The Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Honourable Dr Michael Usi today visited Zomba Mountain Forest Reserve to appreciate how the Department Forestry, private companies such Raiply Malawi Limited, Mulunguzi Cooperative, Chivunde Timber Cooperative and the Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) are co-managing the forest reserve.
Whilst commending the Department of Forestry and the companies for working together to prevent further degradation of the forest by planting and managing trees, the minister bemoaned the tendency orchestrated by some concessionaires who cut trees around Mulunguzi River catchment area, saying such actions are dangerous to communities that depend on water from the river and therefore detrimental to national development.
He said much as it understood that the water board and the companies have different interests for planting trees, all trees planted in catchment areas should not be cut regardless of who planted them in order to protect the water bodies such the Mulunguzi River where the SRWB draw water which it supplies to the City of Zomba and surrounding areas from drying up..
" Cutting trees in catchment areas must stop otherwise our water sources will dry up. That is nonnegotiable." he stressed.
The minister advised the Department of Forestry to have a strategic approach where no go zone areas are set so that trees in catchment areas are preserved.
Last year Mulunguzi Dam almost dried up due to cutting down of trees in Mulunguzi River catchment area.
