Malawi has been urged to accelerate its shift away from biomass energy, restore degraded landscapes and boost productivity on existing farmland if it is to stem environmental losses.
The National State of the Environment and Outlook Report indicates that these losses are draining nearly seven percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year, underscoring the high economic cost of inaction.
The report, the first to be published in more than 15 years and released on Friday in Lilongwe during the commemoration of the World Environment and Biodiversity Day, shows that environmental degradation has become one of the biggest threats to Malawi 2063 (MW2063), the country’s long-term development plan that seeks to turn Malawi into a lower middle-income economy by 2030 and an upper middle-income economy by 2063,
The report cautions that continued land degradation, deforestation and water stress are undermining economic growth, increasing disaster risks and constraining investment in agriculture, tourism, mining and infrastructure.
Reads the report in part: “Without urgent corrective action, Malawi risks locking itself into a cycle of environmental decline, rising poverty and low economic growth.”
The report identifies rapid population growth, agricultural land expansion, heavy dependence on biomass energy, climate variability and fragmented institutional coordination as the main drivers of environmental degradation.
It recommends an energy transition, sustainable land management and stronger environmental governance as priority interventions.
Speaking at the launch, Ministry of Natural Resources Principal Secretary Misheck Munthali said environmental degradation is amplifying the impact of climate-related disasters on an economy that remains heavily dependent on natural resources.
“These disasters have devastating effects on our lives, property and infrastructure. Simply put, they impact hard on our economy, which is already fragile as it is already a natural resources-based economy,” he said.
Munthali argued that the natural resources sector should be recognised as central to economic development because environmental losses ultimately affect productive sectors across the economy.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Rebecca Addah-Donto said the report demonstrates how environmental degradation has evolved into a development and economic challenge.
She said land degradation affects nearly 70 percent of Malawi’s land, while more than 4.4 million people face acute food insecurity worsened by floods, droughts and cyclones.
“The environment is not a peripheral concern; it is literally the foundation of life, of health, of peace and of prosperity,” she said.
The report shows that about eight million hectares of land have been degraded nationwide, while forest cover has fallen from 28 percent in 2010 to 22 percent with about 96 percent of households still relying on biomass for cooking, contributing to deforestation estimated at roughly 33 000 hectares annually.
It also highlights mounting pressure on agriculture, the country’s largest employer and source of livelihoods.
Average farm sizes have declined from 0.78 hectares in 2010 to 0.66 hectares in 2024 as population growth increases demand for land, according to the report.
At the same time, fertiliser use increased by 52.3 percent between 2013 and 2021, but maize yields remain below 2 500 kilogrammes per hectare, suggesting that poor soil health has become a major constraint on productivity.
The report notes that soil erosion reaches nearly 40 metric tonnes per hectare annually in some districts, affecting the country’s food security.
