This is a semi-wild area used for woodlots (ex. fuelwood, building supplies, high value timber), foraging and fodder production. Larger animals could be put to pasture in Zone 4. It is rarely visited and, after establishment, requires little to no management.
Many forest reserves are under increasing pressure, e.g., Thuma and Dzalanyama, which are key sources of firewood and charcoal for Lilongwe. As the town gorws and with the extended blackouts we are having, demands for firewood and charcoal are increasing. Prices are rising with increased demand, which driving the increase in deforestation. The only practical alternatives at present include reforesting the plantations to supply cheaper fuelwood to Lilongwe. Otherwise the natural forests and watersheds will be at high risk.
In 2009, Total LandCare estimated that Malawi had 10 years of trees left at the rate of deforestation. Sixty-four percent of deforestation in Malawi is for home fuel-wood and while it was once part of the culture to “cut a tree plant many trees” this is sadly no longer the case. The result is an alarming rate of deforestation- recently we have seen people cutting mango trees for firewood or to burn bricks to build homes. This is a sign of a crises.
We promote agro-forestry by planting woodlots and nitrogen-fixing trees that repair soil, sequester carbon, and contribute to the hydrological cycle. In 2011, NGP planted 9,000 trees including jatropha curacas for bio-diesel, Acacia Galpinii, Acacia Polycantha, and Leucana Diversifolia as fast-growing fuel-woods, and Kaya Nyasica, Afzelia Quazensis, and Ziziphus Mauritania as hardwoods for a long term financial investment.
