LANDSCAPES - All set for Lilongwe's forest and landscape restoration indaba
Participants will discuss the role of forests and landscape as human population increases, share knowledge and experience on landscape restoration projects being implemented in their diverse areas
LILONGWE, Malawi (Planet Defence) - A Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) indaba kick-offs at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe tomorrow as part of consultation and to disseminate preliminary findings of an economic analysis under Alliance for Restoration of Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems in Africa (AREECA).
The platform will also share knowledge on landscape projects being implemented locally and others across the region.
Malawi Government of Malawi and the World Bank Alliance for Restoration of Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems in Africa (AREECA) program are organizing this event.
It seeks to engage with public, private sector, civil society, development partners and communities of Malawi and other national and international partners in a discussion that can promote and increase interest, investments, implementation of the national FLR targets and improve coordination of the different actors working in the sector.
The objectives include share results on analytical work prepared under the AREECA program where the World Bank has been a consortium partner. Share experiences in forest landscape restoration in Malawi led by the Government and financed by the World Bank, development partners. and private sector.
More importantly, the platform will also provide financial mechanism supporting FLR in different countries, updates on national strategies and use of digital technological tools for accessing biodiversity and health of landscapes
FLR through locally targeted initiatives, public and private sector engagement, diverse restoration modalities, offers a unique solution to restore degraded natural resources in Malawi. Successful implementation can also increase resilience of Malawians to climate change impacts, biodiversity loss and improved local livelihoods.
Current estimate of forest cover in Malawi is about 23 percent according to World Bank data. It is a known fact, forests provides critical ecosystem services to Malawians by supporting firewood as energy source, food security, community livelihoods and domestic revenues from charcoal, wood and other non-timber uses.
Over the years the country has experienced unmatched degradation of natural resources (i.e., forests and soils).
It is estimated that about 80 percent of the Malawian territory is affected by land degradation which has affected largely the poor, reduced productivity, increased biodiversity loss, reduce forest cover, increase vulnerability to climate shocks and affected other economic sectors (tourism, hydropower production).
Also, the degradation of natural resources has worsened the resilience and ability of the communities and biodiversity to cope and bounce back from climate change and economic related shocks.
It is estimated that about 90 percent of the families rely on solid biomass—mainly firewood and charcoal— for cooking. Fuelwood harvesting has been identified as a major driver of deforestation and forest degradation in Malawi.
Meanwhile, Government of Malawi, with the support of local and international development partners, has set ambitious targets for restoring degraded landscapes.
These targets are reflected under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), National FLR Strategy, Africa Forest Restoration Initiative (AFR100), Bonn Challenge and the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), Malawi committed in 2016 to restoration of 4.5 million ha in the country by 2030.
The World Bank is a consortium partner of the international AREECA financed by the Government of Germany (Ministry of Environment). AREECA is led by GIZ as leader agency and been implemented together with other six consortium partners: African Union Development Agency - NEPAD, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, World Resources Institute, Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Wildlife Fund.
The main objective of AREECA is to support and promote FLR related activities in four countries (Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda and Cameroon) aimed to increase the socio- economic, ecological and climate-related benefits of restoration interventions in local communities.