Forest Management Working Paper

An integrated approach to improve the management of forests

and other natural resources:

the case of Malawi

Based on work by

Sam Kainja Manager of

“Partnership for Africa’s Water Development Project” Malawi

April 2009Forest Resources Development Service Working Paper FM/40Forest Management Division FAO, Rome (Italy) Forestry Department

Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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DISCLAIMER

The Forest Management Working Papers report on issues addressed in the work programme of FAO. These working papers do not reflect any official position of FAO. Please refer to the FAO website (www.fao.org/fo) for official information.

The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on ongoing activities and programmes, facilitate dialogue and stimulate discussion.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

For further information please contact:

Mr Froylán Castañeda Forestry Officer (Tropical Forest Management) Forest Resources Development Service Forest Management Division Forestry Department FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla I-00153 Rome (Italy) E-mail: Froylan.Castaneda@fao.org

Or FAO Publications and Information Forestry Coordinator: Forestry-Information@fao.org

For quotation:

FAO (2009). An Integrated Approach to Improve the Management of Forests and Other Natural Resources: the case of Malawi. Based on the work by Sam Kainja; Malawi. Forest Management Working Paper FM/40. Forest Resources Development Service, Forest Management Division. FAO, Rome (unpublished).

© FAO 2009

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Forest Management Working Paper

An integrated approach to improve the management of forests

and other natural resources: the case of Malawi

Based on work by Sam Kainja Manager of

“Partnership for Africa’s Water Development Project” Malawi

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations April 2009

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Preface

The degradation of Malawi’s natural resources and its environment continues to be a major threat to the social and economic development of its population. The overlying cause is high population density that is overly dependent on shifting agricultural production all too often involving poor husbandry techniques in the absence of alternative economic opportunities. This is exacerbated by poverty, which means that to survive a high proportion of the population relies on what they can profit from natural resources.

Since most Malawians depend on natural resources for their day to day living, it is of vital importance that environmental problems be addressed in order to improve their people’s livelihoods. The Government of the Republic of Malawi has become increasingly concerned about the deterioration of the country’s natural resources and the environment. In 1996, a revised Forestry Policy was approved and in 1997 a revised Forestry Act was enacted. The two instruments provided an enabling environment for stakeholder participation in forest management. The forestry policy encourages the participation of rural communities in forest management under a community based natural resource management arrangement for the first time; and it does so in recognition of the need to mix scientific and indigenous knowledge and people’s livelihood concerns in the process of promoting sustainable forest management.

The National Forestry Program (NFP) was developed as a means of translating forest policy into practice. NFP was a result of wide participatory consultations and consensus building among stakeholders in government, civil society, non-government organisations, the private sector and development partners.

Kam’mwamba sustainable management of indigenous forests project was a pilot phase to test a community based forest management approach. In spite of some initial problems, Kam’mwamba project remains a shining beacon of hope for sustainable management of indigenous forests in Malawi in particular and in the developing world in general. Lessons have been learnt and will now be shared with the rest of the world so that mistakes can be avoided in future and good practice can be promoted for the good cause of improving the welfare of the poor communities without degrading the environment.

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Summary

People’s livelihoods in the Kam’mwamba area of Neno District of Malawi are dependent upon forests resources. In 1990s the over-exploitation of indigenous forests for charcoal and firewood production coupled with land clearing for farming began to exert significant pressure on the forest resources. The shift in demographic and social economic factors resulted in high rates of deforestation and forest degradation and transfer of marketing benefits to people outside village boundaries with little benefit going towards improving the forest resource. The result was a vicious circle of poverty which led to forest degradation and consequently to more poverty. Community based forest management was identified as a possible way for achieving sustainable utilization of limited forestry resources.

The Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests (SMIF) project was a response to the vast reduction in forest cover due to unsustainable utilization of forest resources. It aimed at empowering rural forest users to manage their forest resources sustainably by promoting communal and individual forest management and introducing sustainable income generating activities (IGAs). It was envisaged that communities’ involvement in IGAs would deter them from destructive utilization of forest resources. The project was thus aimed at improving forest management while addressing livelihood needs of communities at the same time. SMIF was implemented by a non-government organization (Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi) with financial support from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and advisory services from Malawi’s Forestry Department (FD). The project started in 1996 for a period of 10 years.

The implementation of SMIF was preceded by baseline surveys to access forest resources, identify alternative income generating activities and institutional structures supportive of enterprise development and forest management. Key activities implemented included forest management activities (seedling production, afforestation, seedling/coppice tending, fire protection and patrols for illegal forest activities) and income generating activities (guinea fowl rearing, fruit juice production from Tamarindus indica and Adonsonia digitata fruits and honey production).

In order to sustain the project and its activities after its life span, a trust fund “Area Natural Resources Management” was established to spearhead the management of forest resources; the Village Hands Limited Company was also established to be in charge of producing and marketing fruit juice and honey. The company is owned and run by the villagers and is now self sustaining financially. After 10 years of implementation, a local functional institution for the management of forest resources has been fully established. Through income generation activities, some households have become food secure with enough money to pay for social services and construction of iron-roofed houses. Some households have stopped illegal forestry activities after adopting income generating activities; however, there is a small proportion of stakeholders who continues with illegal forestry activities despite of having adopted IGAs. The fact that significant income is generated every year from the projects’ alternative activities, forest degradation and

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deforestation continues to occur indicating that IGAs may not really be an alternativesource of income but rather an additional one.

Although destruction of the forest resources has still not been controlled by the project, there are positive developments that have taken place, which are necessary to promote sustainable forest management (SFM) as follows:

1. Villagers have been organized into a functional, legally recognized and sustainable institution through the establishment of a trust for “area natural resources management”. Besides, a sustainable financing mechanism has been set in place by the establishment of a registered company called Village Hands Limited.

2. Forestry operations are being undertaken including nursery management, tree planting and tending, fire protection and patrols against illegal forest activities. Ninety nine hectares of forest have been established. More individual forest areas have been established due to secure land tenure associated with the fact that 75% of the land is owned by individuals and only 25% is communally owned.

3. The use of indigenous tree species has increased by about 30%. 4. There is greater awareness by villagers of the need to conserve forests discouraging

destroying them instead. Villagers are willing to participate in patrols to reduce wanton cutting of trees.

The fight against forest degradation and deforestation has started but it is not yet won. Preliminary indications show that the battle can be won through persistence and on going identification of strategies to bring under control charcoal and fuelwood merchants from urban centres, introduction of wood efficient stoves for domestic use and sustained environment awareness campaigns.

A number of recommendations arising from the implementation of the sustainable management of indigenous forests as follows:

1. The exist strategy if SMIF through the establishment of a local institutions responsible for forest management and generation of income for sustaining forestry operations is a commendable achievement that should be emulated by other initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable management of natural resources.

2. Traditional local leadership structures, although undemocratic in nature, are established; respected by the villagers and sustainable hence efforts should be made to explore how they can be effectively engaged to promote natural resources management.

3. Since people’s livelihoods interface with several sectors and disciplines, integrated approach among various stakeholders and sectors has been critical in the process of addressing natural resources development.

4. The Area Natural Resources Management Trust should focus now on identifying effective measures to control unsustained charcoal and firewood trade from the area, using existing legal instruments. When SFM is achieved, sustained charcoal production could be re-introduced using improved charcoal production technology.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................................vSUMMARY............................................................................................................................................. vii1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................11.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT.............................................................................................................11.2 FOREST MANAGEMENT IN MALAWI.......................................................................................................1

Forests of Malawi..............................................................................................................................1Management history of Malawi forests.............................................................................................1

1.3 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA OF THE CASE STUDY ..................................................................................4Location ............................................................................................................................................4Ecological environment.....................................................................................................................4Socio–economic environment ...........................................................................................................5Land ownership.................................................................................................................................5

1.4 COMMUNITY BASED FOREST MANAGEMENT.........................................................................................52. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT....................................................................................................73. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT...........................................................94. PLANNING PHASE OF THE PROJECT: BASELINE SURVEYS...............................................94.1 FORESTRY RESOURCE ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................................9

Quantitative forest inventory.............................................................................................................9Non wood forest products ...............................................................................................................10

4.2 SOCIAL ECONOMIC SURVEY ................................................................................................................13Key informants and focus group discussions ..................................................................................13Forest management .........................................................................................................................14Marketing of NWFP........................................................................................................................15

5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT...................................................................................175.1 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................................................17

Institutional structures for the project management ........................................................................17Institutional structure for management after the end of the project.................................................20

5.2 PROJECT ACTIVITIES............................................................................................................................21Forestry conservation activities.......................................................................................................21Income generating activities: enterprise development promotion...................................................23Level of community participation in the project activities..............................................................26Costs of project activities ................................................................................................................26

6. RESULTS OF THE PROJECT........................................................................................................276.1 METHODOLOGY OF ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................27

Forest inventory ..............................................................................................................................27Community consultation .................................................................................................................27

6.2 ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT RESULTS..............................................................................................28Environmental assessment ..............................................................................................................28Social economic assessment............................................................................................................31

7. IMPACT OF THE PROJECT ON FOREST MANAGEMENT..................................................357.1 PROJECT IMPACT ON SUSTAINABLE FOREST RESOURCES ....................................................................357.2 PROJECT IMPACT ON RURAL LIVELIHOODS..........................................................................................367.3 PROJECT IMPACT ON LOCAL INSTITUTIONS .........................................................................................367.4 PROJECT IMPACT BEYOND THE PROJECT AREA....................................................................................37

8. LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PROJECT................................................................................399. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................4110. APPENDICES..................................................................................................................................4311. REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................45

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Table of Figures Figure 1: Location map of the project area 4

Figure 2: Charcoal vendors on their way to urban centres 11

Figure 3: Traditional bee hive made from tree back 12

Figure 4: Modern top bar bee hive promoted in the project area 12

Figure 5: Institutional linkages in the project 18

Figure 6: Institutional arrangements for the project 19

Figure 7: Traditional dances during awareness rising campaigns 23

Figure 8: Indigenous tree fruit juice ready for the market 24

Figure 9: Honey processed by Village Hands Company ready for the market 25

Figure 10: Guinea fowls raised by the villagers in the project area 25

Figure 11: Interest groups formation in the project area 26

Figure 12: Membership of clubs formed through the project 26

Figure 13: Emerging dense forest under intensive management practices 30

Figure 14: Poor growth of trees due to poor sight selection 31

Figure 15: Revenue from sales of various enterprises in the project area 33

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Project

Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests (SMIF) was a regional project jointly implemented by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Germany Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) with the funding from the Germany Ministry of for Economic Cooperation and Development. The project was implemented in four countries namely Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia. In Malawi, it was implemented by Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi (WESM), which is a NGO; it started in 1996 for a period of 10 years.

1.2 Forest Management in Malawi

Forests of Malawi Malawi is located in Southern Africa and share borders with Tanzania in the North, Mozambique in the East and South and Zambia on the West. Malawi’s altitude ranges from 50 m above sea level in the Lower Shire to 3000 m on Mulanje Mountain in the South and 2600 m on the Nyika Plateau in the north of the country (Surveys Department, 1983). With landforms varying from steep escarpment to plains, there is a wide diversity of vegetation in the country. The interactions of slope, soil, geology and climatic variables have resulted in at least 19 distinct vegetation communities.

Forests are one of the vegetation types of Malawi constituting 36.2% of the total land area equivalent to 3.4 million ha. (FAO, 2006); 11% of the forest resource is under National Parks and Game Reserves, 10% under forest reserves and 7% under customary land. Most of the forests are in upland and hilly areas and along the rift valley scarps.

Forests of Malawi comprise both natural forests (99%) and plantation forests (1%). Both natural and man-made forests play an important role in providing basic human needs such as fuel food, fodder, pharmaceuticals, employment, income and foreign exchange. As an integral component of the biosphere, forests help to stabilize natural systems and contribute to biological diversity, and provide habitat for fauna and flora. Forests also help in maintaining air, water and soil quality, influence biochemical processes, regulate run-off and groundwater, control soil erosion, and reduce downstream sedimentation and incidence of flash flooding. Forests are therefore very important natural resources essential for the development of the nation and the social welfare of the people. People’s livelihood both in rural and urban areas revolve around forest products and services on daily basis.

Management history of Malawi forests Over time, forest management has undergone a number of changes. During the colonial era, which started in 1890s to 1964, the functions of forests were wood products supply, water conservation, diversity conservation and provision of recreational facilities (Ndovi, 1994). The colonial administration implemented a command and control system of management. Under this arrangement, every village was required by law to have a

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Village Forest Area (VFA). Forest guards were posted in every Traditional Authority and their function was to police forestry use and collect revenue for government from forestry products. The revenue collected was shared between central (25%) and local governments (75%). Local government used the revenue for activities of development in the area. No management plans were prepared, however communities and government staff were responsible for protecting forests from fire and illegal cutting of trees.

With the dawn of independence from colonial rule in 1964, government forest management focus became timber production for economic growth through local and international timber trade. The expectation at the time was that economic growth stimulated by timber trade would trickle down to the whole country and contribute towards improvement of people’s welfare. The era of industrial forest plantation was characterized by high altitude plantations where exotic soft wood such as Pinus patulatree species were planted for timber production, mostly in Forest Reserves.

While government was busy with plantation forestry, changes were taking place in VFAs and forests on land under the control of traditional leaders. Political independence was interpreted by communities to include independence from colonial system of forest management. The result was accelerated utilization of forest resources that lead to accelerated deforestation and degradation of forests. The developments that took place in VFAs after independence demonstrated the negative impacts of politics on forest management.

Economic activities and population are the main determinants of demand for forests goods and services. Over the period of 1931 to 1987, the population of Malawi increased from 1.5 million to 7.8 million, an increase of about 4.2 times over a period of 58 years. With increasing population, two economic activities shaped the forest of the country. These economic activities were agricultural expansion and growing demand for wood energy for domestic and industrial use as follows:

1. Like most of the Sub Sahara countries, wood is the main source of the energy. Over 90% of the energy demands of the country for domestic and industrial use are met from wood energy. Some estimates show that up to 50,000 ha of forests are cleared every year for wood energy and/or agricultural expansion.

2. Between 1975 and 1990, agriculture expanded by 31%, giving an average expansion rate of 1.4% per year. Most of the expansion came from clearing indigenous forests and woodlands. Such a rate of growth was necessitated by the need to feed the fast growing population and the need to promote economic growth through agriculture production for a country whose economy was dependent on agriculture.

By 1990s, it was generally agreed that demand for forest goods and services had significantly influenced forests to the extent that demand surpassed supply (Forestry Policy, 1996). To address emerging forest issues in Malawi, the Forestry Policy was revised in 1996. The forest policy of 1996 is a departure from the traditional forest approach, which emphasized forest protection to the present policy that emphasis multi-stakeholder participation including local communities and multiple forest management focus and multi-stakeholder in forest management. The new policy also recognizes the

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role of the private sector in utilization and management of forest resources. Through the NFP, the Malawi Government started a highly consultative process with all stakeholders to identify key themes affecting forestry, priority actions to be undertaken, key roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders (NFP, 2000).

The 1996 Forestry Policy and the 1997 Forestry Act created an enabling environment conducive for multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral participation necessary to sustain the contribution of forests to people’s livelihoods through the following major activities:

1. Formation and strengthening of Village Natural Resources Management Committees (VNRMCs). The functions of these committees include promotion of tree planting, tending of young trees, fire protection, forestry awareness campaigns and other forestry conservation activities. These committees provide a link between the FD and the communities managing forest resources. The establishment of VNRMCs allowed rural communities to formulate their own regulations for sustainable management and utilizations of indigenous forest resources. This also empowers communities to conduct patrols and confiscate illegally procured forest produce under the technical guidance of forestry extension officials. Revenues realized from sale of confiscated produce are ploughed back to the VNRMCs coffers for the implementation of development activities.

2. Capacity Building. This constitute training of VNRMCs and their communities on aspects of nursery establishment, tree planting, preparation of constitution, work plans and management plans in forestry activities and demarcation of Village Forest Area. Also included is the training of FD field staff in participatory social forestry to develop their capacity to interpret and implement the Forestry Policy.

3. Delivery of environmental education and awareness. Public awareness campaigns are promoted on issues such as deforestation, bush fires, water pollution, soil erosion, and biodiversity degradation.

4. Promotion of Agro-forestry. Forestry sector recognizes the role that trees play in improving soil fertility and provides for promotion of agro-forestry activities in the regular activities of forestry extension workers.

The changes in forestry policy included institutional change. Traditionally, forestry institutions concentrated on the FD and other agencies. Since many parties external to FD have significant influence on the sector, institutional change broadened perspective beyond FD although it remained a lead institution with vested interest in drawing attention to the needs and potentials of sectors. Some of the key institutional changes included industrial plantations management by the private sector and community management of forest and tree resources.

It has been said that poverty-degradation vicious cycle has seriously affected initiatives to manage forest resources sustainable (WECD, 1987). The experience in Malawi is that poverty and forest degradation progress simultaneously and reinforcing each other (Government of Malawi/NEAP, 1994). The gravity of the problem led to the search for new ways for achieving sustainable utilization of limited natural resources. One such effort was the shift from forestry management models based on industrial production and policing of forests to a more people-friendly models, taking the form of Community

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Based Natural Resources Management. By emphasizing natural resources management, the management model highlights the importance of integrated management of all natural resources at the same time because they are inter-related. Under this model that promotes increasing utilization of non wood forest products (NWFP) and integrated natural resource management by the villagers, the expectation was that communities could manage forests sustainably and refrain from activities that are destructive to forests.

1.3 Description of the Area of the Case Study

Location This case study comes from Kam’mwamba in the District of Neno, the southern part of Malawi. The area is located 15o 23`S, 34o 55`E. The project area is about 10,000 ha in size. The location map is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Location map of the project area

Several factors influenced the choice of this area. First, compared to other areas in the Southern part of the country, these communities still had an abundance of forest resources. Secondly, there was high population growth, poverty and dependence on natural resources that can be managed. Thirdly, the area was experiencing high deforestation rate. Fourthly, this area was accessible to the largest urban centre in the country; Blantyre located some 60 km because of a tarmac road that was constructed in the 1970’s. Coexistence of these conditions and the potential for reversing the trend justified the investment in the project.

Ecological environment The climate is tropical and falls into wet and dry seasons. The wet season starts in November and ends in March while the dry season is from April to October. The hottest months are from September to November with temperatures ranging from 23° to 35º C. May to July are the coldest months where temperatures of 8º to 15º C are registered. The

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area has a mean annual rainfall of less than 800 mm. February is the wettest month while September is the driest.

Soils are shallow, with a relatively large fraction of course gravel. Stony red soils dominate along the escarpments and ridges while lime stones and heavy sandy loam soils dominate along streams and rivers. These soils are poor in nutrients and unsuitable for crop production however, they area is suitable for livestock raring.

The project area had a type of vegetation mainly comprised of Miombo woodlands. This type of vegetation is drying deciduous and semi-deciduous dominated by the genera Brachystegia, Julbernadia and Isoberlinia. Common tree species found are Sterculia quinquiloba, Brachystergia boehmii, Burkia africana, Pterocarpus angolensis, Adansonia digitata, Zizyphus mauritiana, Diospyros mespiliformis and Combretum imberbe. In other areas, the vegetation is interspersed with Montana grassland, which provides habitat for diverse fauna like falcons, hares, guinea fowl, snakes and a wide range of bird species.

The forest is not gazetted and forest cover was estimated at 60% at the beginning of the project. Since the area is relatively arid, there are seasonal streams that run during the rain season only. Details of the forest are given in section 4 of the report.

Socio–economic environment In 1998, the area had 3,956 inhabitants living in 14 villages. Recent statistics indicated an increase in population to slightly above 8,000. Main sources of income were from farming, fire wood/charcoal sale and casual labour in that order (Kainja, 1996). Average income in the area has not been quantified.

Land ownership There are three types of ownership namely public land, customary land (freehold land) and private land. The forests in the case study are customary land forests. Under this type of land ownership the control belongs to the traditional leaders.

1.4 Community Based Forest Management

A national forest assessment exercise conducted by the FD showed that there was a rapid deforestation in some parts of the country including the project areas. Forest degradation and deforestation was an emerging issue in the area.

From time immemorial, people of Malawi lived in harmony with forests. With nomadic lifestyle, the people were fruit gathers and hunters, activities that resulted in little disturbance to the forests because the activities were not destructive to forests. The prevailing demographic and social-economic environment remained such that the demands made upon the forest resources were minimal and forests had enough time to recover from them.

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Since 1970’s, there were significant demographic and social-economic changes in this area. Traditional systems, which in the past maintained balance between human and natural environments, may have been heavily eroded by demographic and modernization in the area (Simons, 1997). These changes resulted into increased dependence on forest products characterized by destructive use of forests. Over time, forest products were being used for subsistence consumption and increasingly also for income generation both locally and beyond the local community to growing urban markets in Blantyre and Limbe, some 60 km away. A tarmac road attracted merchants from the urban areas who were looking for large quantities of charcoal and fuelwood for profit.

The shift in demographic and social economic factors resulted in high rates of deforestation and forest degradation, a transfer of marketing benefits to people outside village boundaries with little benefit going towards improving the forest resource. The result is a vicious circle of poverty which is leading to forest degradation and forest degradation is leading to further poverty. This lead to the search to identification of community based forest management as a possible way for achieving sustainable utilization of limited resources.

Community based management have been considered to be an effective management system because resource users share or have exclusive rights to make decisions and benefit from the resource (FAO, 1999). At local level, customary controls over woodlands, embedded in the traditional institutions are believed to have potential for being effective (Kayambazinthu, 2000).

The NFP of 1996 provided for community participation in forest management. Community forestry management process involved consultations by all stakeholders, in decision making process, sharing of obligations, responsibility and benefits (Simwela, 2000). Community participation empowers communities to take part in determining their destiny. The process of mobilization of communities involves at least three parties namely a facilitator who catalyses the process (often coming from outside the community), the implementing agency (a local group or committee spearheading the change process) and the benefiting community.

Simwera (2000) argues that community empowerment process goes through five levels namely welfare level (where basic needs only are addressed), access level (where access to resources or benefits is achieved), awareness level (recognition that problems stem from institutional and structural discriminations), participation level (involvement in decision making process) and control level (where sound decisions and actions are taken without much external assistance).

The concept of community empowerment is not unique to forestry sector. Policy framework for poverty alleviation Program defines poverty alleviation as a process of empowerment of poor people that requires fundamental change in individual altitude as well as institutional reforms to promote decentralized and participatory approaches to development (Mumba, 1995). Community based forest management approach promoted by forestry sector is in agreement with the poverty alleviate policy, which is the main policy driving development in the country.

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2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The project “Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests” was designed in response to increasing deforestation and forest degradation due to unsustainable utilization of forest resources resulting from the need to satisfy basic human needs. Deforestation and forest degradation was threatening people’s livelihoods and the sustainability of forest resources. The objective of the project was to reverse the trend of forest degradation by empowering rural communities to manage their forest resources and by promoting sustainable IGAs. The expectation was that communities involved in the project would refrain from destructive utilization of forest resources as they adopted SFM principles and alternative income generating activities.

The project was implemented in three phases with the following specific objectives:

1. Phases 1 and 2

a. Develop and implement strategies to reduce deforestation. b. Develop and implement of plans for the integration of women and other minority

groups in natural resources management. c. Empower communities to sustainably manage their natural resources. d. Implement strategies to control illegal timber, fuel wood and charcoal trade. e. Develop and implement techniques to harvest non-wood forest products. f. Install efficient project management system.

These objectives were later revised towards the end of the second phase in order to incorporate changes that had occurred during project implementation. The new objectives were also designed to reflect an exit strategy for the project. Thus the following were the objectives in the third phase.

2. Phase 3

a. Develop and implement methods and plans for sustainable use of natural resources b. Improve marketing of NWFP c. Improve communication, transparency and benefit sharing among local communities d. Raise level of civic education e. Install efficient reporting systems.

The concept of SFM has been associated with plantation forestry for along time where the aim was to ensure sustainable supply of timber to saw and pulp mills to keep the mills running. There are several definitions that are used to define sustainable forest management. One definition states that SFM is the best available practices, based on scientific research and traditional knowledge which allows multiple objectives and needs to be met without degrading the forest resource (Sophie and al., 1999).

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While the concept was attractive, uncertainty remained as to how people would respond to the shift and whether NWFP would offer sufficient incentive to drop unsustainable and destructive forest use. There was also a possibility the people might see NWFP as a source of complimentary income on top of income from destructive forest use. Application of the concept of sustainability to non wood forest products signified a shift from destructive use of forest to non-destructive forest products and offered a ray of hope in the effort to achieve SFM that has the capacity to improve people’s livelihoods without destroying the environment.

This effort was initiated in an environment were a lucrative business in charcoal and firewood was well established. In spite of the existence of legal mechanism for penalizing illegal charcoal and firewood vendors, the charcoal and firewood production remained unchanged and in some cases on the increase. With wood energy providing over 90% of energy need of the country and no valid alternative in sight for decades to come, the task of shifting from destructive to non-destructive use of forests was not going to be easy. To succeed, the project needed to compete with charcoal and firewood trade, empower communities to organize themselves, embrace enterprise culture, and establish effective markets for NWFP products. Such an integrated approach to forest management was a new way of addressing an old problem that had not been controlled through command and control approach used before.

Therefore, the main objective of the forest management in the area is to achieve SFM through the use of NWFP products and community based management. For that reason the Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests project analyzes in detail the NWFP resources and mainly the project activities are based in them.

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3. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY OF THE PROJECT

The first phase of the project focused on awareness raising on environment management, establishment of institutional structures, recruitment of staff, development of action plan and establishment of community institutions and links. The second phase started the implementation of its activities and consolidation of its implementation structures. The third phase focused on enhancing sustainable management of forest resources, development of business plans for the village juice production enterprise and development of the exit strategy of the project.

The project acquired some computers for office use and also later for mapping purposes. A technical advisor from GTZ was attached to it who worked with a handful of local staff and community members in its implementation.

4. PLANNING PHASE OF THE PROJECT: BASELINE SURVEYS

Before the project started, several surveys were undertaken to better understand the interactions of people, forests and other related resources in the area. These surveys provided baseline information against which progress was to be assessed. The surveys also identified several factors critical to sustainable management of forest resources in the area namely NWFP availability and marketing potential, social-economic status of the people in the area, charcoal and firewood trade.

The survey used a supply-demand analytical framework. NWFP were identified by the community as important on the basis of economic or ecological factors analyzed in detail. For each NWFP information was recorded on the levels of supply, range and frequency of species and existing production technologies for harvesting, processing and storage. Levels of domestic consumption, local sells and sales beyond the communities and economic value to households were assessed. Existing village social structures important for the promotion of NWFP-based enterprise and VNRMC were examined. Documents reviewed included relevant policies in the fields of forestry, wildlife, water and land resources.

4.1 Forestry Resource Assessment

Quantitative forest inventory Transect walks and a quantitative forest inventory was conducted in the entire project area. Several researchers, foresters and villagers participated in the inventory. Tree names were identified by villagers using local names. Scientific names were provided by a botanist. Data collected at every sample point included tree names (for both young and adult trees), population structure, and size class distribution. Also collected was information on the condition of grass cover. For each tree, diameter at breast height (dbh) and height were measured and recorded. This information was used to analyze the ecological state of the forest and supply of NWFP.

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Inventory data was collected by using a sample. The forest area was stratified on the basis of ownership and forest cover. Sample plots of 20 m², lay along a transect line at a spacing of 100 m were used. A total of 40 sample plots were done.

Villagers in focus group meetings named 31 tree species and indicated their relative abundance and the products that came from them. All the trees had more than one use and some had up to 5 uses. Two small woodlots (0.3 ha respectively) were the only exotic tree species in the area.

Non wood forest products The range of NWFP named included firewood, building poles, medicines, wild fruits, carvings, fibre, wild vegetables, bee forage, fencing materials, beer brewing materials, mats, boat construction materials, bee hive constructing materials, dyes, walking sticks, fiber carvings, kitchen tools, farm implements, ash, gum and services such as improving soil and providing shed. Non tree forest products mentioned included grass, mushrooms, honey, mice, guinea fowl, flying ants, edible caterpillars, beetles, birds, rabbits, antelopes, grasshoppers and other minor insects (Simon, 1995).

Some studies have stated that indicators of environmental stress include length of distance and time for gathering NWFP, development of local markets and physical factors such as eroded landscapes (Soussan and al., 1991). At more advanced stage of forest degradation, use of inferior energy such as maize stalks and grass becomes common and incident of wood theft increase (Soussan, 1998; World Bank, 1989). In the project area, villagers spent about 2 hours to fetch a load of firewood as opposed to other parts of the country where villagers spend up to 5 hours to get a load of fuelwood (Lowore, 1995). Buying of fuelwood by villagers was not common in the project area. Most of the buying was done by outsiders. Use of crop residues was unheard of. The area was therefore not yet under stress in terms of forest products availability.

Villagers identified forest products that they considered to be of economic important. A total of 9 products were identified. These were firewood, building poles, medicines, wild fruits, carvings, fibre, wild vegetables, bee forage and karaya gum. Of these products, the overall ranking in terms of economic importance was firewood, house construction poles, medicines, fruits and wild relish. Villagers valued forest products on the basis of the importance of the product for their survival.

Tree diameter and height measurements showed that the tree species supplying most economic NWFP were generally smaller and shorter compared to tree species supplying less important tree products such as fruits, fiber, wild vegetables and gum (Simons, 1995) This observation signified that economically important large trees were being selectively used destructively leaving young trees, thus disturbing the diameter distribution of the forest. This development has detrimental effect of bee forage tree species since it is the mature tree species that flower and provide bees with materials for making honey.

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Charcoal and firewood

During the forest inventory 41 tree species used for firewood and charcoal were identified, with a frequency of 81 trees/ha. Most frequently found trees were Bauhinia petersiana at a frequency of 9 trees/ha, Acacia nigrescens at a frequency of 5.5/ha and Lonchocarpus capassa at 5.2 trees/ha. Compared to other neighboring areas, this area still had good forests available for use.

Observation of activities during the survey showed that there was a high rate of wood harvesting going on. Inside the villages heaps of firewood was seen in households, donkey carts running in and out of the forest and women and children carrying loads of firewood from the forest going towards their homes. On the road linking the areas to the urban centres, there were bags of charcoal and neatly packed bundles of firewood on sale. This trafficking of firewood and charcoal is a daily activity since over 90% of energy demand in the country is met by wood energy. Similar high wood energy demands have been reported in Kenya (GOK, 1994), Zimbabwe and other developing countries (Simons and al., 1995).

Figure 2: Charcoal vendors on their way to urban centres

Beekeeping

Results of the forestry inventory showed that there were 82 bee forage tree species in the area with frequency distribution ranging from 1 to 9 trees/ha.

The villagers in the area had a long history of harvesting honey dating back to 1940s. The art of making bee hives traced it’s origin from skills that some villagers learnt from Kenya during the Second World War where some of the villagers went to fight. The traditional bee hives were made from tree back and located in trees at a spacing of 100 m. The hives were baited using bee wax to attract bee colonies (Figure 3). Use of modern top bar hives was not common (Figure 4).

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Figure 3: Traditional bee hive made from tree back

Honey was harvested by men and boys and not women and girls because they are afraid of being stung. However, some women owned hives. Some women explained that they would be willing to harvest honey if the had protective clothing. Every hive is harvested 3 times a year during the months of March, June and December. These times coincides with period where flowering of trees and other flowering plants takes place.

Figure 4: Modern top bar bee hive promoted in the project area

Honey yields from a single hive range from 8 – 20 liters per hive. Two methods of procession were identified. One method allowed the honey to ooze out of the honey combs on its own while the second method was to heat the honey combs and let the honey melt. A clean cloth was used to sieve out the impurities. The resulting honey was either sold or consumed by the villagers locally.

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4.2 Social Economic Survey

Key informants and focus group discussions

Participatory rural appraisal methods were used. Key informants included staff from the FD, Wildlife Society of Malawi, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM), National Botanical Gardens and Export Promotion Council of Malawi. These key informants provided valuable information on the study area and progress made to date on research in the production and marketing of various NWFP.

Also consulted were staff at District Council comprising the District Commissioner, District Forestry Officers, District Agricultural Officers and District Development Officers. These officers provided information on general administrative structures including roles and responsibilities of development committees from village level to district level, land tenure systems, ecology of the area and development activities of the area. At local level, consultations were held with local chiefs, head men/women, agricultural extension staff, community development staff and local foresters.

Focus group discussions were held to generate detailed information about people-forest resource relationships at community and household level. The meetings were used for informal discussions among respondents while the researcher used semi-structured set of questions to guide the discussion and at the same time allowing for villagers train of thought to influence the direction of the discussion. The aim of these discussions was to reach a consensus on each question before progression to the nest question. Focus group discussions were held with informal community leaders, ordinary villagers and traders in NWFP as follows.

1. Informal community leaders were people without official positions but who informally the community recognized as leaders and were active in the community. These were people like those who are asked to talk on weddings, funerals, church ceremonies, or represent the community during negotiations. These people were identified by the community.

2. Village focus group discussion targeted people from different economic classes and included both men and women.

3. Trader’s focus group: This included people identified by the community and local development staff as traders in various NWFP. These provided information about quantities of NWFP sold prices, marketing channels, marketing constraints and future enterprise development possibilities.

Individual visits were also made to traders at their marketing places. These interviews helped verify some information given during the focus group discussion. This was followed by visits to NWFP trading agencies located in the urban centres of Blantyre and

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Limbe. Here quantities and prices of NWFP that were identified by villagers as important were examined.

Villagers were randomly visited as they went about their day to day work. These visited were used to verify information that was collected during the focus group discussion.

Forest management

Institutional structures for forest management

The Malawi Forest Policy 1996 and the Forestry Act, 1997 provide for two ways of community participation in forest management. The first is community participation in management of Government Forest Reserves, known as ‘co-management.’ The second one is the management of forests on customary land. The SMIF project focused on the latter because the project was implemented in an area which has a customary land tenure system. Among other things, the policy provides for establishment of VFAs on unallocated customary land and formation of the VNRMCs as a link between FD and the communities. VNRMCs also act as a change agents for forestry development in a village or a set of villages and they provide a structure for forestry administration at village level (Government of Malawi VNRMC Handbook, 1999).

The Forestry Act 1997 also provides for development of community bye-laws as an enforcement tool of forest management at local level. In order for such bylaws to have a legal basis and recognition, it is a requirement that they should be signed by the Minister responsible for Environment and natural resources.

VNRCM were formed in 1996 in the project area with the facilitation of forestry extension officers. The membership included both men and women although there were more men and women on the committee. People were chosen on the committee on the basis of their demonstrated interest in forest conservation. During the survey, it was clear that the committee did not have a clear understanding of their role, which affected their effectiveness. Some members felt that their role was to report illegal harvesters; some thought their role was to sensitize other villagers on the need to conserve forests while others felt that their role was to trace people causing deforestation.

Committees faced difficulties in carrying out their work. Some of the offenders were related to the chief and therefore were not penalized. VNRMC was also dealing with people they know and interacted with on day to day basis which resulted in sympathetic altitude to offenders. Some villagers challenged VNRMC members to provide alternative sources of livelihood. The task of the VNRMC was also made more difficult because they combined the role of forest extension and policing of forest products. The policing role antagonized VNRMC from the rest of the villagers. Besides, VNRMC did not have protection against physical attack from offenders. The committee therefore was largely dormant.

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Extension staff from the FD and the Ministry of Agriculture frequented the area, provide specialist extension services to the villagers. At the beginning of the project, there were no other development activities in the area.

Forest management planning

Forest management planning was preceded by participatory forest inventory involving members of the communities and forest extension staff. On the basis of the inventory, consultations were undertaken to identify problems of forest management, identify the causes and develop plans to address the problems.

Two types of forests were identified. There were forest areas owned by individuals (Individual Forest Area) and some owned by the community (Village Forest Area).

Marketing of NWFP

The bulk of NWFP economic value is realized through villagers subsistence use. Although many villagers are involved is some kind of trade, these tend to be local, in small quantities, irregular and characterized by low prices. Low quantities and prices mean low incomes and many poor villagers dependent on NWFP get very little out of this activity.

The constraint in marketing NWFP and increasing economic benefit are therefore associated with demand (low quantities and prices) and forest supply. Within the village, low prices result from the fact that villagers lack effective demand due to low level of income and would not want to pay for more for products they could collect on their own. Merchants from urban centres are unwilling to pay more. Instead, merchants often only pay a compensation for collection labour, an arrangement which villagers accept for lack of a better arrangement. The under valuing of products comes about because the ecological and opportunity costs are not included in the price.

Compared to other forest products, charcoal and firewood had an advanced market size and integration into the cash economy, promoted by the available of a good tarmac road connecting this area to the urban centres. A study done by FRIM estimated that a single household uses on average 3.3 m³ of firewood per year (Lowore and al., 1995). Given the population of about 4000 in the project area, total consumption per year is 132,000 m³. It was difficult to get information about how much wood and charcoal are sold to beyond the area because such sales are illegal. However, during the survey in the project area, villagers estimated that the same volume that is consumed locally is sold (Simons, 1997). The total quantity of wood harvested every year from the area is at least 264,000 m³.

Charcoal and firewood had different market characteristics compared to other NWFP. While firewood was sold in small quantities by many villagers, charcoal traders were more regular, fewer and traded in large quantities at a time. Charcoal was produced by villagers who sold it to intermediaries who sold it at road side bag by bag. At times, intermediaries sold to merchants who sold the charcoal in the urban centres some 60 km

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away. Most of the time, merchants from urban centres would by pass the intermediaries and trade direct with the charcoal producers and buy large quantities of charcoal at a cheap price.

A simple benefit sharing mechanism was designed which guided the community and facilitated the reduction of conflicts. The owners have the right to use the harvest as the owner wishes, with the guidance of forest extension staff. For Village Forest Areas, villagers are advised to harvest dead and dying wood products for domestic use. Cutting of live trees or harvesting for commercial purpose is done only under the authority of VNRMC, guided by the forest extension staff. The VNRMC decided on the charge. Money collected is used for development activities in the area.

In the case of the people working in the juice making enterprise, profits are shared among the members who participated in the production.

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5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT

As explained in the previous section, wide consultations were held with: local leaders, villagers, stakeholders interested in rural development, government, non-government, private sector, research and education institutions. Communities ranked lack of water, hunger and poverty as the priority problems in the area. At that time, forest degradation was not considered as a priority problem probably because the area still had a good forest cover and awareness of forest degradation as an environmental problem was not there. From the beginning of the project, the linkage between the forest status and their status was rather unclear. The main sources of income were from farming, fire wood/charcoal sale and casual labour in that order (Kainja, 1996).

5.1 Institutional Arrangements

Institutional structures for the project management

Starting from initial for villages, the number of participating villages grew to 14. Under the guidance of the Project Management Team and Advisors, the interest groups developed and began to engage in various activities of their choice.

Various stakeholders were involved in the project at various levels (Figure 5). The mandate for management of forestry resources comes under the Ministry of Mines, Environment and Natural Resources and is implemented by FD. The forest policy of 1996 provided for several arrangements under which various forest types could be managed. Forest policy recognizes several types of forest ownership namely public forests (under government control), private forests and customary land forests, under control of traditional leaders. Forest management arrangements are possible between government and communities on public forests under co-management agreement and between any stakeholder and communities through an arrangement that is supported by government. The project under discussion fell under the last category of arrangement.

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Source: Forestry Department, 2005.

Figure 5: Institutional linkages in the project

The involvement of various stakeholders and Institutions in the project called for an institutional structure that would facilitate the coordination of the various inputs into it. A National Steering Committee was instituted with membership from various stakeholders who had a role to play in the project activities. The National Steering Committee provided a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder platform for consultation and decision making (Figure 6). The FD was involved at advisory level as a government mandated authority on forest policy. Forestry extension officers participated in the processes related to forest management. Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi, a non-government organization was the executing agency of the project. GTZ/SADC was responsible for providing financing, coordination and technical support for the project.

The private sector was also involved primary in the marketing of the various products produced by the project activities. Lastly but not least was the community itself which was responsible planning, implementing, monitoring and benefit sharing.

National Steering

Committee

Forestry Department:

Key Advisor

Communities: Implementers

WESM: Executing Agency

NGOs, Govt. Institutions,

Churches: Supporters

GTZ/SADC-FANR:

Financing &

Private Sector: Buyers of NWFPS

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Source: Forestry Department, 2005.

Figure 6: Institutional arrangements for the project

At community level, a Local Steering committee was set up comprising representative people from the participating villages. These members were representatives who came from respective village natural resources management committees that participated in the project; this committee was responsible for its day to day running. This committee reported to the National Steering Committee. The Local Steering committee was also responsible the marketing of the products and interacted with the private sector involved in marketing, who had already established network of markets throughout the country. The local steering committee was also responsible for establishing partnerships with the private sector. The entire project received technical support from the project Management Team (comprising representatives of the community, implementing agency and donor representative) and advisors (comprising of forestry, wildlife and agriculture extension staff).

The National Steering Committee comprised FD, GTZ, Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi, Traditional Leaders in the area and the District Commissioner. The Project Management Team comprised the Project Manager, WESM and GTZ Technical Officer. The FD was the Advisor to the project.

National SteeringCommittee

Local Steering CommitteePrivate Sector

Guinea Fowl Rearing

Bee keeping

IFA, VFA

Fruit Processing

Tree Nurser

Community (14 Villages)

Pr0j ect

Management

Team

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Institutional structure for management after the end of the project

As the project approached its end, discussions centered on the need for establishing an institutional structure within its area; this in order to sustain the activities and consisted in replacing the Project Management Team and the financial support from outside the area with a sustainable project management team and financial support under the control of villagers themselves. These discussions culminated in the establishment of two institutions namely Village Hands Limited Company and Natural Resources Management Trust. These two institutions became the exit strategy that would facilitate the sustainability of the activities after the project ended.

Village Hands Limited Company

With passage of time, a need was identified for creation of a company that would focus on marketing of the products produced by the project. The formation was part of an exit strategy to ensure that the production of the fruit juices and honey would continue after the project came to an end. A private company known as “Village Hands Limited” was registered in 2004. The company has a Board of Directors comprising experienced persons, quality management and environment experts. The company is owned by the community (Mwalukomo, 2006). Fruit juice and honey are the only product lines of the company.

Assets of the company include two vehicles, two motor cycles, office building, juice production equipment, office equipment, water pump, electric generator, and employed staff.

Half of the shares of the company are owned by the Area Natural Resources Management Trust (ANRMT) Trust on behalf of the community and the other 50% of the shares are owned by villagers from the project area.

Area natural resources management trust

Another major output of the final phase was the formation of an Area Natural Resources Management Trust. This was aimed at addressing some of the identified operational weaknesses of VNRMCs and to have a well defined and permanent institutional structure (Mwalukomo and Buss, 2005). Some of the problems that VNRMC faced were as follows:

1. VNRMC did not have a clear legal mandate to look after assets of the project as a result some members considered assets such as tools for forestry operations as personal items given to them as a compensation for the time they spent on the project activities.

2. Enforcement of bye-laws was difficult especially where disciplinary measure needed to be taken. There was also conflict of interest at two levels: When the offender was

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related to the village headperson, it was difficult to discipline the offender. Secondly, combining role of an extension worker and policing created tensions among villagers.

3. The act did not provide communities with adequate authority for them to execute enforcement functions such as powers of arrest without warrant as it is for forestry officers. The bye laws did not give communities powers of arrest, seizure or confiscation without participation of the police.

Creation of the ANRMC was a solution to address above problems. It was envisaged that such an entity would have powers to open and operate bank accounts in its own name. It could also sue and be sued and could enter into any transaction or contract with any organization. Legal status would also give permanence to the committee so that its existence would not depend on the lives of its current or future members. A constitution for such an entity provided an operational framework regarding election or appointment of office bearers, objects and function, conduct of business and the manner in which its assets will be utilized. The constitution of the Trust stipulated the mandates, duties and responsibilities of the VNRMC. The Trust was incorporated under the Trustees Incorporation Act as a charitable and public interest organization in the name of ‘Kam’mwamba Natural Resources Management Trust’ (Mwalukomo and Buss, 2005).

5.2 Project Activities

A series of consultative meetings among stakeholders resulted in narrowing of possible areas for project namely forestry conservation and income generating activities as follows:

1. Forestry conservation comprised of tree planting, formulation of forestry bye-laws,

land use and forest management planning.

2. Income generating activities comprising bee keeping for honey production, juice production from Tamarindus indica and Adansonia digitata and Guinea fowl rearing for meat and egg production.

Forestry conservation activities

The project facilitated the establishment of VFAs and Individual Forest Areas (IFA). It also facilitated the election of VNRMCs and the formulation of bye-laws for the proper management of the VFAs. VNRMCs were sensitized on the Forest Policy and their responsibility in forest management.

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Community bye-laws for the sustainable management of indigenous forests

With support and facilitation from the project, chiefs of the area met and came up with Community Bye-laws for the Sustainable Management of Indigenous Forests. These bye-laws were the first of their kind in Malawi and therefore historic in the development of community forestry management in the country. The Minister of Forestry, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs approved them in 1999. Community by-laws contained rules that prescribed the establishment of village forest areas by Village Heads, listed prohibited actions and penalties, and explained how confiscation of prohibited forest produce shall be executed and how to share the revenue from the confiscated produce. Logistically, it was more appropriate to have a unified version of bye-laws for all villages in the area approved by the Minister than to seek approval of different sets of by-laws for each village of the area. It was also perceived that it would be more meaningful to enforce by-laws that are applicable to a wider community.

In pursuance of forest protection provisions in the by-laws, two action groups were formed to work hand in hand with FD personnel and the police to confiscate illegal forest products. The implication of having these bye-laws was that communities of the area were legally empowered to regulate forest management activities, as oppose to the earlier arrangement before the project when VNRMC did not have legal protection.

Tree nurseries and tree planting

The project facilitated the establishment of communal tree nurseries by forming groups which managed the nurseries, and provided training on nursery management activities and tree planting. The intention was to first organize the villagers into groups so that they could work together and support each other. As they become more confident, willing and committed individuals would eventually pursue individual level activities of forest management. The nursery groups were monitored by VNRMCs. Some VNRMC members joined nursery groups while others formed their own nursery groups. The project provided start up material inputs for nursery activities.

Awareness campaigns

Awareness campaigns were conducted regularly in order to sensitize the communities on the dangers of destructive utilization of forest resources. These campaigns were done through drama, songs, dances and video shows (Figure 7). Considering that HIV/AIDS and reproductive health are directly linked to natural resources management, the project integrated HIV/AIDS and reproductive health messages in natural resources management awareness.

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Figure 7: Traditional dances during awareness raising campaigns

Participatory land use plans

Participatory development of land use plans were developed for individual land holders as an entry point for development of individual forest management plans. This process was initiated after observing that over 60% of individual land holders had more than 1 acre (0.405 ha.) of land, out of which about 10% was not being utilized. In some cases the assigned land for forestry activities did not necessarily have trees on it as defined by the Forestry Act. Simple land use recommendations were then developed with individual farmers for such pieces of land. A forest area was, therefore, part of the land use plan. The project sensitized farmers to identify those who were willing to have their land mapped and categorized according to land use.

The project acquired digital maps of the area from Department of Surveys. Map production was done combining a Global Positioning System (GPS) and map source software. It used digital maps of the area as the base upon which overview map of the project area were produced, showing features of the project area including forest area.

Income generating activities: enterprise development promotion

Three main enterprises were promoted. These were honey production from bee forage trees, juice production from indigenous fruits and guinea fowl rearing. During the first 5 years of the activities, juice making enterprise revenue steadily increased followed by guinea fowl enterprise. Guinea fowl enterprise showed an increasing trend and eventually became the highest revenue earner.

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Juice production

After conducting a study on indigenous fruit usage, the project found that local communities used to eat fruits of Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica. Based on indigenous knowledge, the project developed juices from these fruits. Using simple technology, a value addition process was designed in order to have juice products that would have long shelf life and fetch a reasonable price on the, market (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Indigenous tree fruit juice ready for the market

Honey production

The SMIF project also promoted bee keeping for honey production using top bar hives (Figure 4). Training was provided to groups in bee-hive management and methods of honey extraction. Initial bee keeping equipment (smokers, protective gear) were also given. After harvesting, the honey was sold though the project (Figure 9). In response to growing demand for honey, new markets were established in several districts away from the area of the project.

The project centralized fruit juice and honey production. A building was constructed and quality assurance training undertaken to comply with standards of production required for the urban market. With time, juice and honey found their way into the Supermarkets and other major retail outlets in almost all major towns and cities of the country.

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Figure 9: Honey processed by Village Hands Company ready for the market

Guinea fowl rearing

Guinea fowl rearing started with formation of groups and initial distribution of birds for breeding. The plan was to train farmers at group level so that after they have acquired skills and multiplied the stock, they can rear their own birds at individual household level (Figure10).

Figure 10: Guinea fowl raised by the villagers in the project area

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Level of community participation in the project activities Guinea fowl clubs increased steadily during the first four years of the project followed by tree nursery clubs and bee keeping clubs (Figure 7). As clubs increased in number, so did the membership (Figure 8). The trend over time showed preference for guinea fowl enterprise while there was low patronage for the bee keeping enterprise and a decline in interest for the tree nursery enterprise.

Figure 11: Interest groups formation in the project area

Figure 12: Membership of clubs formed through the project

Costs of project activities

The cost of the three phases over a period of 10 years was about US $18 million. Malawi Government, Wildlife and Environment Society and other stakeholders also contributed in cash and kind.

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6. RESULTS OF THE PROJECT

SMIF was implemented in 1996 with an objective of sustainably managing these forests through tree planting, encouraging natural regeneration, fire protection and engaging the communities in a number of forest based enterprises such as bee keeping (honey production), fruit juice making and guinea fowl rearing.

The project area was characterized by poverty that is common in the country, affecting over 60% of the population that are living below the poverty line.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 1995) agues that environmental degradation has social-economic roots and that both poverty and environmental degradation are a result of externalization of environmental and social costs of market transactions, which tends to enrich particular social groups at the expense of the environment, the population at large and in particular, disadvantaged social groups who are marginal to the decision making process. This creates pressure on impoverished groups to exploit increasingly marginal environments to meet immediate survival needs and leads to environmental degradation and even deeper conditions of poverty in the long run. Since they are excluded from market economy, poor people rely directly on non-marketed natural resources for immediate survival.

6.1 Methodology of Assessment

Forest inventory Following an initial inventory conducted in indigenous forests in 1996, a second inventory was executed to determine the impact of the project interventions on the forest cover.

Community consultation

Baseline data that was collected at the beginning of the project in 1996 was compared with data collected in 2006. The impact of the project was assessed at community, village and household levels using structured questionnaires. One questionnaire was administered to local leaders and another to villagers. A total of 168 questionnaires were administered in all the 14 villages of the project area. Focus group discussions were held with local leaders and consultations were made with key informants of the project including its staff team.

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6.2 Assessment of the Project Results

Environmental assessment

Comparison between forest inventories

Forest inventory was done and the results were compared with forest inventory data at the beginning of the project (Mwalukomo, 2006).

Forest cover

Communities in the case study area live within the forested areas where they build their houses and grow their crops. The major gain was not in terms of increasing over all forest area, rather the gain was in terms of reduced forest degradation achieved through tree planting and improved management.

Results of the forest inventory have revealed that the overall indigenous forest cover has increased by over 30% in stocking from 1998 to 2006 with the IFAs under strong leaderships gaining 68.50% in forest cover. The forest cover of the VFAs increased by over 48%. The individual forest areas under weak leaderships attained the lowest forest cover increase (24%) over the same period.

However, forests are mostly comprised of young trees of less than 10 cm dbh in a forest type which can reach a diameter size of 42 cm, which means that flower bearing trees are lacking. The absence of flower bearing trees translates into low honey production and low indigenous fruits production. This development jeopardizes the resources base for sustainable enterprises introduced in the area.

Species composition

The project area in now dominated by Combretum fragrans (292.74 stems/ha), Pterocarpus rotundifolius (259.42 stems/ha), Combretum zeyhri (258.23 stems/ha), Diplorhynchus condylocarpon (167.79 stems/ha) and Bauhinia petersiana (165.41 stems/ha). Compared to the 1996 situation, some trees have maintained their dominance namely Combretum fragrans and Bauhinia petersiana implying that there has been a shift in species dominance in the area.

A total of forty tree species were recorded in the VFA areas while 54 species were recorded in the IFAs (unregulated) under weak leadership and 33 species in IFAs under strong leadership The variation in species diversity is associated with increasing forest disturbance (May, 1981). The IFAs (unregulated) are frequently disturbed by fire and harvesting activities hence the high species richness (54 species). The total control area was dominated by large diameter trees representing a fairly undisturbed forest hence the low species richness (24 species).

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Growing stock changes in natural woodlands

Positive changes occurred in the growing stock of natural woodlands in stem density of trees 5 cm and above in the project area. Overall, the forest resource has changed positively in stocking density from 548-793.7 stems/ha in 1998-2006 (Mwalukomo, 2006). The degree of increase in stocking reflected various levels of commitment towards forest management. Better managed forests increased in stocking from 548-1060 stems/ha while poorly managed forests increased from 548 to 603 stems/ha (Mwalukomo, 2006).

Stem diameter distribution

Most stems are found in the 1-4.9 cm dbh category with the IFAs (regulated) recording the highest number of stems per hectare followed by the IFAs (unregulated). The areas under total control recorded third highest and VFAs came last in this dbh class.

Tree stocking increased over the project period however, average tree diameter declined i.e. tree sizes are smaller now than 1996. In 1996, there were trees in all diameter classes up to the diameter of 42 m (Simon, 1996). This forest resource is under severe stress.

Since there are trees with sizes usable for firewood, the chances are that eventually the forest will be reduced to shrubby vegetation that is characteristic of some parts of the country (e.g. Balaka area) where there are large areas of land not being cultivated yet with very bushy looking tree vegetation type. Such vegetation may become very vulnerable to wild fires that are characteristic of Malawi landscape every year from May to December. There is clearly absence of land use change information due to agricultural production which could be explained by the fact that the soils are marginal.

Results showed a sharp drop in frequency in the subsequent diameter classes except for the VFA which has experienced an increase in stocking in the subsequent class (5-9.9 cm dbh class), a reflection of some protection. The IFAs (regulated) under strong leadership recorded the highest number of stems per hectare in the 5-9.9 cm dbh class than the rest. The sharp drop in frequency especially in IFAs (unregulated) under weak leadership suggests that there is over-exploitation of forest resources. Compared to 1998 inventory all species experienced loss in high diameter classes including tree species not traditional considered preferred species for fuelwood and charcoal. The shift from favored tree species to non-preferred tree species is an indication of a forest resource under severe stress.

Considering that fuelwood and charcoal can use tree with diameter size of as small as 5 cm dbh, the forests of the area will continue to suffer further degradation if no better protection is instituted. Relatively higher diameter class trees in regulated IFA are a strong indication that with good management and protection, forests in this area can recover (Figure 13).

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Figure 13: Emerging dense forest under intensive management practices

Tree planting

Tree planting as an intervention to reduce deforestation and improve forest cover resulted in a total of 242,021 trees have been planted from 1996 to 2006. This translates into 96.8 ha of forest cover if planted at 2 m x 2 m spacing. The Wildlife Clubs planted 42,315 trees, individuals planted the most (181,144 trees) while the VFAs planted 18,560 trees (Mwalukomo, 2006). The largest number of trees was planted by individual villagers signifying the high level of commitment from individual villagers planting on their own land.

Over 31 different indigenous tree species were planted, most of them already growing in the area. Also planted were exotic tree species such as eucalyptus species (65,529) seconded by Casis siamea (44,298). The agroforestry species such as Albiozia lebbeck, Denolix regia and Faidahebia albida were also widely planted in the area.

Most families own homestead woodlots or carried out enrichment plantings in their IFAs. Some of them have already started benefiting from the woodlots by harvesting the trees for domestic use or generating income from sales of poles especially from Eucalyptus sp.

Some villagers did not match species to site when carrying out enrichment planting as a result seedlings either died or are struggling to establish themselves successfully. Example was Melia azedarach, which are struggling to establish themselves (Figure 14).

Tree planting and tending of natural regeneration has had a positive impact on the small diameter class and the survival of young trees reflects the degree of protection from fire that the young tree received. These gains however could be lost as the trees grow due to excessive over exploitation that is rampant in the area for tree as small as 5 cm diameter.

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Figure 14: Poor growth of trees due to poor site selection

Land use plans

Land use planning was introduced during the last phase of the project. With the use of a global position system and appropriate mapping software, individual land parcel maps were produced and land use decisions made. This development was a progress beyond the traditional land mapping which is used in participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) where village resources maps are produced either on a piece of paper or on the ground. The mapping exercise produced the first land use maps in the area.

Social economic assessment

Community awareness and acceptance of bye-laws

Although bye laws were prepared and approved by the Minister responsible for forestry resources, most of the villagers had little awareness of the bye laws and their content. The villagers were however more aware of the existence of rules and regulations that were being administered by the village headpersons. This was a reflection partly of the fact that awareness rising of the forestry policy and Act was directed at the VNRMC and not to the villagers at large and partly the strong influence of the local leadership over VNRMC.

About 56% of the villagers thought that Village Headperson’s rules and regulations were effective deterrents from illegal activities. Discussions with local leaders and its staff indicated that community law enforcement depended on the willingness and commitment of particular Village Headpersons. Some Village Headpersons supported natural resource protection and they made a lot of effort to curtail illegal activities while others have no interest.

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The linkage between the leadership and forest status was supported by forest inventory results which showed that forests under good leadership performed better than forest under poor leadership.

Power dynamics at local level: VNRMCs versus Village head

Although Village Headpersons are not members of VNRMCs and their role is to support VNRMCs in their capacity as arbitrators and advisors to the committees, Village Headpersons attended to more environment related cases than VNRMCs. 82% of forest related offences were dealt with by Village Headpersons and not by VNRMCs (Mwalukomo, 2006). The Village Headpersons therefore play a central role in law enforcement at village level, contrary to provision of the Forest Act, which gives authority over forest resources to VNRMCs. This turn of events has significant implication on the success of forest management at village level. The village Headperson can passively or positively affect forest management, depending on his or her commitment towards conservation of forest resources.

Community participation in decision making

During the assessment, 78% local leaders and 69% villagers felt that user groups were not represented in the local decision making body, 71% of villager respondents indicated that they did not have a big say in decision making processes and 68% of the local leaders and 57% villagers felt that VNRMCs did not represent all forest user groups (Mwalukomo, 2006). These findings are a reflection of the challenges of establishing a democratic institution in an environment where traditional institution that is not democratically established exists. All over the country, there are traditional leaders who have responsibility over all affairs in their area. During the drafting of guidelines for the establishment of VNRMC, a decision was made that local leaders role was arbitration when conflicts arose. The rational was that there was need to have an independent party to play a regulatory and advisory role to the VNRMC. There was also concern that if local traditional leaders became members of VNRMC, they may undermine the effectiveness of the VNRMC and make it difficult for other members to effectively participate in decision making especially when the local leader held a view that was contrary to other members. Separation of power did not take place and the roles and responsibilities were mixed up, undermining the independence of a VNRMC.

On the other hand, local leaders might influence the composition of the VNRMC thereby denying the villagers the freedom to choose leaders of their choice resulting in a committee that does not represent the interests of the villagers. There was a power play within the villages that took place because the VNRMC mandate involved power sharing with the local leadership.

The key question is how such power play affects forest management in the areas. The survey showed that communities seem to be more comfortable with individual efforts of natural resources management such as raising tree seedlings and managing household

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woodlots and forest areas rather than communal activities like managing VFAs and attending village natural resources management meetings (Mwalukomo, 2006). The preference for individual rather than community forest management suggest that the process of building community participation has not yet been established and forest managed by VNRMC are likely to be poorly managed, which was reflected in the condition of the forests under community control. Popular community participation in forest management is yet to take place in the project area. Individual farmers however value forests and prefer to own individual forest areas and plant trees without actively participating in community natural resources management initiatives.

Revenue collection from income generating activities

Over the first four years, there was a rapid rise in revenue collected from juice production and guinea fowl (Figure 15). By the tenth year however, guinea fowl became the major revenue earner for the project.

Figure 15: Revenue from sales of various enterprises in the project area In 2005, revenue generated amount to US $15,000 of which 48% came from guinea fowl rearing, 10% came from juice production, 4% came from honey sales and the remaining 38% came from mixed sources.

0

500000

1000000

1997 1998 1999 2000

Year

Rev

enue

(MK

)

Beekeping

Juice production

Guinea Fowl

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7. IMPACT OF THE PROJECT ON FOREST MANAGEMENT The key question after 10 years of the project is whether the original objective of promoting sustainable management of indigenous forests in the area was achieved, considering that facilitating sustainable management of indigenous under conditions of poverty is a challenging undertaking. Some key notable impacts of the project are as follows.

7.1 Project Impact on Sustainable Forest Resources

Tree planting mostly of indigenous tree species has taken place in the areas and as a result stocking density in the 5-10 cm diameter class increased by about an average of 30% compared with the beginning of the project. The increase in stocking is due to tree planting and protection of natural regeneration in the forest areas. Most gain was achieved in individual forest areas as opposed to communal forest areas. Total planted area is estimated at about 97 ha. There is indication that tree planting especially by individual villagers, will continue after the project.

Over exploitation of the forest resource for various uses still continues. The task of controlling fuelwood and charcoal trade has been an uphill task. Fuelwood and charcoal trade are lucrative all year round business unlike the enterprises promoted in the project area which are seasonal. Efforts to confiscate charcoal back fires because with intensive campaigns to clamp down on charcoal, the supply declines in the urban centres and the price goes up. With an increased potential profit, charcoal merchant take the risk or find creative ways to beat the system. The energy demand both at local and the neighboring urban centres is major drive for over exploitation of forests. Efforts to introduce efficient stoves in the areas were not very effective as only a few people adopted them. Up to now, there is no valid alternative energy source available. Fuelwood and charcoal are a monopoly source and will remain that way for a very long time to come.

While the overall picture showed that charcoal and fuelwood trade continued to degrade the forest resources, there are some villagers who have switched from income generation from charcoal and firewood sale to the new enterprises that are forest friendly. This is the trend that should be promoted until their impact on sustainable forest managed will become more pronounced over time.

The livelihood of the people in the project area relies on natural capital that needs to be used managed using sound management principles. Without improving environmental management, development will be undermined and without accelerated development, the environment will continue will continue to degrade (World Bank, 1996).

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7.2 Project Impact on Rural Livelihoods

After ten years of project implementation, some households are now food secure throughout the year as a result of complementing their subsistence farming with incomes from project activities. Some farmers started vegetable growing to supplement their incomes. In the area there are now some farmers who have built iron roofed houses out of the income generated by selling guinea fowls.

About 62% of the people who received training in IGAs are still actively implementing IGA activities individually and 88% of those involved in IGAs have access to better schools for their children and better access to health services (Mwalukomo, 2006).

Through the project established local Company, Village Hands Limited, 6 local people have now been employed to run the Company on full time basis, thereby creating off-farm income source away from urban centres. Besides, the Company provides part time work and created a market for Tamatindus indica and Adonsonia digitata indigenous fruits which are the raw materials for the Company.

7.3 Project Impact on Local Institutions

The project demonstrated that the institutional arrangement and roles of VNRMC and local traditional leadership as envisaged by Forest Act were not practical and had undergone a modification. The Forest Act saw the VNRMC as the main driver of all forestry operations including bye-laws enforcement and the role of the local traditional authority as the arbitrator in conflicts and advisor. During the implementation of the project, the role of bye-law enforcement was 82% of the time done by the traditional leaders. This observation has an importance implication on the implementation of the Forest Act and shows the need for flexibility to accommodate traditional administrative structures.

The project strengthened VNRCMs by providing a diversity of capacity building training in various topics relevant to forest management and community mobilization. Forest extension services improved and team work was strengthened among various extension workers and Institutions involved in rural development in the area.

New institutions were established namely Village Hands Limited Company and Area Natural Resources Committee. Through these institutions, enterprise culture has been introduced and is slowly providing hope of alternative source of livelihoods that has the potential to reduce destructive exploitation of forest resources in the area.

Women participation in forestry and income generating activities has increased. 56% of the user groups were headed by women and one VNRMC has only women members.

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7.4 Project Impact beyond the Project Area The project pioneered the first forestry bye-laws in the country thereby providing a model of community based forest management in the country. Further recognition of the project’s achievements was received during the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in South Africa in 2002. Indigenous fruit juice production initiative of the project was recognized by the World Conservation Union as one of the natural resource based enterprises in Southern Africa which demonstrated commercial viability and sustainability. The enterprise was thus supported to showcase its products at the summit along with seven other enterprises under a marketing banner of ‘There is Another Way that Works’ (Mwalukomo, 2006).

Village Hands Limited has also received recognition as a ‘best practice’ and a model by SADC Biodiversity Programme, in terms of innovative long term financing strategy for sustainable funding for biodiversity conservation in SADC region.

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8. LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PROJECT

After 10 years of implementation, there are a number of lessons that have been learnt from the project area. These are the lessons that can inform other initiatives elsewhere apart from informing the various stakeholders who were involved in it.

1. Implementation of forest policy and Act is difficult in circumstances where its implementation disrupts commercial interests or livelihoods. Under such circumstances, chances for policy failure are high.

2. Combining forest extension and policy roles creates a conflict of interests. The two roles should be played by two separate bodies.

3. Communities living in poverty do not have the capacity on their own to manage forest resources sustainably. They need a facilitator who will provide technical and financial support. However support should be provided to avoid a situation where communities will become perpetually dependent on the facilitator by preparing an exit strategy.

4. People’s livelihoods are dependent on several sectors hence the need to promote integrated approach to natural resources management. Integration should involve integration of both institutions and natural resources.

5. Creation of a local elected body to manage natural resources involves a power sharing between the elected body and the traditional authority. The power play that results determines the effectiveness of the elected body which in turn affects the management of the natural resource. The effect might be negative, positive or synergetic.

6. Capacity building for communities to promote natural resources conservation and livelihood at the same time is possible but takes time and patience. Change management is a learning process for both the facilitator and communities. Projects should include a process of continuously evaluating the impacts of implementing various activities on achieving objectives in the target community.

7. Replacing a destructive enterprise such as charcoal and fuelwood trade requires identification of alternative enterprise that will generate a good income and at the same time sustain the income through out the year.

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9. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The project was implemented on the assumption that forest degradation and deforestation for fuelwood and charcoal production was caused by lack of alternative sources of income. The introduction of alternative IGAs was expected to result in a decline in illegal activities of charcoal and firewood trade, which would in turn result in better management of the forests.

While some households have really stopped illegal activities after adopting income generating activities, there are others who still practice illegal activities even after adopting these IGAs and yet others who are not involved in any of these ‘alternative’ IGAs at all. The fact that significant sums of money are generated every year from the projects’ ‘alternative’ IGAs, yet forest degradation and deforestation continues to occur shows that these IGAs are not really alternative sources of income but rather additional.

Improving people’s livelihoods by increasing their income generation potential is in itself not a solution to forest degradation and deforestation. Complementary strategies are required. While the income generated from most of the alternative sources can sustain people’s livelihoods, it cannot replace charcoal as long as trees remain ‘freely’ available to the communities throughout the year. Until strict measures to stop people from illegal charcoal and firewood production are effected, the impact of alternative IGAs on forest degradation and deforestation remains insignificant in Mwanza East (Neno South).

There are a number of recommendations arising from the implementation of the sustainable management of indigenous forests as follows.

1. The exist strategy of SMIF through the establishment of a local institutions responsible for forest management and generation of income for sustaining forestry operations is a commendable achievement that should be emulated by other initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable management of natural resources.

2. Local leadership structures are established and sustainable and efforts should be made to explore how they can be effectively engaged to promote natural resources management.

3. Since people’s livelihoods interface with several sectors and disciplines, integrated approach among various stakeholders and sectors is critical in the process of addressing natural resources development.

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10. APPENDICES

Appendix 1: General information about the region

1. Country name: Malawi. 2. Name of the forest: Neno East Woodlands. 3. Land tenure: 75% under freehold (owned by households) and 25% free hold under

the control of local leaders. 4. Eco Zone: Savannah Woodlands. 5. Forest type: Brachystegia woodlands (Miombo woodlands). 6. Forest Management started in 1996. 7. Designated function of the forest: multiple purpose use. 8. Forest area: 12 200 ha. 9. Location: 15o 23’ S, 34o 55’ E. 10. URL: Not applicable. 11. Contact organization: Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi. E-mail:

wesm-hg@africa-online.net. Contact name : Herbert Mwalukomo. 12. Other taxa: only tree inventory was done. 13. Tree taxa: Lanea discolor, Lonchocarpus capassa, Sclerocarya caffra, Sterculia

quinqueloba, Brachystegia bauhimia, Diospyros kirkii, Bauhinia petersiana, Pseudolachnostlis maproneifola, Burkea Africana, Xeromphis obovata, Pterocarpus busseii, Annna senegalerisis, Diplorrhynchus condylocarron, Senna singuena, Bridelia cathartica, Ficus natalensis, Turraea nilotica, Pterocarpus angolensis, Diasyporos mesipiliformis, Piliostigma thonnigii, Flocourtia indica, Terminalia sericea, Xieria caffra, Commiphora, Combretum imerbe, Adansonia digitata, Acacia polyacantha, Anzaza grkeana, Acacia nigrescens, Sclerocarya birrea, Ficus capensis, Sterculia Africana, Psonospermum febrifugum, Ziziphus mauratiana, Xeroderris stuhlmanii, Erythrina abssinica, Afzelia quanzensis, Strychnos spinosa, Pterocarpus rotundifolia, Cassia abbreviata, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Cussoria arborea, Faidherbia albida, Tamarindus indica, Combretum Molle, Crassoeryx febrifuga, Steganotaemia araliaceae, Ziziphus mucronata, Dichrostchys cinerea, Colophospemurmopane, Ozoroa insignis, Albizia lebbeck, Brachytegia boehmia.

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