Government of Malawi Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining SIXTH NATIONAL REPORT TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY March 2019 i TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT .............................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF BOXES ...................................................................................................................................... vii Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. viii SECTION ONE: INFORMATION ON THE TARGETS BEING PURSUED AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Description of National Targets ................................................................................................................. 1 National Target 1: ................................................................................................................................... 1 National Target 2 .................................................................................................................................... 3 National Target 3 .................................................................................................................................... 5 National Target 4 .................................................................................................................................... 6 National Target 5: ................................................................................................................................... 8 National Target 6: ................................................................................................................................. 10 National Target 7 .................................................................................................................................. 12 National Target 8: ................................................................................................................................. 14 National Target 9: ................................................................................................................................. 15 National Target 10: ............................................................................................................................... 19 National Target 11: ............................................................................................................................... 21 National Target 12................................................................................................................................. 23 National Target 13................................................................................................................................. 24 National Target 14: ............................................................................................................................... 26 National Target 15................................................................................................................................. 28 National Target 16................................................................................................................................. 30 SECTION II: MEASURES TAKEN TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN II ............................................... 33 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE ONE: IMPROVE CAPACITY AND KNOWLEDGE ON BIODIVERSITY ISSUES ........................................................................................................................ 33 National Biodiversity Information Facility ..................................................................................... 33 Malawi Global Biological Information Facility Advocacy Action Project ................................... 35 Mapping Biodiversity Priorities ....................................................................................................... 35 ii The National Information Sharing Mechanism on Plant Genetic Resources .............................. 36 National Target 2 .................................................................................................................................. 37 Implementation of National Culture Policy (2015) ........................................................................ 37 National Target 3 .................................................................................................................................. 41 Biodiversity Conservation Awareness Initiatives ........................................................................... 41 Commemoration of World Biodiversity Day .................................................................................. 43 Publications on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Shire River Basin .......................... 44 Malawi International Tourism Expos ............................................................................................. 45 Biodiversity Information Management Forum .............................................................................. 47 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE TWO: MAINSTREAM BIODIVERSITY INTO NATIONAL SECTORAL AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS ................................................................... 50 National Target 4: by 2025, biodiversity values are integrated into national, sectoral and local development policies and plans in Malawi ..................................................................................... 50 Integrated Ecosystem Assessments .................................................................................................. 50 Mainstreaming biodiversity into development projects ................................................................ 52 Biodiversity financing Initiative ....................................................................................................... 57 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE THREE: REDUCE DIRECT PRESSURES ON BIODIVERSITY ..... 58 Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi .............................................................. 59 Designation of Elephant Marsh as a Ramsar Site .......................................................................... 61 National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy (2016) ......................................................................... 65 Biodiversity information for the Lake Malawi catchment Eastern Africa: Data for decision- makers ................................................................................................................................................ 68 Enhancing Sustainability of Protected Area Systems and Stabilizing Agro production in Adjoining Areas through improved IAS Management Project ............................................................................ 70 Environment and Natural Resource Management (ENRM) Project 2017-2018 ............................. 72 Waste Transfer Station Project ....................................................................................................... 75 Beautify Malawi Trust ...................................................................................................................... 75 Climate Proofing Project .................................................................................................................. 76 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE FOUR: IMPROVE THE STATUS OF BIODIVERSITY .................... 77 Shire River Basin Management Program ....................................................................................... 78 Public Private Partnerships for Management of Protected Areas ............................................... 82 The 500 Elephant Initiative .............................................................................................................. 85 The Mulanje Cedar Ecological Restoration Project ...................................................................... 89 Bats and Biodiversity Monitoring Programme .............................................................................. 91 Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade ................................................................................................... 93 Species Restoration Initiatives ......................................................................................................... 95 iii Illegal Wildlife Trade Review........................................................................................................... 97 Status and Spatial diversity of sorghum wild species project ..................................................... 101 Multi country project to Strengthen institutional capacity for LMO testing ;(MCP-LT) in support of national biosafety decision making. ............................................................................ 102 Integrated implementation of the Cartagena protocol on Biosafety and the Convention on Biological Diversity. ........................................................................................................................ 102 Biosafety Clearing House Mechanism