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Forestry

There are 69 forest reserves in Malawi representing 30 % of the forest cover. Most of these were created for watershed protection, hence their location in mountains and escarpments.

The National forestry policy (1996) and the Forestry Act (1997) are key instruments driving the development and management of forests and forest products in the country. Among other things these provisions seek to improve rural livelihoods which depend on forest products for their economic development by allowing the participation of the private sector and civil society in the sector.

In addition concessions and logging agreements have been issued to some private companies to utilize and manage forests However the full commercial potential of Malawi’s large forest plantations such as Viphya plateau (Lusangazi, Chikangawa) Nyika plateau at Chelinda, Dedza, Mulanje mountains and Zomba plateau has not been fully exploited. Therefore investors are encouraged to explore this opportunity comprising about 68,000 ha of softwood.