Population - 13 million Ethnic groups - Black 98% (Chewa and Nganja 50%, Lomwe 15%, Ngoni & Yao 15%), white 1% Languages - Chichewa (official) Geography - Bordered by Tanzania to the north, Zambia to the west and Mozambique to the east and south, Malawi is landlocked. However, 1/5 of the country comprises of Lake Nyasa. Mountainous Nyika region, and Vwaza marsh in the north. Climate - Variations in altitude lead to wide differences in climate. The vast water surface of Lake Nyasa has a cooling effect, while recipitation is heaviest along its northern coast. We will be there for the cool winter. Roads - 15,451 km, of which 6,956 km paved

THE CYCLE OF LIFE IN MALAWI

Unlike the majority of places we will see on this trip, Malawi has a high population density with each of its two largest cities, Lilongwe and Blantyre, supporting half a million residents. This large population is almost entirely dependent on agriculture, as the country has no exportable mineral resources apart from land. Agriculture employs 85% of the working population, though about 90% of these are engaged in subsistence farming. This high subsistence level reflects the UN’s ranking of Malawi as the tenth poorest country in the world.

The pressure that such a large, agricultural population exerts on the land is immense. Given the urgent need to grow staple food, land is little valued as a conservation resource. It will be interesting for us to compare the situation here with that in other countries we will have passed through; where conservation makes the case for using land resources despite the severe restrictions this places on their agricultural value.

In Lake Nyasa, Malawi has an additional natural resource whose fisheries are important to the populations diet. But the demands of an increasingly large population have seen the commercial fish catch fall by 20% every five years in recent times. Management of such a significant resource is essential, and we will see Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiatives attempting this by promoting sustainable micro-businesses involving community participation.

ROUTE

• Our trip through Malawi is a relatively short 400 km, entering the country at Mzimba, and leaving at the northern point.
• Our major target is the Nyika-Vwaza Trust in the North, though we hope to visit many small CBNRM projects en route.