Environmental Management Framework

Development and the Environment

Soil and Land

Forestry

Fisheries

Water Resources

Biological Diversity

Human Habitat

Climate Change

Malawi's economy is very fragile and lacks the flexibility to adjust to external shocks because of a narrow production base. Agriculture continues to dominate the production structure, contributing over 35% of the GDP, with 25% being accounted for by small-holder farmers.

A significant contributing factor to the fragility of the economy has mainly been the poor performance of macro-economic and fiscal policy failures, and an unfavourable external trade environment The macro-economic policy regime, within the framework of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), have greatly influenced the outcomes of sectoral policies governing land, agriculture, forestry, and environmental management.

Unfortunately, the economy has not substantially improved for the benefit of the majority of the major economic actors, the small-holder farmers, who depend heavily on land and its ecosystems. The sharp drop in the value of exchange rates of the Malawi Kwacha, which was a critical requirement of the SAPs, has 1ed to significant declines in per capita earnings, and the rural poor have been adversely affected. Faced with a shrinking resource base, the poor have had to extend the area used for agriculture to marginal areas in order to survive, due to declining per capita farmland in customary areas. The over-dependence on wood-fuel energy has worsened the environmental situation.

The nature and scope of legislation review required

Severe poverty is above the average for sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, efforts to increase small-holder agricultural productivity, as one of the measures to reduce poverty, will greatly assist in the conservation and protection of natural resources and the environment.

The Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Vision 2020 process will likely provide this framework, which have as a main objective, to transform the economic structures in order that they contribute positively toward raising the living standards to a level where people have equitable access to basic needs and services and to gainful employment.

Recommendations:

• efforts to diversify Malawi's economy from over-dependence on agricultural production and to raise the contribution of other sectors in the economy will thus remain a critical challenge;

 
• while implementation of sound macro-economic policy measures will remain a basic requirement, support measures or safety nets will need to be built into the process,

 
• increasing small-holder agricultural productivity, as one of the measures to reduce poverty, will greatly assist in the conservation and protection of natural resources and the environment