Awareness, Knowledge and Perception of Forest Dependent Communities on Climate Change in Malawi: A Case of Mchinji and Phirilongwe Forest Reserves in Malawi

Abstract

Projected climate change presents many challenges and opportunities for individuals, households and wider society on how to adapt. Local knowledge is key to help smallholder farmers to cope with climate change and variability to attain sustainable forest management. However, there is limited understanding of what shapes human adaptation to climate change in various sectors at local level including forestry in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study explored the awareness, knowledge and perception of forest-dependent communities on climate change and variability around Phirilongwe and Mchinji forest reserves in Malawi. Empirical data was collected using household surveys (n = 422), key informant interviews (16), and focus group discussions (8). Results suggest that 60 % of respondents in Mchinji were aware of climate change as compared to only 35% in Mangochi. Results record that respondents perceived increased erratic rainfall, high temperatures and strong winds and changes in seasons. The main factors influencing their climate perception includes possession of farming skills (p=0.002), Education (P=0.04), gender (P=0. 002) and possession of livestock keeping skills (p=0.02). However, the cube root stratification method indicates that their level of knowledge falls in the low-level category. Although negligible proportion of climate skepticisms was exposed, a strong belief in anthropogenic causes of climate change and willingness to adopt environmental friendly intervention measures were revealed. However, the presence of the believers in the cultural and spiritual causes of climate change in the study area presents a challenge to mobilize them towards implementation of climate intervention measures and forest management. We therefore recommend their participation in the climate adaptation intervention designs and multiple use of various strategies and methods that will help to address their livelihoods at the same time improve their climate information and knowledge.

Evolving environmental awareness and shifts in management priorities: a socioeconomic lens on the min river basin, China

“…A similar trend was found in recent research where the effects of demographic factors on environmental awareness gradually fade over time due to the universality of ecological degradation and social processes (Marshall and Duram, 2017;Du et al, 2018). However, environmental perception and behavioral intention have been reported to be negatively impacted by gender differences in exposure to environmental planning and engagement activities in Kenya and Malawi (Munthali et al, 2019;Chisale et al, 2022;Ombogoh et al, 2022). environmental concern showed a reverse trend compared to the other two components of EA (Table 9).…”

“…This study's findings regarding the higher perceived environmental risks associated with older individuals are consistent with those of Nguyen et al (2020). The living context, experience with natural disasters, and socioeconomic characteristics shape crisis awareness (Hong et al, 2018;Hong and Chang, 2020;Chisale et al, 2022). It is the level of concern and risk perception that drive higher awareness levels (Musacchio et al, 2021).…”

Macadamia Nuts as a Supplement to Cereal-Based Diets in Malawi

“…The commercial estate subsector encompasses medium and large-scale commercial estates ranging from 100 to over 10,000 ha, with land tenure systems primarily based on leasehold or freehold. Commercial estate producers are engaged in the multiplication of certified seed and cash crop production for domestic and export markets and are classified as having high input and high productivity [15][16][17]. Tobacco has been Malawi's main cash and export crop since the 1800s, falling under the commercial estate subsector [18].…”

Farmer preference for macadamia varieties and constraints to production in Malawi

“…Malawi is renowned for its diverse fruit crops, including bananas, citrus species, coffee, macadamia nuts, and tea. Bananas and citrus are particularly important, constituting a staple part of the diet in rural and urban areas, with approximately 95% of their production consumed domestically [4,5]. Additionally, coffee and tea are major products consumed locally and exported [6,7].…”