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Zomba Forest Lodge
Listen to the Silence...
TREEZ
The Reforestation of the Environment and Ecosystem of Zomba
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it is not.
Dr Seuss - The Lorax
Due to the need for fuel wood and timber, deforestation is rampant and uncontrolled throughout Malawi. Forests are being cut down at an alarming rate with no end in sight.
With over 70% of the population living in extreme poverty (World Bank), a growing population, and consequently a decreasing amount of arable land for families to farm, the pressures on Malawi's natural resources are growing exponentially. The reality is that when people are desperately poor, they are unable to make forward-thinking decisions. It is all about the now.
Forests are being cut down all over Malawi, it is happening quietly, discretely, mostly away from main roads and urban areas but the hundreds of bags of charcoal produced from these forests are visible along all main roads, in plain sight.
A few people find this heartbreaking, but not enough find this alarming. In fact, general opinion about global deforestation often seems to be that this is a minor problem compared to the health issues or educational issues facing the Global South. But the trees and conservation are intrinsically linked to health and wellbeing. If we do not look after our land, our soils, our trees, the land itself will not be able to sustain the needs of its population.
Malawi will be facing much more than a 'fuel wood famine' - it will be facing a full-blown humanitarian crisis with little or no access to water, impoverished soils which will generate little or no harvests to feed its population, and no money to import what it needs. We are not being alarmists, we are being realists. It is happening and it breaks our hearts.
TREEZ is trying to reverse the trend and desperately needs your help:
Zomba TREEZ aims to mitigate the damage caused by the loss of the biomass and help reduce the effects of climate change in the Zomba area. Through sports and conservation group sponsorship the communities are working on raising awareness, tree planting, promoting natural regeneration and fire prevention in order to increase water retention, reduce soil erosion, provide clean air and water, and protect and preserve Malawi’s biodiversity.
This is not unique to Malawi. Deforestation is a global issue; environmental degradation affects us all and the whole world is suffering the devastating consequences.
TREEZ is a small organization and we work at village level. Hand in hand with the communities, we are planting trees, protecting ecosystems and raising awareness, though sport, music and learning
The graph below says it all, and that is why we all need to act, NOW.