The Role of Engineers in Sustainable Watershed Management Conference|
22nd March 2024| Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) | Bunda Campus
Catchment management in Malawi dates beyond the more popularized Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept. Catchment management was enshrined in natural resources management committees, typically decentralised to a village level. The lowest possible institution was commonly called the Village Natural Resources Management Committee (VNRMC). These committees were mandated to protect forest reserves that were close to the particular local communities. Many argued that the committees were successful at managing catchments, such that there was no wanton cutting down of trees and other catchment degradation activities that are now common in catchments. There was also respect for policy and legislation, so people adhered to stipulations. The most cited example is the adherence to buffer zones, such that cultivation and other activities, including farming and construction of settlements in flood plains, were rare. However, critics say it may not be mere adherence to policy and legislation that catchments were protected. Some indicate that factors could be many, including low population, which meant no scramble for more land for cultivation and generally low demand for natural resources. While the government has been implementing a number of initiatives, with an overall goal of improved catchment management, such as the establishment of the National Water Resources Authority and its regional and catchment-based organizations, National Water Development program, Shire River Basin Project, Water Watershed Services Improvement Project, and Malawi Resilience and Disaster Risk Management, challenges of catchment degradation are intensifying with climate change impacts and population growth. To this end, the Basin Closure Determination project suggests a system design approach under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (G-20-57628). This concept not only assesses the water resources availability in a particular basin and its current water demand but also projects the same in the future to predict when a particular basin or watershed will still have water resources to meet the future demand. This approach provides a proactive means of managing catchments before they become degraded.
Keywords: catchment degradation, Malawi, community, IWRM, basin closure
Chunga, BA | Catchment Management and Water Resources – Successes and Failures in Malawi. The Role of Engineers in Sustainable Watershed Management Conference 22nd March 2024. Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture Engineering, Lilongwe, Malawi.
