National Forest Policy of Malawi.

The goal of the National Forest Policy is to sustain the contribution of the national forest resources to the quality of life in the country by conserving the resources for the benefit of the nation. The general objectives of the policy are to satisfy the people’s needs, particularly those of the rural people who are the most disadvantaged. The general objectives will, therefore, aim at: allowing all citizens to have regulated and monitored access to some forest products; enacting legislation allowing to access to the use of forests and forest products, and promote equity and participation by local communities; contributing towards improving the quality of life in the rural communities and providing a stable local economy in order to reduce the degenerative impact on the environment that often accompanies poverty; establishing appropriate incentives that will promote community-based conservation and a sustainable utilization of the forest resources as a means of alleviating poverty, including on-farm trees, and fostering the growing of trees by all sections of the communities in order to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency of wood and forest-derived products;
The specific objectives of the policy will be aimed at: promoting the participation of local communities and the private sector in forest conservation and management, eliminating restrictions on sustainable of essential forest products by local communities, and promoting planned harvesting and regeneration of the forest resources by Village Natural Resources Committees (VNRC’s); empowering rural communities to manage the forest resources, fostering ownership or usufruct of trees, and ensuring that such trees are sustainably utilized for the benefit of both present and future generations; providing appropriate incentives for both community and private sector participation in the identification and protection of key sites of unique biodiversity and water catchment areas, in partnership with other ministries, organizations institutions and individuals; designing and testing methodologies for assessing productivity for the efficient utilization of timber and non-timber products, utilization of natural; woodlands and the development of techniques for protecting trees from pests and diseases (sec. 2.3.7.6).
Section 2 in addition, aims at: developing and disseminating to target to groups improved technologies for the development and management of trees and forests, optimal harvesting and utilization of forest products, as well as silvi-cultural and protection measures so as to ensure sustainable production of a wide range of wood and non-wood products; establishing appropriate incentives that will promote community-based conservation and a sustainable utilization of the forest resources as a means of alleviating poverty, including on-farm trees, and fostering the growing of trees by all sections of the communities in order to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency of wood and forest-derived products; promoting integrated use of forest raw materials to reduce their waste, foster maximal contribution of the forest resources towards poverty alleviation through increased employment opportunities, and minimize adverse environmental effects; ensuring that the women’s role in forest and tree resource utilization and management receives due attention through the support to women not only in forest-based subsistence and informal economies, but also as a key agency for innovative development of the rural forestry sector, including the growing, harvesting, processing and marketing of fuelwood, domestic construction wood and industrial wood (Sec. 2.5).