By Roy Nkosi

Lilongwe, Mana: Government, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, has embarked on an Adopt a Forest Initiative to empower rural communities in conserving and developing Malawi’s forest resources for economic and environmental benefits.

The move has been touted as key in achieving forest landscape restoration in the face of growing environmental degradation.

Director of Forestry in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Stella Gama, says Malawi can enhance its resilience against effects of climate change if various stakeholders can adopt a forest.

The remarks come in the wake of reports that 50 percent of the country’s total land area remains in need of restoration.

She said there is a huge task to halt and reverse the current pattern of environmental degradation.

“The rate of forest degradation is particularly worrisome, being one of the highest in the region. We, urgently, need to stop and reverse this. Our target is to restore 4.5 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030.

Gama added that the Department of Forestry, with support from various partners and stakeholders, is implementing various interventions in the country aimed at restoring degraded lands.

The exercise targets all forests, on either public, leasehold or community lands.

“We are committed to working with all Malawians and residents, private companies, urban and rural communities, parastatals, and non-governmental organizations, to address the problems of forest degradation.

“Our agricultural fields can benefit from agroforestry. The majority of our rivers require restoration along the buffer areas to reduce siltation and improve water quality.

And our beautiful rolling hills, ranges and mountains are bare and degraded, these present an opportunity for massive restoration efforts,” she said.

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