National Forest Policy of Malawi.

The goal of the National Forest Policy is to sustain the contribution of the national forest resources to the quality of life in the country by conserving the resources for the benefit of the nation. The general objectives of the policy are to satisfy the people’s needs, particularly those of the rural people who are the most disadvantaged. The general objectives will, therefore, aim at: allowing all citizens to have regulated and monitored access to some forest products; enacting legislation allowing to access to the use of forests and forest products, and promote equity and participation by local communities; contributing towards improving the quality of life in the rural communities and providing a stable local economy in order to reduce the degenerative impact on the environment that often accompanies poverty; establishing appropriate incentives that will promote community-based conservation and a sustainable utilization of the forest resources as a means of alleviating poverty, including on-farm trees, and fostering the growing of trees by all sections of the communities in order to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency of wood and forest-derived products;