Under Chapter 63.01 of the Laws of Malawi, the Department of Forestry is empowered to protect, regulate and control the forests in the country in order to enhance sustainable supply of forest products to the Nation. The national policy goal is to sustain the contributions of national forest resources to uplift the quality of life in the country by conserving resources for the benefit of the nation. The general objective is to satisfy the people’s many diverse and changing needs, particularly those of rural people who are the most disadvantaged (Ministry of Natural Resources, 1996).
The Government of Malawi is a signatory to numerous bilateral and international agreements and conventions linked to the environment and forestry, including the Rio Declaration, the Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biodiversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Malawi was also coordinator of inland fisheries, forestry and wildlife sectors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region (Ministry of Natural Resources, 1996).
