Nsanje District Forestry has stepped up patrols in an effort to conserve Matandwe Forest Reserve in the district.
With support from Shire Valley Transformation Project in collaboration with police, Parks and Wild Life the forestry office has taken the initiative to restore the degraded Matandwe Forest Reserve by conducting camping patrols around the area.
Assistant District Forestry officer Halmiton Boltoman told ProjectM that, currently Nsanje is experiencing natural disasters such as heavy rainfall which causes flooding, extreme heat waves because of, among others, encroachment and charcoal production.
Boltoman says by enhancing camping patrols inside and around the protected facility as well as planting trees, it will help to restore the vegetation cover and mitigate the effects of climate change.
‘’We have a responsibility to manage, protect and sustain the reserve for future generations. We would like to commend Shire Valley Transformation Project for supporting the forest reserve restoration,’’ he said.
Boltoman added that the district’s forestry office has for the past years failed to conduct camping patrols due to shortage of staff, saying currently the office has only 30 employees to carter for 26,000 hectares of Matandwe Forest Reserve.
He also said the funding which the office receives from government, is not adequate for its operations.
In his remarks, Environmentalist Mathews Malata said efforts to address the challenges, which Matandwe Forest Reserve, is facing requires the cooperation of stakeholders, saying this will address environmental challenges and promote natural resources management.
‘’We need collaboration between government, the department of forestry, traditional leaders and stakeholders to work in unison. We are also asking our courts to met out stiffer punishment to those guilty of destroying our forest reserves in order to end the challenge,’’ he said.
Malata says it is sad to note that most of Malawi’s beautiful and protected reserves have been destroyed by human activities.
He appealed to authorities in Nsanje doing illegal activities in the protected land to avoid disasters.
‘’As a nation, I think we are not doing enough to protect these reserves because we are good at words and not action. If we may not be careful the country will continue getting affected by various disasters such as historic floods, heavy rainstorms and many more which may lead to loss of innocent lives in the country,’’ said Malata.
Commenting on the matter, Senior Chief Malemia of Nsanje said as the result of depletion of the Matandwe Forest Reserve, the district has experienced a number of calamities such as Cyclone Freddy, Ana, Gombe.
Chief Malemia told ProjectM that at the outset, the forest reserve was the beauty of Malawi and had a number of beautiful tree species such as Nzanje, M’bawa, Mvule and many more which served as a platform for tourism, but unfortunately all these trees have gone.
‘’When I see Matandwe Forest Reserve today, I cry for my people because we can no longer have rains in good time and fresh air is gone as well because the forest is uncovered,’’ Malemia said.
However, Chief Malemia has opted for an urgent meeting amongst all stakeholders.
When he toured Chimaliro Forest Reserve in Kasungu last month, Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Dr Michael Usi warned that government will take stern action against those involved in illegal activities in the country’s forest reserves.
