How deforestation impacts on women, chidren's lives

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR

As the dawn breaks, Lyness Saka, from Chisambi Village in Mzimba, straps her two-year old child on her back, and with wet strings in one hand, she heads for a bush 20 kilometres away from the village to collect firewood.

Saka has covered this distance since 10 years ago after the village finished their forest.

Malawi loses most of its forests to charcoal business, timber-makers and bush fires set by mice-hunters. The country has the highest deforestation rate in southern African at 2.8 percent per annum, according to Malawi Forest Information and Data.

The rate of deforestation increased by 9.6 to 0.93 percent per annum between 2000 and 2005 while 2.7 percent of its forest cover (or around 494,000 hectares) between 1990s and 2005.

Furthermore, Malawi lost 595,000 hectares of its primary forest cover 2005 and 2008 while less than one percent of the same was replenished.

Worldwide, deforestation has impacted negatively on the economy, women and children. The situation is worse in Africa where the status quo demands that women and children bear responsibilities of gathering firewood and drawing water while men tend to other equally important duties back home or when they go playing games (e.g. bawo) and drinking.

With no shoes on their feet, women and children cover kilometres and kilometres to gather firewood or draw water. In worst situations, children are forced to desert classes to accompany their mothers to carry out such tasks.

Any damage to the environment, especially forests, means that there will be less firewood, rivers and streams will gather silt and dry up leading to a decline in food production.

Electricity remains a luxury for most in Malawi as government statistics reveal only 8 per cent of the population has regular has access to electricity in their homes.

Worse still, electricity is becoming less reliable due to the perpetual blackouts consumers are subjected to thus everybody turning to firewood and charcoal for cooking.

It is not surprising, therefore, to find that even government officials, forestry officials, et al are scrambling for bags of charcoal along the roads as they drive from field visits elsewhere.

Economically, Malawi is losing 191 million dollars (147 million Euros) a year to environmental damage including soil erosion, deforestation and over-fishing, says a UN-backed study released September, 2010.

It is also impacting devastatingly on climate as it depletes carbon sink that could otherwise take up the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere thereby forming a layer that traps and returns heat back to the earth’s surface – in what is scientifically known as global warming.

Joyce Chazuka of Mserera Village—T/A Mlonyeni in the rural parts of Mchinji— confesses that deforestation and the resultant inadequacy of firewood and soil degradation have negatively affected her life.

“When we had firewood aplenty, I could cook two times a day. That is not longer the case today. I can only manage to cook once a day—at lunch—and keep some of the food for our supper,” Chazuka explains.

It is becoming difficult as well for farmers draw their farming calendars because rains can no longer be predicted.

“We need to do something about it now or face the perilous times ahead of us,” explains Chazuka.

When he was launching the 2009—2010 national tree planting season on December 15, 2009 in Chiradzulu, President Bingu wa Mutharika concurred with Chazuka further stressing the need for Malawians to plant trees at every idle land.

Mutharika explained that the country is currently losing more of its forests mainly due to the energy needs coming in forms of firewood and charcoal.

“We need to plant not less than 65 million trees per year if we are to fight deforestation,” Mutharika urged.

Lake Chilwa Basin (LCB) Climate Change Adaptation Programme says it plans to facilitate and strengthen the capacity of local and district institutions dealing in environment and natural resources management as one of mechanisms for fighting climate change.

LCB is a five-year programme jointly implemented by Leadership for Environment and Development Southern & Eastern Africa (LEAD SEA) based at Chancellor College, WorldFish Centre (WFC) and Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM).

LCB Programme Manager, Welton Phalira, says with a NOK35 million (about K830 million) grant the organization has just received from a the Norwegian government, the programme will support partner institutions with resources to enhance their capacity to deliver essential services including training, agricultural production and diversification inputs and other income generating activities to the communities so as to enhance their resilience and adaptation to climate change.

“The overall goal of the programme is to secure the livelihood of 1.5 million people in the Lake Chilwa Basin and enhance resilience of their natural resource base. This will be achieved through development and implementation of basin-wide climate change adaptations in support of the Malawi National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) to enhance the capacity of communities to adopt sustainable livelihood and natural resource management practices,” Phalira explains.

According to him, the Programme will endeavour to strengthen local and district institutions operating in Machinga, Phalombe and Zomba to better manage natural resources and build resilience to climate change; facilitate cross-basin and cross-sector natural resource management and planning for climate change throughout the basin; improve household and enterprise adaptive capacity in basin hotspots; and promote mitigation of the effects of climate change through improved forest management and governance.

Group Village Headwoman Chonde of Mulanje is eager to mobilize her subjects into taking a leading role in fighting deforestation by planting more trees. She, however, fears lack of resources would choke her dreams.

“We’ve a lot of idle land that we can develop into woodlots and village forests. But the problem is that we don’t have seedlings,” said the chief. She asked Forestry Department to intervene.

As she returns home with a bundle of wood on her head, a highly-laden Saka wonders how the bush will support their firewood needs for the next ten years. Her village headman has not proposed any project on developing village forests yet.

END

Mutharika alephera kukhala nawo pa mapemphero a zaufulu

Wolemba: Watipaso Mzungu Jnr

Msonkhano wa mapemphero opempherera mavuto apa dziko lonse la pansi umene udachitikira ku Barcelona masiku apitawa, Pulezidenti Bingu wa Mutharika adalephera kukakhala nawo kaamba koti adatanginidwa ndi ntchito zina ku US, Iran ndi Germany.

Mapempherowo adakonzedwa ndi bungwe la Community of Sant’ Egidio ndi mutu woti: “Kukhala limodzi nthawi ya mazunzo. Banja la anthu a mafuko osiyanasiyana, banja la Mulungu”.

Mlangizi wa Pulezidenti pa nkhani za chipembedzo, Mbusa Billy Gama, adatsimikiza za nkhaniyi. Koma iwo adati Mutharika sadakatha kukhala nawo pa mampherowo kaamba koti adatanganidwa ndi ntchito zina.

Mmodzi wa akuluakulu a bungwe la Sant’ Egidio, a Franciso Zuze adati Mutharika adayitanidwa ngati wapampando wa bungwe la African Union (AU) ndipo amayenera kulankhula moyambilira.

A Zuze adati Mutharika ali ndi udindo wawukulu pa ntchito yothetsa mavuto omwe dziko la Africa likukumana nawo monga njala, umphawi, mavuto a zachuma komanso mikangano pa ndale m’mayiko a mu Africa.

“Africa ikukumana ndi mavuto ambiri a zachuma, kusagwirizana pakati pa zipani zolamula ndi zotsutsa komanso umphawi. Choncho nkofunikira kuti adayenera kukhala nawo,” adatero mkuluyu.

Gama adati ngakhale Mutharika adalonjeza kukakhala nawo pa msonkhanowo, koma sadakatha kaamba koti msonkhanowo udachitika pa nthawi imene ankagwira ntchito zina ku US, Iran ndi Cuba.

M’malo mwake, Mutharika adatuma nduna ya za ulimi a Peter Mwanza, Nicholas Dausi, ma bishopu opuma awiri; Allan Chamgwera ndi Felix Mkhori komanso Gama kuti akawayimire.

Koma, a Mkhori sadathe kupita nawo malinga ndi zifukwa zina.

Enanso omwe adayitanidwa ku msonkhanowo ndi a zipembedzo cha Chisilamu, Chiyuda komanso azipembedzo Chamakolo.

[Yatha]

Mfundo za WHO pa fodya zikwiyitsa Africa

Wolemba:Watipaso Mzungu Jnr

Nthumwi zochokera mayiko 11 omwe amalima fodya ati ndi okwiya ndi mfundo zomwe bungwe la  za umoyo pa dziko lapansi, World Health Organization (WHO), likufuna kukhazikitsa pa ulimi wa fodya ndipo zagwirizana kukatsutsa malamulowo pa msonkhano womwe udzachitikire ku Uruguay mwezi wa November chaka chino.

Bungwe la WHO likufuna kuthetsa ulimi wa fodya wa bale ndi oriental, iwo akuti fodyayu ali ndi zinthu zina zimene zitha kuyambitsa matenda kwa osuta.

Koma pamsonkhano umene udachitikira ku Lusaka dziko la Zambia sabata latha, nthumwi zochokera ku Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Madagascar, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia komanso Zambia zidagwirizana kukatsutsa mfundozi ati chifukwa choti mfundozo zitha kubweretsa umphawi kwa anthu a mu Africa.

M’chikalata chimene adatulutsa pakutha pa msonkhanowo, nthumwizo zidati kuthetsa ulimi wa fodya kutha kubweretsa mavuto owopsa monga njala ndi kusowa kwa ndalama.

“Fodya ndi mbewu yokhayo yodalirika imene imatibweretsera ndalama zakunja m’mayiko mwathu. Anthu ambirimbiri atha kuvutika kwambiri WHO itathetsa malonda komanso ulimi wa fodya,” chidatero chikalatacho.

Ndipo mkulu wa bungwe la alimi a fodya ku Zambia, Tobacco Association of Zambia, a Knox Mbazima adati anthu ochuluka amene amadalira ulimi wa fodya mu Africa adzasowa mtengo wogwira.

“Ngati mfundozi zingavomerezedwa ndi kugwiritsidwa ntchito, anthu ambiri adzachotsedwa ntchito m’makampani omwe amagula ndi kugulitsa fodya, mayiko a mu Africa adzasowa ndalama zakunja komanso mfundozi zidzabweretsa umphawi kaamba koti palibe mbewu ina panopa imene ingalowe mmalo mwa fodya,” adatero a Mbazima.

Dziko la Malawi lati ilo ndilokonzeka kumenyera ufulu wa alimi a fodya. Wachiwiri kwa nduna ya za malonda ndi mafakitale, a Shadreck Jonasi, adati iwo alembera kale ma bungwe a COMESA ndi SADC pakusagwirizana kwawo ndi malamulo atsopano a WHO.

“Amalawi oposa 750,000 adzavutika kowopsa ngati malamulowa angadzavomerezedwe. Komanso chuma cha dziko lino chidzakhudzidwa kwambiri poti ife timadalira ulimi wa fodya pa ndalama za kunja kwa dziko lino,” a Jonasi adatero.

Malawi ndi limodzi mwa mayiko a mu Africa amene amalima fodya wapamwamba ndi kumugulitsa yense ku makampani akunja omwe amapanga ndudu komanso zinthu zina kuchokera ku fodya.

[Yatha]

Africa against WHO guidelines on tobacco

...ban to promote poverty, starvation

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR

Delegates from 11 African tobacco growing countries have unanimously spoken against World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on tobacco, saying the proposed ban on the use of ingredients in the manufacture of tobacco products would “actively promote poverty and starvation” in the continent.

This comes a few days after a South African-based international policy analyst, Tim Hughs, had warned Malawi against its silence on the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has the capacity to plunge Malawi’s “economy into total aid dependence”. According to the World Bank, tobacco earns Malawi over 70 percent of its foreign exchange. The green gold further contributes 34 percent to our gross domestic product (GDP).

“The impact of the ban on Malawi will be disproportionally severe. We are just six weeks away from a decision that could literally shut down Malawi’s economy and plunge the country into total aid dependence. But Malawi is not speaking,” Hughs told our sister paper, The Daily Times, in the week.

But WHO through Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), a civil society helping WHO in the development and implementation of FCTC, has parried away the fears, arguing that, contrary to industry claims, its guidelines, to be discussed by the 171 parties to the treaty in Uruguay in November this year, do not recommend a ban on burley tobacco, arguing cigarettes containing burley continue to be sold in countries with strong restrictions on flavourings.

The health body explains that the guidelines under contention only recommend that countries should “restrict or prohibit” flavourings that increase palatability, have colouring properties, create the impression of health benefits or are associated with energy and vitality.

“FCA responds to misinformation being spread by organisations of tobacco growers about draft guidelines on tobacco flavours prepared for the Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the FCTC, which will be held in Uruguay in November.  In a factsheet and question-answer document, FCA clarifies that the guidelines are designed to remove additives that make tobacco products attractive to youth. It also explains that the guidelines do not ban particular types of tobacco but recommend that Parties to the FCTC ‘restrict or prohibit’ flavourings,” says the fact sheet sourced on http://www.fctc.org.

“There is also widespread misunderstanding among consumers about tobacco products, their constituents, emissions and harmfulness. Therefore, governments – instead of the tobacco industry – need to control communication to consumers.  One major cause for concern is flavourings and additives being widely used in cigarettes and other tobacco products to increase their palatability and attractiveness – particularly among young people,” it adds.

But during their one-day Consultative Conference on WHO FCTC, which took place in Lusaka, Zambia on Thursday, delegates from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Madagascar, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and the host Zambia resolved to vehemently oppose the guidelines arguing their implementation would lead millions of African tobacco farmers facing starvation. 

They noted that Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO FCTC deal with the contents and emissions of tobacco products and would effectively ban the use of ingredients other than tobacco in cigarette production. 

“These ingredients are necessary in the manufacture of blended tobacco products, composed primarily of burley and oriental tobacco, which account for approximately half the cigarettes smoked in the world. Without them, farmers of burley and oriental would see demand for their crops disappear. As a result, millions of African tobacco farmers would face starvation if the WHO FCTC articles are implemented,” says the statement.

Tobacco Association of Zambia general manager Knox Mbazima expressed worries over the new guidelines, saying hundreds of thousands of African tobacco-producing farmers will, effectively, be put out of business overnight should the proposal be adopted.

“What we growers are facing now is less than extinction followed by the significant impact in the region's economic prospects. Jobs, government income and international and local investments are at stake. African farmers are already at a disadvantage due to agricultural subsidies that makes it difficult to find viable alternatives. In fact, these guidelines will lead to the promotion of poverty and starvation in Africa,” said Knox Mbazima.

In an email interview yesterday, Wayne Lowe, an official from Diplocom Communications Internanational who released the statement, said top government officials will now write urgent letters to WHO in an effort to get their opposing voices heard. He did not indicate the actual date.

“There is currently no viable agricultural alternative for these farmers and their families. Alternative crops often do not compare in terms of economic yield. Tobacco yields a high income per hectare; alternative crops may require more land if crop diversification is to be viable, the replacement crop has to be specialized or the cultivated area needs expansion,” said Lowe. 

On Monday, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Shadreck Jonasi told The Daily Times Malawi has already taken up the matter through Sadc and Comesa to use the bodies’ membership into the FCTC to lobby against the matter. 

“Malawi’s position is that this measure would have been introduced on a selective basis because its translation will constrict demand for burley for which Malawi is a major producer with 750,000 households to be affected negatively,” said Jonasi.

Tobacco remains a cash crop for thousands of farmers in Africa including Malawi where about 700,000 farmers produce the leaf and sell it all to international cigarette makers.

END