Civil Society Engagement in Environmental Policy Processes 2014 Inter-Parliamentary Hearing on Exemplary Forest Policies in Africa September 30 th to 3 rd October 2014 Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction Forests provides goods and services for livelihoods in Malawi; Some of the species include Khaya anthotheca (Mbawa) and Pterocarpus angolensis (Mlombwa), Eucalyptus, Gmelina, Mahogany etc; and Regardless of the richness in species, Malawi is facing one of the fastest deforestation rates in Africa, highest in the SADC region;

Introduction (2) The main drivers of forest loss are  High incidence of poverty and food insecurity, leading to increasing demand for land and forest resources;  Population growth (average 2.8%); and  Agricultural expansion between intensive agriculture had increased by 20%.

Introduction (3)  Tobacco growing (curing is a major non- household user of firewood-2009).  High dependence on fuel wood as a source of energy for cooking and heating (94%); and  Institutional weaknesses combined with poor compliance of the law

Forces of Forestry Resources

Trends in Forest Cover In 1975, 47% of the territory in Malawi was classified as forest; In 2010, out of the total land area of 94,270,000 ha of Malawi, 3,336,000 ha, representing 36 %, was classified as forest (15%-natural woodlands on customary lands, 11% - national parks and game reserves and 10% under forest reserves and protected hill slopes);

Trends in Forest Cover (2) The rate of deforestation, (percentage of forest cover lost per year) ranged from 1% to about 3% overall, averaging 2.3% in recent years; and This is the highest deforestation rate in the SADC region, representing a net loss of some 30,000 to 40,000 hectares per year.

Trends in Forest Cover (3)

Forestry Policy and Legislation In 1996, Malawi developed and adopted the forestry policy followed by a Community Based Forest Management – A Supplement to the National Forestry Policy in 2003; In 1997 a law on forestry was passed which is also in use up to date; There are also Forestry (Community Participation) Rules, 2001 and Forestry (Amendment) Rules 2003; and Forestry Department also developed the National Forestry Programme in 2001 as a means to put the 1996 National Forestry Policy and Forestry Act (1997) into practice.

Challenges in Forestry Policy and Legislation Generally the forestry policy and legislation have suffered implementation like other policies in Malawi due to  Inadequate community involvement in law enforcement;  Limited stakeholder coordination and operationalization of institutions at local and national level; and

Challenges in Forestry Policy and Legislation (2)  Forestry policy conflicts with other polices like food security in some sections; and  Absence of a coherent financing mechanism for the forestry sector and  The sector is among the least funded sector in the National budget especially at local level  National budget tracking and monitoring between 2005 and 2013 indicated forestry as among the least funded sectors especially on operations;  83-93% are for personal emoluments; and  7-27% for day to day transactions.

Civil Society Contribution to Forestry Sector Generally within the sector there is broadened stakeholder participation in forestry utilization and management:  civil society,  local communities  private sector However, coordinating institutional efforts to enhance forest governance and community based forest management remains a challenge;

Civil Society Contribution to Forestry Sector (2) In addition, there is very limited participation of stakeholders such as civil society in the implementation of the related forestry policy and legislation; Most stakeholders participate in the community level programmes such as community based forest management and tree planting etc; Programmes in forestry sectors by civil society are not prominent like in other sectors such as climate change;

Civil Society Contribution to Forestry Sector (3) There is limited civil society influence in the policy and legal framework development, review, implementation and monitoring; and Most civil society have challenges to access financial support to address gaps in the forestry sector especially policy processes.

Civil Society Contribution to Forestry Sector (4) CEPA has: Conducted national budget tracking and monitoring in the forestry sector; Engaged the policy makers such as the members of parliament, directors and department technical experts on the inadequate national budget allocation; Engaging members of parliament and councilors to actively participate in reducing deforestation focus on;  Reducing charcoal production;  Reducing bush fires; and  Embracing low carbon technologies such as cook stoves.

Civil Society Contribution to Forestry Sector (5) Engaged the department on the need to review the outdated policy and legal framework; Facilitating development of by-laws for community based forests in selected districts; Facilitating capacity building for local structures on forestry related policies; and Facilitating community and media interaction on community based forest management.

Forestry Sector Programme The forestry sector has had one big programme under Improved Forest Management for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (IFMSLP) Phase I is a Government of Malawi programme with financial support from the European Union; IFMSLP phase I was implemented by Department of Forestry which presents another challenge for stakeholder engagement; The programme targeted about 14 forests reserves;

Forestry Sector Programme (2) The focus of this phase I was more on organization of rural communities; development of Participatory Forest Management Plans and Forest Management Agreements; and improvement of capacities of rural communities to sustainably harvest and sell forest products from customary land and forest.

Forestry Policy Processes in Progress Government in the process of reviewing the 1996 National Forestry Policy with support from UNDP but the process has stalled; and Stakeholder involvement has not been very inclusive like other policy processes such as climate change;

Malawi REDD+ REDD+ has gained momentum in Malawi and policy processes towards REDD+ have been initiated; The forestry sector has provided space for stakeholder participation; This process has been more engaging than that of forestry policy review; and Civil society have been given roles in the development of the draft REDD+ strategy and work plan.

Concluding Remarks The forestry sector in Malawi remains the least prioritized sector; Forest degradation in Malawi is still high and if not controlled all resources will be degraded in few years to come; The forestry policy and legal framework are outdated; Unlike other sectors such as climate change, the forestry sector policy review has not been inclusive; Civil society contribution to forestry policy processes remains a challenge;

Concluding Remarks(2) Coordination of CSO in the forestry sector is a challenge; The forestry sector in Malawi is among the least funded sectors; and Over the past few years, there has been an increased participation of Civil society in the REDD+ strategy development.

Recommendations Forestry related policy and legal frameworks review needs to speed up; Members of parliament need to participate in forestry policy and legal framework implementation; There is need to harmonize conflicting policies for effective policy implementation; Our members of parliament need to speak for the people in the National Budget;

Recommendations (2) Malawi is planting trees every year, in addition to the National Forestry season, there is need for all stakeholders to monitor survival rates of these trees; Our members of parliament need to take lead in the forestry management in their respective constituency; and Forestry sector institutions needs strengthening in terms of capacity in governance and coordination of other institutions.

THANK YOU The Future of Forest Resources Remains our Responsibility