Government has urged Malawians to use natural resources responsibly to ensure future generations can also meet their needs.
Deputy Director of Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Benon Yassin, made the call in Mangochi during the opening of a multi-stakeholder dialogue on mainstreaming Indigenous and local knowledge in biodiversity conservation organised by the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), in collaboration with the Environmental Affairs Department (EAD).
Yassin noted that current generations can meet their needs because their ancestors safeguarded the environment, stressing the need for continued conservation efforts.
“Most of our livelihood depends on nature, which means if we do not take care of our nature now, future generations will have problems,” said Yassin.
“Let us integrate knowledge that has been gathered through science and that from our indigenous and local knowledge holders in the protection of our biodiversity.”
The dialogue brought together chiefs, indigenous and local knowledge holders, environmental scientists, academia, and policy makers to reflect on strengthening the integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge and Human Rights-Based Approaches into biodiversity conservation, management, and policy frameworks.
The meeting comes at a time when LUANAR for the past four years has been implementing the Malawi National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) and the Malawi National Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) Outlook on Biodiversity Project.
According to the Project’s Manager Alice Kammwamba from LUANAR, the two initiatives aim to assess biodiversity trends in Malawi and strengthen the integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) and Human Rights-Based Approaches (HRBA) into biodiversity conservation, management, and policy frameworks.
The project is receiving support from Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF).
