Mount Mulanje,
Malawi
Restoring forest to protect water and biodiversity
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under restoration

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trees growing

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species regenerating

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families benefiting

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people trained

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Although the Mount Mulanje Forest Reserve has been officially protected since 1927, severe deforestation and degradation have taken place.

This has had a direct effect on the disappearance or sharp decline of species like the Mulanje Cedar tree and the Mulanje chameleon, which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The reserve will be restored with two types of forests – montane and miombo. Alternative job opportunities and sustainable livelihood schemes created for the thousands of families living around it.

Why and how we’re working here

3.4 million hectares or a third of Malawi used to be covered with forests. Today, 65% of that has already been cleared, a tenth of which in the last 10 years alone.

This trend is likely to continue due to a rapid population increase: Malawi has quadrupled its population in the past 40 years.
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Location

Mulanje, Malawi

Restoration approaches

Assisted Natural Regeneration; enrichment and full planting, agroforestry

Project partners

WeForest Malawi; The Forest Department; Cedar Energy

Species

Widdringtonia whytei (Mulanje cedar)

Nadzikambia mlanjensis (Mulanje pygmy chameleon)

The project’s impact on people

Neighbouring communities have used the forest for construction wood, firewood and charcoal. To reduce pressure on the forest and its endemic flora and fauna, the project will create employment and develop alternative sources of income, as well as supporting law enforcement activities to stop deforestation.

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Who’s funding the Mount Mulanje project?

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