Malawi: Turning the Future Into Charcoal

Chopping down the forests for charcoal and fuel wood seems so shortsighted, but until there are alternative sources of energy for Malawi’s rural poor, the destruction will continue.

Malawi loses about 50,000ha of indigenous forest every year – the highest deforestation rate in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The government estimates that just 4 percent of the population has access to electricity; over 93 percent depend on wood fuel.
Satellite images have shown that “deforestation is one of our biggest problems”, commented Samuel Kamoto of the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi. The country has an agro-based economy; the ecological crisis “reduces productivity” but also affects the fisheries industry, as water runoff washes more silt into Lake Malawi.

Charcoal production is supposed to be regulated, but the practice is so widespread that the law is virtually unenforceable. “I have been burning charcoal since I was young and there is no way I can stop it now, just because I am told it is illegal. Unless an alternative business is found, I will continue producing charcoal,” said a defiant 17-year-old primary school dropout, Richard Likoswe.

All Africa