Malawi

The Coordination Union for Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE), in collaboration with the Malawi Department of Forestry organized a training workshop entitled 'Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in the National Forest Programme Process in Malawi' from 7 - 11 June, 2010 at the Crystal Waters Resort in Salima, Malawi. The overall objective of the workshop was to develop the capacity of forestry decision makers to meaningfully enhance the practical application of participation in forest sector decision-making.

The workshop, which was financed by FAO and the NFP Facility, attracted a total of 19 participants from government ministries and departments, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector. The workshop was opened by the representative of FAO, Mr. Mike Chihambakwe, who explained that the NFP was an agreed intergovernmental framework in pursuit of sustainable forest management. On her part, Ms Trinitus Senganimalunje, who represented the Director of Forestry, thanked the FAO and CURE for funding the workshop and organizing the workshop, respectively.

The workshop began by analyzing the Malawi NFP, and it was noted that while Malawi had produced one of the best NFP documents in Southern Africa, its implementation was weak. Later, participants were introduced to different tools and methods in the facilitation of the NFP process. Participants also had the opportunity to experiment with the tools and methods learned during the workshop by facilitating discussion amongst three field stakeholders: a village community managing a forest, curio makers and sellers, and members of staff from the Salima District Forestry Office.

The workshop culminated in the development of action plans based on the following identified and prioritized strategies (in order of priority) to enhance the NFP process:

• Establish national forest programme coordination units at both district and national levels;
• Develop strategies to mobilize resources for implementation and monitoring of the national forest programmes;
• Carry out stakeholder capacity building especially in the area of participatory approaches;
• Carry out policy review, advocacy and lobbying;
• Mobilize stakeholders through awareness creation;
• Provide an enabling environment for the decentralization of forest management; and
• Develop documentation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

A Report on the proceeding of the National Forest Programme Training Workshop  was developed subsequent to the training to provide an overview of activities conducted, as well as the recommendations and conclusions that emerged as outcomes of the workshop. The group also agreed to draft a post-workshop follow-up plan that would involve the national multi-stakeholder steering committee and the Forest Department.