Enhancing efforts for productive and resilient dryland landscapes in Southern Africa

Blantyre, Malawi – Government officials, experts and landscape managers from across Southern Africa met today for a week of discussions on the challenges and solutions for drylands in the region organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partners.

The meeting, from 29 July to 2 August, is the second gathering of regional stakeholders in the Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP), a cross-sectoral initiative financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The programme works with 11 countries – including seven in Southern Africa – to reduce and reverse degradation, desertification and deforestation of land and ecosystems in drylands while sustaining local livelihoods.

Southern Africa faces challenges in managing dryland landscapes, including soil erosion, deforestation, and water scarcity, posing a significant threat to the environment, biodiversity, and livelihoods of local communities.

“Our landscapes, especially those in dryland regions, are at a critical juncture and the need for innovative and integrated approaches is increasingly more urgent each year," said Zhimin Wu, Director of FAO’s Forestry Division, in opening remarks.

“Innovation starts when the wealth of local knowledge, evidence-based sustainable forest and land management practices, and informed-decision making converge.”

During a week of practical discussions, approximately 100 participants from 10 countries will exchange knowledge on evidence-based and scalable good practices and forge partnerships for more sustainable, productive and resilient dryland landscapes and livelihoods in Southern Africa.

Challenges for the Miombo woodlands

Covering over 40 percent of the Earth’s landmass, drylands are home to and support 2 million people and supply about 60 percent of the world’s food production. Ensuring stronger and more resilient productive dryland landscapes and ecosystems means a better life for dryland populations and the world.

In Africa, more than 65 percent of the surface area is dryland landscapes. Some 266 million hectares of this is in the Miombo woodlands – one of the world's most significant biodiversity conservation areas stretching across seven countries. This valuable hotspot is experiencing deforestation and land degradation that are driving biodiversity loss and a decrease in productivity and ecosystem services, affecting the lives of over 150 million people, 100 million of whom live in rural areas.

Forests and trees play a crucial role in supporting rural communities in the Miombo woodlands by helping them recover from disasters and addressing food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty. However, the countries within the Miombo region have some of the highest per capita wood fuel energy consumption. Sustainable forest and land management practices in this region must therefore protect lands and forests while considering the interconnectedness of food and energy.

Sharing lessons learnt and scaling up successful initiatives

This week will build on the assessment work and capacity development activities carried out by the programme from 2021 to date, which have identified three overarching common management challenges affecting the region: decline in agricultural productivity with increasing pressure on dryland forest; lack of access to integrated extension systems; and lack of access to markets and sustainable financing.

Participants will focus on sustainable intensification of agriculture through diversified production and will brainstorm transboundary approaches to tackling common management challenges by scaling up targeted green value chains through sustainable land management. By considering individual country projects, participants will learn how to draft holistic land-use plans that can amplify impact from targeted pockets to the country and region overall.

Delegates will also participate in a field trip to see how forest and farm producer organizations in Malawi are successfully implementing resilient integrated food and energy systems. 

DSL-IP

The DSL-IP is led by FAO in cooperation with a vast network of partners and knowledge hubs and operates in 11 countries – seven in the Miombo and Mopane woodlands of Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe), two in the savannas of East and West Africa (Burkina Faso and Kenya) and two in the Great Steppes of Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Mongolia).