PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY

  • Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi Project (PERFORM)

The USAID/Malawi-funded Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi (PERFORM) project was a five year project designed to improve Malawians' quality of life, conserve forests and promote green growth in Malawi. The project was spearheaded by Tetra Tech ARD in coordination with two Government of Malawi departments: the Department of Forestry and the Environmental Affairs Department. 

The objectives of the PERFORM Project were to:

- Advance Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) readiness;

-  Increase low-emissions land use opportunities in targeted geographies;

-  Improve low-emissions development capacities;

-  Institute pathways for sustainability; and

- Advance Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) priorities of integration and institutional strengthening.

Key achievements of the Department of Forestry through the support of the PERFORM project include: the National Forest Inventory 2018, the Technical Order: Forest Definition, the Forest Reference Level determination and the development of a National REDD+ Strategy.

  • Tobacco Levy Afforestation & Forest Conservation Programme (TLAP)

The Department of Forestry is a beneficiary of the Tobacco Levy Afforestation and Forest Conservation Programme (TLAP) which commenced during the 2011/12 financial year. The funds for TLAP are raised from a percentage realized from tobacco sales by different tobacco companies within the country and submitted to Government through the Tobacco Control Commission (TCC). The levy funds are deposited into the Forest Development and Management Fund (FDMF) established under Section 55 of the Forestry Act of 1997. The districts benefiting from the levy program currently are: Rumphi, Mzimba, Kasungu, Dowa, Mchinji, Lilongwe, Ntcheu, Balaka and Mangochi. The overall objective of this program is to replant and manage forest areas which have been impacted upon by tobacco growing in the country and to contribute to the national goal of increasing forestry cover.

  • Shire Valley Transformation Program (SVTP)

The Shire Valley Transformation Program works hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources especially the Departments of Forestry, National Parks and Wildlife and Fisheries. The program is being implemented in Chikwawa, Nsanje, Machinga, Mangochi, Neno and Zomba Districts. The Program Development Objective (PDO) for the longer-term Shire Valley Transformation Program (SVTP) is to improve the management and utilization of natural resources in a sustainable way to increase agricultural productivity and commercialization for targeted households in the Shire Valley.

PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

  • USAID/Malawi-funded Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi Project (PERFORM)
Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi (PERFORM) is a five-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Tetra Tech, in association with five subcontractors: Total LandCare, the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, Michigan State University, Winrock International, and the World Resources Institute. To improve livelihoods in Malawi, PERFORM promotes forest conservation and green growth, while working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forestry land use and to strengthen climate resilience.
  • Invasive Alien Species Management Project
Malawi recognizes the threat of IAS to biodiversity. It is therefore implementing a project called “Enhancing Sustainability of Protected Area Systems and Stabilising Agro-Production in Adjoining Areas through Improved IAS Management” also known as “Invasive Alien Species Management Project” in Rumphi, Chitipa, Mulanje and Phalombe districts with funding the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through United Nations Environment (UN Environment).
  • Climate Change Resilience Programme (NCRP)
The project is funded by UNDP. Its objective is to strengthened capacity for improved result-oriented governance and management of climate change, at national and district levels.  The project supported the development of Regulations for the National Climate Change Fund and the Bua River Catchment Management Plan among others.
  • Institutional Strengthening Project (Phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances)
This project is funded by UNEP. Its objective is to facilitate the phase-out of ozone depleting substances in the country. The project among others has strengthened the capacity of refrigeration experts on proper handling and maintenance of refrigeration appliances. The trainings have assisted the country to reduce consumption of ozone depleting substances.
Strengthened the capacity of customs officers on monitoring imports and exports of ozone depleting substances in the country. For more Information.
 
PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES
 
  • Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (SFAD-WM) project.

SFAD-WM project is an African Development Bank funded Project whose purpose is to contribute towards poverty reduction through improved fish commodity value addition and increased consumption, strengthened nutritional security, and build climate resilience in Malawi. The project was launched on 9thMarch, 2020 and will close in 2025.

- The project outcomes include:

- Improved fisheries and aquaculture productivity;

- Reduction of post-harvest losses; and

- Facilitating market oriented intensification along fisheries value chain.

The project is promoting diversification from capture fisheries to aquaculture ventures, to meet internal demand, and hence increased production and incomes. It will contribute towards increased livelihood and employment opportunities, reduction of local fish prices (hence improving real net incomes), export of commercial fish species, and bridging the gap to reduce the deficit of fish production to meet food and nutritional security.

  • Building Climate Change Resilience in the Fisheries Sector in Malawi (FiRM)

The FiRM project is supported by FAO and GEF with an aim of increasing resilience of the fishing communities to climate change in Malawi. It is a five-year project (2017-2021) and its objective is to improve Lake Malombe fishing communities’ resilience to climate change through improved governance and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, in order to ensure food and livelihood security.

The project activities are based on the following components:

- Strengthening access to information and knowledge regarding climate change and its implications;

- Creating an enabling environment for the promotion of climate change resilience among fishing communities
- Strengthening capacities at local level to increase the resilience of fishing communities to climate change; and

- Monitoring and Evaluation and adaptation learning.

  • Aquaculture Value Chain Project

The Aquaculture Value Chain (AVC) project is finance by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s special initiative, One World - No Hunger, which aims at reducing extreme hunger and poverty in selected countries, including Malawi. The AVC project’s overall objective (outcome) is to support the development of Malawi’s aquaculture sector in selected regions to increase the availability of fish products and income from sustainably operated small and medium size aquaculture businesses. While fish farmers are the core focus group of the project, it also strives to develop the entire value chain in which these farmers are embedded. The Project duration is from 2018-2023 and it has three action areas (outputs):

- More fish – more work: Production from artisanal pond-aquaculture has been increased, entailing a concomitant increase of employment in the sector;

- Farmer associations: The organization of farmers in farmer associations has been improved; and

Sustainable fish: The enabling environment required for the implementation of sustainable aquaculture practices- has been improved 

Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (REFRESH) Project.

The USAID-funded REFRESH project aims to conserve the Lake Malawi’s freshwater biodiversity and restore capture fisheries’ productivity in the lakeshore districts of Karonga, Rumphi, Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza, and Mangochi. The project is for five years (2020 to 2025) based on the following interventions:

- Enhancing fisheries regulatory frameworks, integrating sound science; decentralization and enforcement;

- Sustainable financing;

- Partnerships and alliances to scale up ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM); and

- Effective alternative livelihoods for fisheries-dependent communities.

The project is implemented by PACT and its partners like Find-Your-Feet with guidance from the Department including District Councils. This is to ensure effectiveness and reinforcement of local ownership.

 

PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY METEOLOGICAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT

  • Saving Lives and protecting Agriculture Based Livelihoods in Malawi: Scaling up the Use of Modernised Climate Information and Early Warning Systems. (M-CLIMES) project

Lead institution is the Department of Disaster Management Affairs

Main objective is to enhance early warning in Malawi. The project targets fisheries, agriculture, disaster risk management and gender (women) in 14 districts. Chikwawa, Chiradzulo, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Lilongwe, Mzimba, Nkhata-bay, Ntcheu, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima and Zomba.


  • Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP)

Lead institution is the Department of Water resources

Aims to maximize the benefits people and communities obtain from managing watersheds sustainably, as a basis for developing institutional and financing mechanisms needed to sustain restoration activities beyond the project period.

DCCMS is involved in Component 2 which objective is to enable infrastructure and climate information services to maximize the livelihood benefits from improved watersheds, and to enhance climate-resilience of both the farming community and the ecosystems in the watershed.

  • Malawi Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Project (MRDRMP)

Lead implementing institution is the Department of Water Resources

The objective of the project is to “support the recovery of livelihoods and infrastructure in flood and drought affected areas and strengthen capacity for flood and drought risk management.”