The gradual disappearance of Malawi's forests is forcing monkeys to fight against the local population for survival.

Francis James (Zilindo, Malawi , 36) notices that the forest on the Zomba Plateau in southern Malawi has been receding. For 10 years, he has been selling firewood, so every day he gets up before dawn and heads out to collect wood, which he then sells from his home. He says that before, when the forest was intact, he only had to walk along the mountainside to gather the firewood he needed. But now he has to walk an average of two hours up the mountain to find it. Then it takes him another two hours to get back down to return home.

“The blame lies with the illegal loggers, who have decimated these forests,” James points out, adding another problem. Farmers have not only lost firewood, but also access to wild fruits because a battle for food has broken out with the monkeys that live on this 50-square-kilometer plateau where fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and mangoes once grew. If the monkeys see a villager carrying food, they try to snatch it, and others even venture into places like the Ku Chawe Sunbird Hotel, a mountain resort , in search of food. But at the same time, some villagers, faced with scarce resources, turn to hunting and killing monkeys for food, raising fears that, along with increasing deforestation, the region's primates will disappear.

Saidi Asima Kamphepo, Chief Mlumbe, a traditional authority in Malawi, recalls that locals sold not only the forest's timber but also its fruits. He recounts that in his youth, in the 1970s, he used to pick passion fruit and strawberries in the mountains and then sell them at the local market in Zomba. "It's sad to see them disappear due to deforestation," says Chief Mlumbe. "Now there's talk of this war between monkeys and villagers, as they fight each other to find food."

Loggers have already cleared more than 200 hectares of forest and continue to illegally cut down trees for charcoal, but also for timber, acknowledges Emmanuel Nkhoma, acting director of the Zomba Plateau plantations. Nkhoma admits that the fight against illegal loggers—of whom there may be "hundreds," he says—has not been easy either, as they do not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way. Eight forest rangers were killed in Malawi last year , according to the Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Owen Chomanika, in February 2025.

“We have few forest guards, unable to deal with the situation alone. It is estimated that there are more than 100 illegal loggers in the [Zomba] forests, and they threaten anyone who tries to confront them,” Nkhoma explains.

Malawi is losing an estimated 33,000 hectares of forest due to the expansion of agriculture, tobacco cultivation, and a heavy reliance on charcoal for cooking.

Susan Ngwira and Teiji Watanabe, Hokkaido University

According to research by Susan Ngwira and Teiji Watanabe of Hokkaido University, Malawi is estimated to be losing around 33,000 hectares of forest annually, primarily due to the expansion of agriculture, tobacco cultivation, and a heavy reliance on charcoal for cooking. According to these estimates, between 2021 and 2023, 89% of tree cover loss occurred in natural forests, resulting in 57,900 hectares of deforestation and the release of 20.4 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions.

Soldiers and very low fines

The Ministry of Natural Resources, through the Department of Forestry, has deployed the army to help protect the forests, but the project is not easy to sustain, according to Nkhoma. The latest initiative involved an investment of approximately 16 million Malawian kuacha (approximately €8,200) to fund the project for a month.

The plantation manager says the initiative is positive and effective, but expensive and unsustainable over time, as it requires a lot of money to pay those who do the work. “Hiring soldiers is effective, but it's not sustainable because, given our scarcity of resources, it's not easy to hire them regularly. Therefore, we have to rely on our forest guards. But the task is arduous; raiders continue to make incursions and have taken over some areas of the forest,” says Nkhoma.

The official adds that another factor that continues to push people to continue these practices is the sentences handed down by courts, which impose low fines and are overly lenient.

“When illegal loggers are arrested and charged, they are sometimes fined around 100,000 kuachas (€51), an affordable amount for them. They manage to pay and go home. And the next day they're back to depleting the forests. I wish the courts would impose really harsh sentences to deter other potential offenders and thus protect our forests,” says Nkhoma. He also urges the ministry to increase the number of forest rangers to ensure forest protection.

The mountain is home to important ecosystems that are beneficial to the population, and that same mountain also supplies us with water.

Nicholas Mwisama, President of the Transparency Initiative

Nicholas Mwisama, president of Zomba's civil society organizations, said they have been lobbying the city and district councils to protect the forests. However, according to Mwisama, while hiring soldiers is an effective way to protect the forests, it is not sustainable due to scarce resources.

“We believe the best course of action is to address the issue with the loggers and sit down at a roundtable to discuss lasting solutions to the problem. The mountain is home to important ecosystems that benefit the population, and that same mountain also supplies us with water, so we need to join forces to put an end to these bad practices once and for all,” explains Mwisama, who is also director of the Transparency Initiative, one of the organizations that has led the civil pressure for the forest's protection.

His organization has proposed alternatives such as planting only native and fruit trees in restoration campaigns to reduce illegal logging, which focuses more on trees for timber and charcoal. "In addition to harvestable trees, we need to use non-harvestable ones so that a portion of them remains intact," says Mwisama.