Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources says it is committed to curb high demand for charcoal in urban areas to address deforestation crisis in the country.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS) Yanira Ntupanyama said this on Tuesday in Lilongwe during the launch of a deforestation dossier under Forestry Accountability Journalism Initiative in Malawi by the Association of Environmental Journalists (AEJ Malawi).

Ntupanyama said addressing deforestation and forest degradation is a national development priority.

Ntupanyama and ACB deputy director Elia Bodole unveiling the dossier

She said: “The demand has led to rampant charcoal production that degrades the forest cover.  We want to give the producers other income-generating activities. We are promoting alternative sources for the 75 percent of urban dwellers that use biomass.”

The PS commended the investigative programme, which was funded by United States Agency for Development (USaid) and Foreign, Commonwealth Development Organisation through the Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests in Malawi project, for helping the Forestry Department to address challenges in the sector.

Despite being pleased with the work of the journalists in the project, MCHF chief of party Ramzy Kanaan called upon relevant authorities to act on the issues raised with urgency.

“The initiative has pointed the forestry department, police and Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] to the right directions to correct the problems,” he said.

On his part, USaid acting deputy mission director Jeff Skarin said challenges in management of natural resources, enforcement of regulations, and systemic corruption have enabled rampant deforestation and illegal charcoal production and sale.

 “This is why the US Government is committed to supporting strong alliances with Malawian and global partners to protect ecosystems and strengthen climate actions,” said Skarin.

AEJ secretary general Charles Mkoka said they are impressed with the outcome of the initiative for highlighting causes of deforestation crisis in the country.

The association coordinated the investigative dossier titled Sounding the Alarm: Malawi’s Forests on the Brink to expose illicit charcoal trade and deforestation crisis in the country.

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