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This dataset represents the opportunity area for implementing community forest and woolot interventions as modeled for the National Forest Landscape Restoration Assessment.Community forests (such as graveyards and village forest areas (VFAs)) and woodlots are areas of customary or private land set aside and managed for wood and range of provisioning, regulating and non-wood-cultural services including, non-timber products, medicinal plants and burial. They may be managed by a Traditional Authority, a community, a family or an individual. Community non-cultural forests and woodlots, if planned and managed properly, can provide a regular supply of products (e.g., poles, timber, fuel wood, fruit, etc.) for household consumption and/or for sale. Both through provision of wood products and income, community forests can reduce pressure on forest reserves and other protected areas.
The criteria for mapping areas potentially suitable for community forests and woodlots targeted areas that are unsuitable or less desirable for cultivation, and thus would not interfere with a community’s ability to produce food given the high value and competition for agricultural land. These areas were defined in this analysis as uncultivated lands on steep slopes with shallow soils, given that these conditions limit agricultural productivity. It was also important to make sure the proposed areas were within a reasonable distance of village centers because their primary benefit is to provide a local, sustainable source of fuel wood for households. To this end, the data inputs included: land cover that is currently not cultivated or used primarily for cultivation; slopes greater than 20 percent; very shallow soils (less than 30 cm) and/or soils with more than 80 percent coarse mineral fragments; areas within 5-km of a village center; and areas outside of the forest reserve and other protected area boundaries. Combining these datasets produced the map of opportunity area. The total estimated opportunities area for community forests and woodlots in Malawi is more than 753,000 hectares, which is approximately 8% of the total land area of the country.
The data were then prioritized by three socioeconomic and environmental factors that were determined during stakeholder consultation to be the most important for establishing community forests and woodlots. In other words, where data for these socioeconomic or environmental criteria overlapped with opportunity area for community forests and woodlots, then the areas were identified as priorities. The three criteria used for prioritizing opportunity areas for community forests and woodlots were: 1) poverty, defined as areas with the highest proportion of population living on less than $1.25/day; 2) access to markets, which is defined as areas closest to major markets and roadways; and 3) gender, defined as areas with the highest proportion of female population (who are most commonly responsible for gathering fuelwood and non-timber forest products).
This dataset identifies where all three of these socioeconomic and environmental criteria overlapped, and are therefore the highest priority for establishing community forests and woodlots.
This dataset represents the opportunity area for implementing community forest and woolot interventions as modeled for the National Forest Landscape Restoration Assessment.Community forests (such as graveyards and village forest areas (VFAs)) and woodlots are areas of customary or private land set aside and managed for wood and range of provisioning, regulating and non-wood-cultural services including, non-timber products, medicinal plants and burial. They may be managed by a Traditional Authority, a community, a family or an individual. Community non-cultural forests and woodlots, if planned and managed properly, can provide a regular supply of products (e.g., poles, timber, fuel wood, fruit, etc.) for household consumption and/or for sale. Both through provision of wood products and income, community forests can reduce pressure on forest reserves and other protected areas.
The criteria for mapping areas potentially suitable for community forests and woodlots targeted areas that are unsuitable or less desirable for cultivation, and thus would not interfere with a community’s ability to produce food given the high value and competition for agricultural land. These areas were defined in this analysis as uncultivated lands on steep slopes with shallow soils, given that these conditions limit agricultural productivity. It was also important to make sure the proposed areas were within a reasonable distance of village centers because their primary benefit is to provide a local, sustainable source of fuel wood for households. To this end, the data inputs included: land cover that is currently not cultivated or used primarily for cultivation; slopes greater than 20 percent; very shallow soils (less than 30 cm) and/or soils with more than 80 percent coarse mineral fragments; areas within 5-km of a village center; and areas outside of the forest reserve and other protected area boundaries. Combining these datasets produced the map of opportunity area. The total estimated opportunities area for community forests and woodlots in Malawi is more than 753,000 hectares, which is approximately 8% of the total land area of the country.
The data were then prioritized by three socioeconomic and environmental factors that were determined during stakeholder consultation to be the most important for establishing community forests and woodlots. In other words, where data for these socioeconomic or environmental criteria overlapped with opportunity area for community forests and woodlots, then the areas were identified as priorities. The three criteria used for prioritizing opportunity areas for community forests and woodlots were: 1) poverty, defined as areas with the highest proportion of population living on less than $1.25/day; 2) access to markets, which is defined as areas closest to major markets and roadways; and 3) gender, defined as areas with the highest proportion of female population (who are most commonly responsible for gathering fuelwood and non-timber forest products).
This dataset identifies where all three of these socioeconomic and environmental criteria overlapped, and are therefore the highest priority for establishing community forests and woodlots.