the Forestry Act and other policies.
The stakeholders met under the theme ‘An All-inclusive Stakeholder Platform: Key Driver for Efficient and Effective Landscape Restoration Programme’.
Source: The Daily Times_Wednesday, February 1, 2023_by Audrey Kapalamula