Assessing the effectiveness of Malawi's forestry regulatory regime towards achieving sustainable forest management

This study assessed the effectiveness of Malawi’s forestry regulatory regime towards achieving sustainable forest management (SFM). The main purpose was to examine the policy contexts and institutional conditions within Malawi that aim to generate effective SFM. The study involved a comprehensive literature review of policies, legislations, journals and government reports. The study has revealed that Malawi has several forest regulatory frameworks that enshrine SFM concept. However, implementation of these frameworks has been a big issue due to poor coordination; and inadequate financial and human resources. Effectiveness of the forest regime to achieve SFM is associated with increased forest cover. In Malawi, the outcome indicators of the forest regime like increased forest cover and incomes have been declining instead of increasing. Therefore, Malawi’s forest regime has not been effective to achieve SFM. It is therefore, recommended to strengthen the capacity of forest administration institutions at central, regional and local levels