Everyone’s Fight: Kaning'ina Forest Under Siege
Preserving Kaning'ina Forest is crucial not only for biodiversity but also for the local communities who depend on the forest for their survival.
MZUZU, Malawi-Once a lush "Eden" in Malawi's northern region, Kaning'ina Forest now faces existential threat from rampant deforestation, degradation and overall ecosystem collapse, writes Tionge Hara.
These activities disrupt the forest's delicate ecological balance, leading to soil erosion and habitat loss for the diverse wildlife that call Kaning'ina home.
Kaning’ina forest is located between Mzuzu city and Nkhata Bay district covering 16,657 hectares of and other vegetation matters offering a greenery splash of the Mzuzu city stretching far to Lake Malawi.
The illicit charcoal industry perpetrated by the communities living in the periphery and distant areas at the sleeping watch of authorities is further degrading the forest cover, polluting the air, while the hunt for wildlife animals is threatening its fauna hence exacerbating the current unfortunate situation.
Livelihoods at Risk
Preserving Kaning'ina Forest is crucial not only for biodiversity but also for the local communities who depend on the forest for their survival.
Maxwell Nyirongo, whom we found in the forest in December last year, resorts to cutting down of trees to support his families.
This clearly highlighting the complex socio-economic factors driving deforestation where 70 percent of the population is living below the poverty line of less than K3, 600 a day.
"This is how I survive to support my family of 12 people in my house alone., since I can't find work," Nyirongo said unapologetically.
"Even if caught today, I'll return to this business."
A Broken System and Frustrated Efforts
Despite dedicated efforts from the line mandated government agency Jipate Mnyenyembe Regional Forestry Officer north attributes a broken system as to be hampering the fight against forest plunder.
Mnyenyembe bemoans the quick and suspicious release of perpetrators of forest crimes apprehended not only in Kaning’ina but in many other forests across the country.
“Apprehended loggers are often released without proper charges or with minimal fines, rendering the departments law enforcement efforts futile,” he said while suggesting for the judiciary meting out tough custodial sentence and fines to deter next offender .
The new Forestry Act, amended in section 64, states that the production, possession, trafficking, or selling of charcoal without a permit is punishable by a fine of K5 million and 10 years imprisonment.
However, this raises questions about how individuals like Maxwell Nyirongo and others continue to evade such penalties, undeterred even when caught, consequently placing Kaning'ina forest on a path of degradation.
For instance, the new Act states that knowingly receiving illegally produced charcoal will attract a K5 million fine and 10 years imprisonment.
In cities, the use of illegal charcoal has increased from 44 percent in 2011 to 76 percent in 2018, and this trend is expected to worsen, according to a Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests in Malawi (MCHF) report.
With the cost of living skyrocketing, this figure is likely to increase further.
Mzuzu Urban District Forestry Officer Officer Agnes Nyirenda is equally frustrated on the lack of follow-up after apprehending illegal loggers, charcoal producers and pit sawyers inside Kaning’ina forest.
"We keep apprehending offenders, but cheap charcoal demand and readily available markets are motivating the destruction circus hence making our conservation seem futile," Nyirenda lamented.
Statistics obtained from the district forestry office indicates that there is an increasing number of various forms of forestry related offences as in Kaning’ina forest alone illegal charcoal producers were apprehended in 2023 compared to 2022 in the preceding year.
Cases of illegal loggers have not been contained or reducing either.
Out of 23 forestry-related cases recorded, only one resulted in a jail sentence of 3 years. In one case, the culprits were fined K200,000 each.
Two cases received the punishment of sweeping at the police office, while the rest were given suspended sentences.
Some offenders were released by the courts.
Nyirenda said, "This forestry war requires a multi-sectoral approach. We are doing our part in enforcing the law, but it's not enough as it is. Other sectors should come in, i.e., the energy sector should innovate with other sources of energy, and then the judiciary should impose stiffer punishments to scare those on the wrong side as well."
Life or Death in Salvaging the Forest
Mnyenyembe alleges that forestry officers and other natural resource protection officers face threats from private lawyers who defend those caught illegally logging or producing charcoal.
He says this exposes a lack of support and communication within the system.
Recounting one incident, Mnyenyembe said, "When I apprehended some illegal charcoal producers in the same forest, I had to let them go because they threatened to kill me as they were armed and I was not."
He laments that despite reporting such threats to security agents, no tangible action is taken to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Mnyenyembe expressed frustration over threats and court orders for simply doing his job protecting forests saying their efforts are usually faltered when culprits walk to freedom without serving any sentence hence sending wrong signal to the likes of Maxwell Nyirongo to continue plundering forests without any remorse
Nonetheless, despite the hurdles along the line of dusty, Mnyenyembe prides his officers for being vigilant in curbing illegal destruction of Kaning’ina Forest which he only calls for more support and collaboration with relevant stakeholders and communities.
"We remain committed to our mission, but need authorities' support to ensure justice so our efforts aren't in vain," Munyenyembe said.
Suspected Corruption
Law enforcement agencies entrusted to protect forests are suspected to be the invisible hand behind driving wanton destruction of the forestry biodiversity through illegal timber and charcoal production for business .
This suspected impunity fuels anxieties about who to save Kaning'ina before it vanishes.
A police criminal investigator, referred to as Mr. BY, expressed similar concerns.
"Suspects were freed without consulting me as the investigator of the case," he said, wondering who authorized their release.
This clearly suggests the involvement of influential forces abusing their power, fueling a reckless disregard for due process and natural justice in forestry conservation efforts.
Reacting to our inquiry, Paul Tembo, the then Mzuzu Police Public Relations Officer, acknowledged the mishap but clarified that the suspect was released upon being granted bail, which is a constitutional provision according to Section 3, specifically bail by police, in the 'Bail Guidelines' Act of 2000 in the Republic Constitution's Chapter 8:05.
This states that granting bail to those with minor offenses is permissible. In this case, they referred to this provision to release all the suspects, while another illegal logger was released on health grounds while in custody.
This clearly demonstrated lack of effective internal leasing among police officers hence crating elements of suspicion among themselves and depicting a rotten and dysfunctional police system in the public eye.
Police and human rights bodies have a toll order in sensitizing the masses on civil liberties especially crime suspect handling.
Forestry departments role is to apprehend offenders and hand them over to the police but Teddie Kamoto its deputy director admits being powerless over discretion exercised by police or judiciary in handling cases as they trust that they uphold the laws for fair justice delivery.
This however exposed gap for increased forestry extension to create mass awareness of forest laws.
"We're just hoping that we'll get to a point where every law enforcement officer, from our own forest officers up to the judiciary, will understand why the forest law was created," Kamoto said.
"Once they understand that, then they'll be prepared to play their part in ensuring maximum enforcement of the law."
Patriotism amid Struggles
Innocent Sandram,Projects lead from Movement for Environmental Action in Malawi advocates for adequate funding of enforcement efforts.
“The fight against deforestation requires adequate resourcing for they are expensive, risky law enforcement operations," he observed.
In the 2023/24 budget, the Mzimba North and South forestry offices were allocated MK20 million, according to Masozi Banda, the District Forestry Officer for Mzimba South.
This is because Mzuzu urban does not have a cost center, so it covers the Mzimba and Nkhata Bay District Forestry Offices. However, the allocation is for all planning activities, not specifically for operations in Kaning'ina forest.
The funds are meant to cater for Operational and Resource Training (ORT) activities under the goal of forestry conservation, which environmentalists argue is inadequate for effective law enforcement.
While appealing for other donors support to the sector in boosting their efforts Nyirenda pledges of forestry departments unwavering commitment in curbing plunder activities in Kaning'ina Forest to stop the likes of Maxwell Nyirongo and other forest criminals.
"We are coming hard on illegal loggers and charcoal producers," she warned.
Maloto Chimkombero ,Executive director for Green Homes Initiatives, is of the view that while enforcement is being advanced but there is need to close the gap on more investment and popularization in the use of alternative and clean energy sources.
Glimmer of hope, Fight for the future:
Kamoto emphasized the long urgent need for sustainable energy production that prioritize environmental conservation as enshrined in the Malawi 2063 Agenda.
"Our forests are getting depleted, and the major cause is the dependence on biomass energy," said Kamoto.
"If we can have a strategy that addresses issues of biomass energy, a strategy that looks at the potential for other sources besides biomass, that's a solution for us."
Now we can walk back and watch how these commitments will be met to restore Kaning’ina forest from further degradation to sustain its ecological roles for the benefit of nature and mankind.
This investigation was made possible with support from UK and USAID joint MCHF project implementing Forest Accountability Journalism in Malawi in partnership with Association of Environmental Journalist and Lilongwe Wildlife Trust.