Malawi

National voluntary LDN targets (original language)

At national scale Malawi has set a target of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 as compared to the baseline of 2015 (no net loss) and an additional 2% of the land territory of 9.4 million hectares improvement. This translates to 188,000 hectares with net gain as compared to 2015.

At sub-regional level the following are the targets:
• LDN is achieved in the High Lands of Nyika, Viphya and Mulanje, Dedza and Zomba mountains by 2030 as compared to 2015 (no net loss);
• LDN is achieved in the land degradation Hotspots along the Rift Valley Escarpment Area of Malawi by 2030 as compared to 2015;
• Attain land degradation neutrality on the Plateaux ecological zone by 2030 as compared to 2015;
• Attain land degradation neutrality in the Shire River basin catchment by 2030; compared to 2015 and an additional 2% of the basin has improved (Net gain).

Specific targets for avoiding, minimizing and reversing land degradation:
• Improve productivity of 754,320 hectares cropland by 2030;
• Improve Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks on cropland to 55 ton/ha by 2025 as compared to 44.7 ton/ha estimated in 2015;
• Rehabilitate one million hectares of degraded land for crop production by 2030;
• Halt the conversion of forests and wetlands to other land cover classes by 2020;
• Improve forest (plantation & indigenous) cover by 33,750 hectares by 2030 as compared to 2015;
• Reduce the rate of top soil loss (soil erosion) to 20 tons per hectare per year by 2030 from the 2015 estimated rated of 29 tons/ha/year;
• Increase forest cover by 2% from 2015 baseline by 2022;
• Restore 820,000 hectares of degraded indigenous forest by 2030;
• Sustainably manage 138,000 hectares of plantation forest by 2025;
• Restore 36,000 hectares of degraded stream banks by 2030;
• Protect 2.4 million hectares of natural forest by 2035.