Use chiefs for conservation
The past few days have seen floods hitting areas in northern and central Malawi. People have been displaced and property damaged in Rumphi, Nkhata Bay and Lilongwe districts. In Lilongwe, six people have been confirmed dead in Kaliyeka, Mchesi and Kawale townships.
Six people confirmed dead in Lilongwe #Floods https://t.co/54uMAEK9w5@MwNewsAgency #Malawi @DisasterDept pic.twitter.com/XsayDMcr6N
— Malawi Government (@MalawiGovt) December 17, 2017
While floods are inevitable, in certain cases the amount of damage caused can be mitigated. Looking at the pictures from the areas affected in Lilongwe, one notices simple mud houses constructed close to natural waterways. These waterways have been choked with debris which causes them to swell very quickly. Such structures stand no chance in heavy downpours. Lack of ground cover along river banks allows water to rush downstream and cause maximum havoc.
73 households left destititue in #MalawiFloods at Phwezi in Rumphi Districthttps://t.co/naJnz0ldIJ@MwNewsAgency @DisasterDept #Floods @phiri_pi pic.twitter.com/i4fP481d8G
— Malawi Government (@MalawiGovt) December 17, 2017
Wither plant-a-tree campaign
For many years now, we have been singing the ‘plant a tree’ song at the start of every rainy season but never really have programmes to ensure these trees are taken care of. We either burn them when clearing land for preparation, cut them down when they are still very young or simply let them die because we don’t nurture them. Soldiers have been deployed to Mulanje Mountain and Dzalanyama Forest Reserve to protect forests with mixed results. Forestry officers have had little impact due to lack of resources, inability to enforce the law due to staff shortages or simply because of corruption.
Charcoal production is a major contributor to environmental degradation.
Malawi chiefs should promote conservation
This is where our chiefs need to come in.
Chiefs in Malawi play a vital role in villages and communities. They are said to have the trust of the people. Unfortunately, this trust is what has also led to some of them being used by politicians to advance political agendas. Promotions seem to be based on who will spew the nastiest and harshest criticism on television against the political opposition. Over the years, the influence of chiefs has been eroded.
Why don’t we empower chiefs to ensure their areas are forested and that communities actually care for the trees they have planted? Chiefs should also ensure their subjects do not farm along river banks among other measures to halt environmental degradation and promote nature conservation.
The Malawi Government can then engage community-based and non-profit organisations to monitor and report to a central authority on the reafforestation efforts. These statistics can then be made public so that appropriate interventions are taken by all stakeholders. Chiefs will then be rewarded and promoted for their efforts in this noble area. Communities could also be rewarded somehow although that could be politically problematic but not entirely wrong.
Our chiefs have an important conservation role to play in Malawi!
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Cover photograph by Mike Mckay.
