Sustainable Natural Resources Management and Utilization -SUNRMU

Overview

The project site, TA Chigaru lies in the North of Blantyre District and is one of the drier areas of Blantyre. The area suffers from prolonged droughts which leads to food shortages. Maize plants usually do not grow to farmers’ expectations because of the dry weather and low soil moisture. For these reasons, people in the area have exploited forest resources as an alternative source of income. This has resulted in deforestation, land degradation and flash floods during the rainy season, causing damage to both farmers’ gardens and to biodiversity.
The objective of the project is to enhance community participation in integrated natural resources management with regard to forest, land and water resources rehabilitation. One of the specific objectives is capacity building of the Forestry Extension workers on Natural Resource Management who support the local communities. Another particular objective is to provide technical expertise/knowledge to the communities to enable them to manage the area on their own after the project has been completed.
The project thus provides training of trainers for the Forestry Extension workers, and training on natural resources (forest, land and water) rehabilitation and utilisation for local communities. In addition, restoration of degraded sites is being implemented; including soil conservation measures, raising and planting tree seedlings, and promotion of natural regeneration through management of coppices, saplings, weeding and early controlled burning.