Malawi Hosts Regional Workshop on Sustainable Forest Management Program
The DSL-IP project, set to run for five years, is being implemented in Malawi's Balaka, Ntcheu, and Mulanje districts.
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Over 100 delegates from 10 southern African countries gathered Monday in Blantyre for a five-day workshop on sustainable forest management, aiming to combat land degradation and deforestation in drylands, writes Happy Valirani.
The Second Southern Africa Regional Stakeholders' Workshop, focusing on the Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program (DSL-IP), is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Yusuf Mkungula, Principal Secretary in Malawi's Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, emphasized the program's importance to the nation.
"This program is very significant to Malawi because it provides an opportunity for our local farmers, our communities to get access to most important livelihood opportunities," Mkungula said.
He added that the program aligns with existing national initiatives, including a goal to restore 4.5 million hectares of land by 2030.
The DSL-IP project, set to run for five years, is being implemented in Malawi's Balaka, Ntcheu, and Mulanje districts.
It aims to support sustainable land management practices while providing livelihood opportunities for local communities.
Sonny Walter Mokgwathi, Program Officer Forestry at SADC from Botswana, highlighted the program's regional significance.
"SADC focuses mainly on indigenously integration and this project is one of the multi-national projects that actually promotes indigenous integration," Mokgwathi said.
FAO Representative to Malawi, Zhijun Chen, expressed confidence in the project's potential impact.
"We are confident because the concept of the project is aimed at ecosystem conservation, livelihood improvement and sustainable development," Chen said.
The workshop, hosted at Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel, will conclude on Friday. Participants include representatives from Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, among others.