Climate change affects Malawi’s rainfall pattern
Malawi used to experience the rainy season from October, and throughout the festive season one would appreciate the green vegetation across the country that continuously added beauty to the small African country of 13 million people.
But travelling from one corner to another could be hectic, as most roads become waterlogged due to the rains.
However, things are no longer the same. Over midway into December, Malawi is yet to see the real first rains! Crops a
Hastings Maloya (pictured), Environmental Education Officer with the Mulanje Mountain Conse rvation Trust (MMCT) – an environment awareness trust – said these are impacts of climate change.
Maloya said deforestation in Malawi, just as is the case in most countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, is on a alarming increase. This is due to the fact that almost 80 per cent of the population is using firewood and charcoal for their cooking. And charcoal is big business but the long-term impact could prove disastrous.
Maloya, who is also the Chairperson for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Environmental Forum, said although the impact might seem small at local level, continuous cutting down of trees and charcoal production, coupled with incessant annual forest fires, are some of the causes of global warming and climate change.
Apart from destruction to our environment, that has resulted in dried up rivers and excessive soil erosion, we are in danger for serious impacts of climate change,” he said. “Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, against reduced forest cover, puts Malawi and most African countries in danger”
Maloya said issues of poverty and lack of political will had seen many people venturing into charcoal business, thereby clearing land cover. There has not been a deliberate attempt to reduce the emissions by adapting new technologies such as cooking using energy efficient stoves that are smokeless and affordable.
According to Maloya, Malawi has powerful legislation through its Forestry Act and several environmantal protection policies but lack enforcement. As such few trees are being planted against a wild rate of cutting. And the trees planted also lack supervision and monitoring.
Meanwhile, climate change threatens Africa with catastrophic damage by allowing warming to rise by 2 degrees Celcius globally and therefore by around 3 degrees Celcius on the continent of Africa. It risks the lives and livelihoods of literally hund reds of millions of people, including the people of Malawi.
As the Copenhagen conference rounded off in Denmark, there is need to refocus on the literacy levels of people of Africa. Climate Change, its impacts and adaptation measures maybe be known in developed countries, but the developing countries need education and awareness, analysts said.
“You cannot propose a ’solution’ to climate change if the people you are presenting your solution do not understand what you are talking about,” said Maloya.
Malawi’s leader of delegation to the Copenhagen Summit told delegates that Malawi “has put in place various policy framework to protect the environment in the wake of drastic climate change”.-PANA
Tagged with: Climate change, Hastings Maloya
Thank you for writing about climate change and the fact they was a two week conference in Copenhagen to to agree targets to reduce CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, if people do not actively start to do something each and every one of us, they will be no future for our children on this earth.
It was reported here in the UK that they was a deadlock caused by China and USA (the biggest polluters on this earth), “refusing to set emission targets”, however the African countries, unusually stood together steadfastly, as climate change has a wider & drastic effect in Africa, with the annual droughts (how it affects millions going hungry each year).
$30 billion in the next 3 years will be given to developing nations to address this issue and a further $100 billion a year by the year 2020. Tuvalu delegation said “to use biblical language, it looks like we’re being offered 30 pieces of silver to sell our future” what he meant by that is that targets for emmissions were not set, even after two weeks of talking.
As Hastings Maloya Environmental Education Officer has spelt out the damage caused by deforestation above, this is a major issue, that is being ignored.
I like one comment in this whoe story – UMBULI. Our government should tackle this issue to root. We need to set targets for increase literacy and numeracy levels in Malawi. The dilema that Africa has is that there is ever increasing pressure on environment for people’s livelihoods; at the same population growth rate is increasing. Yes developed countries can help us but those mostly affected are not involved then we are not making progress. Umbuli shld be deat with immediately
The solution to improve this problem here in malawi will be difficult since this is the time when we cud relie on electicity however this is the time that we re experiencing blackouts and load shading more than ever berofe. solar is very expensive that a common malawian can not afford. parraffin is also expensive and hard to find too. the only energy source which seems cheap and easy to get to the majority of malawians is chacol and firewood which is very sad. it is as if pple doesnt know what this means or its implcation of deforestration but then every one wants to sustain their basic needs at the end of the day.pple are living each day as it comes without giving it much thought to the future bcz even if they think about it,the resources are not there to sustain them. this is leading our country and the world at large to dangeroud path nobody seem to care, instead of pumping money to address this problem on our own others are busy thinking on how to change the flag. so sad. the global warming has a great impact on our lives it will affect us in a bad way bcoz the ozone layer will be damaged. we will have alot of incurable diseases, it wil affect our social and economic affairs. these are the issue we shud be discussing as a nation and not wasting our time on petty issues like Nzamos, Bingus, Muluzis, and all that. lets talk our future and our childrens future, bcoz life happens to be the biggest capital without life we canot do whatever we re doing now so this issue is concerning our life. let us take this issue the way HIV/AIDS issues are handled.this is crusial and sensitive.
God bless our Nation!!
This should be a wake up call to our politicians, 2014 we want people who will be telling much of climate change, forex and fuel crisis not telling us kuti mutimangila manyumba , mubweretsa tribe heritages for each tribe, no. I think 20 years is enough for the Malawians to know what democratic politics are. We want a real government that will free its people from the slaverly of the climate change.
There is not such a thing as climate change as in the conext of carbon emission. Floods, droughts, harricanes etc have alaways been there. The fact that scientists can not agree on this issue means the facts are not there. Now what can countries like malawi do to fight climate change?
As we did with HIV it time we scale up Awareness campaigns on environment issues.
Flag change can wait but this issues of climate change as some put it here will leave our children with no future at all.
Lets join hands to address the problem at least policies are already there.
I will plant 10 trees and monitor them each year. If everyone does the same will we not make a difference.
Happy Tree planting season to all
I just saw an article on nyasatimes about the low absorbtion of donor funding and how this money has to be returned to the donors, why are the government so slow.
They should research solar powered stations and provide solar powered cookers and heaters (of water for bathing) that way people are not dependant on makala/charcoal and deforestation can be reduced.