At Ripple Africa, we are very proud that Force Ngwira, our Malawi Country Director was interviewed on last night’s ITV News at Ten about the impact of climate change on Malawi.
Our projects are a vital part of the solution to climate change and also address the impact of population growth as the two issues are closely linked.
Deforestation to clear land for farming has led to changes in rainfall patterns and flood defences, leading to more periods of drought and heavy flooding.
Our forest conservation, tree planting and fuel efficient cookstove projects all educate people about the danger of further deforestation and provide simple, cost-effective and sustainable solutions.
We are helping communities to protect 340km2 of Malawi’s few remaining forests, have helped them plant over 17 million trees and 47,000 houses now use only a third of the wood that they previously used for cooking by using our simple cookstove.
Lake Malawi is the most biodiverse freshwater lake in the world but has been affected by Malawi’s high population growth rate. This has led to an increase in the number of fishers using smaller meshed nets in an attempt to catch more fish.
Our Fish for Tomorrow project operates along 450km of Lake Malawi’s shoreline and educates fishing communities about the importance of allowing baby fish to grow and breed, thereby increasing the overall number of fish in the lake.
Communities are empowered to protect the fish on which they rely, particularly in the shallow breeding areas which have been affected by falling water levels caused by climate change.
There is cause for hope in the run up to COP26, but organisations such as ours need support to extend the reach of the projects that we run to help Malawi cope with the impact of climate change and population growth.
