Poverty-stricken Malawians W﻿ork Hard to Impoverish Themselves Even Further!﻿

Poverty-stricken Malawians Work Hard to Impoverish Themselves Even Further!

26/9/2012

This is the first trip I have taken to Malawi that I can admit I didn't fully enjoy. I am one of Malawi's biggest supporters but I have to be honest and admit that I am losing things to support. Malawi used to be beautiful but our countryside is being severely ravaged by its own people.

The two key environmental problems I observed:
1. Heavy deforestation and
2. Frequent small-scale forest and countryside fires

I drove from Blantyre to Ku Chawe Inn in Zomba then to Kasungu and back down along the lakeshore road covering over 1,200 kilometres. I completely lost track of the forest fires I saw during the day and at night. Even within Blantyre you constantly smell smoke from burning leaves and cars that should no longer be on the road.

This pollutes the air and the scenery.

Club Makokola is the only place I found that confirmed they do not burn their leaves. They sweep them all into flower beds and use them as compost. It actually looked strikingly pretty. I wish everyone would follow suit.

Malawi doesn't have much in the way of natural resources. What we do have, or used to have, is gorgeous countryside and that is now mostly gone. It's more than sad.

I often drive into the British countryside and despite the terrible weather the British countryside is lush, inviting and unpolluted. I have never seen a fire being burnt and developments are controlled to minimise environmental pollution.

Malawians in Malawi, why are you sitting by the wayside and allowing your country to be destroyed? Is barren countryside what you aspire to leave your children?

The poor may claim to need firewood but why aren't they replacing the trees they fell? The soil is very fertile; there are seeds everywhere. Plant trees and use fallen leaves as compost. When you've cut down all your trees what will you do then? Die from hunger and starvation, that is what.

This does not have to be a Government-level problem. Everyone needs to take some responsibility. Replace trees that have been felled! Amongst many problems, missing trees means less carbon dioxide is removed from the environment and any strong wind becomes a sand storm. If our country can't match the beautiful scenery of other African countries we can expect even fewer tourists and even less forex than is currently available. I can't believe people don't see the wider repercussions of deforestation and burning fires. Honestly, do you need a degree to see these things?

It's time for action. Wake up. Stop sleeping, beer-drinking or whatever it is you do in your spare time, start planting trees and stop burning fires!

As you watch this destruction keep in mind that the Sahara Desert was once a forest and we are very much moving in that direction. You've been warned!

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2 Comments

Mphatso

17/10/2012 11:12:29 am

very touching article. I wish many Malawians could read it.

I don't think we can reach that point where suddenly people can wake up and realize together to reverse their actions. there is always people in a society, like you, who always have to initiate that action and lead others to change. Costa Rica replaced 20% of their forest cover because of a Policy change that was made to use monetary incentives as a way of limiting deforestation, other developed countries have invested so much in awareness etc.Malawi needs both scientific and social inventions. We need to deal with the drivers like lack of alternative energy while at the same time sending strong messages that will drive people into action. We need people who care enough to drive this change. People are aware of the changing environment, but not everyone can take action, someone who cares enough to turn things around should initiate that change. Make people see things from your point of view, buy them in. I think this is a government level problem as much as it is a local problem. The government commitment matters, and it is not just the environmental ministry, the construction sector needs policies that are environmental friendly, look at how brick burning has led to alot of loss of trees..these are things that need to be turned around by strong policy implementation. I think it is not a question of every one doing everything, it is a question of those who care and want to do something about it to get up and start doing and make others follow them.

But I do agree with you , our beautiful scenery is vanishing right in our eyes..we are running out of things to boast about as far as a country is concerned...thanks for writing this article....Its food for thought!!

Mik Ado

29/10/2012 02:08:55 am

Out of interest, who owns the land that is being deforested? If landowners are either encouraging or allowing deforestation to occur, why is it in their interest to do so? Do the poor have any real incentive to maintain forests if they don't own the land, and do they alternative fuels equally cheap and available?

Encouraging everyone to deal with the problem is fine in principle, but most people will respond mainly to self-interest. It may be a problem that only government can address, by making it in people's interests to reduce deforestation and replace felled trees.