UNCDF backs local climate action
Chiliya Hill, located west of Mulanje Town, is a secret healing place and a source of good luck for its pilgrims.
Multitudes sneak onto the rocky hill to pray and wash away bad luck at a fountain that never runs dry.
However, the growing population regrets chipping at its forests for fuelwood, building materials and new croplands.
“To us, the hill is a sacred shrine because of the two rocks with a fountain that never runs dry even after the rainy season. As trees vanish, rainwater running downslope scrapes fertile soils from our crop fields into the Ruo River, leaving harvests dwindling,” says group village head Msoma.
The falling harvests from gullied farmlands compelled the villagers to plant 3 100 trees on the hill, thanks to the Local Climate Adaptive Living (Local) Facility funded by Denmark through the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
UNCDF supports conservation efforts and modernises irrigation farming in Mulanje, Salima, Nkhotakota and Mwanza, helping communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.
“We’ve learnt the hard way,” says forestry extension officer Wyson Sikheya. “As forests disappear faster than we replenish them, the barren fields no longer produce enough food to take us to the next harvest.”
Sikheya works with the community to plant and care for trees.
They remove weeds from the mountain forest every two months.
“We want to make the hill green again because it is central to our health and food security. This is where people pray for good health and get holy water for healing,” he says.
Indigenous knowledge boosts forest conservation in the country, which has isolated leafy spots in gravesites.
“We are glad that 3 085 trees have survived. We collectively care for them so they can grow and protect us from hunger and other harsh effects of climate change,” says Sikheya.
Mulanje District sits in the Mozambique wind channel from the Indian Ocean. It has suffered devastating disasters for the past decade. They included El Nino-induced flooding in 2015, Cyclone Idai in 2019, Cyclone Ana in 2022 and Cyclone Freddy last year.
The disasters destroyed homes and roads, buried crop fields in silt and left thousands requiring urgent food aid.
Says Msosa Village Natural Resources Management Committee secretary Fatsireni Yaweni: “We hope these trees will protect our lives, health and soils. We’ve asked surrounding farmers to respect the boundaries and stop encroaching into the hill.”
Locals take turns watering and patrolling the trees. In turn, they are permitted to collect deadwood for cooking, as over 95 percent of Malawians still burn firewood and charcoal.
“Reducing the appetite for fuelwood and restoring our forests can help safeguard our communities from frequent disasters that destroy our crops, homes and lives,” says Yaweni, a mother of three.
Their home was blown away in March 2023 when Freddy dumped torrents and landslides across southern Malawi.
This year, the family of five harvested just a bag from a maize field that once produced five, a drop Yaweni blames on drought induced by El Nino across southern Africa.
She states: “We are bearing the brunt of frequent disasters, but our communal forest reminds us that we can do something to reduce their frequency and severity.
“This is about our village, our lives, our children and our future. If we make our area green again, our children will inherit a safe environment, good rains and fertile fields for their well-being and their children.”
During Cyclone Freddy, the Ruo swelled beyond its banks, washing away maturing crops in the vast farmlands now buried in sand, rocks and debris that make it unviable for crops.
Communities under GVH Msoma plan to expand the hillside forest for honey production while planting more trees along the river as well as in their fields, homesteads and bare spots.
“The trees will protect us from hunger, drought, strong winds and flooding,” says Yaweni.
District forest officer Newton Sidala is thrilled with the growing public awareness.
“The district’s proneness to climate shocks is worsened by deforestation fuelled by population pressure, especially` charcoal and timber production and the search for new farmlands.
“We thank Local for giving us seedlings and the capacity to plant these trees in Msoma, Salamba, Machokola and Mabuka. With frequent disasters caused by climate change, people now appreciate the benefits of trees and take care of them.” Malawi is one of 35 countries that have adopted the Local approach, with the potential to reach half a billion people globally.