Quantifying Emissions and Removals in Malawi’s Forestry Sector: Activity Data and Emission Factor Analysis

This paper presents estimates of activity data, emission factors and emissions and removals for Malawi’s three REDD+ activities: deforestation, forest degradation, and enhancement. Calculations are based on data from Malawi’s National Forest Inventory (NFI) and plantation data for the reference period 2010 to 2020. Deforestation occurred at a rate of 11,565ha ± 1,067ha per year, representing a 0.66% annual change. Notably, deforestation was higher in non-protected areas (0.69%) than protected areas (0.66%). Forest degradation resulted in an annual loss of 14,192 ha, equivalent to 0.77% per annum, with 54% degradation occurring in protected areas, mainly within the dense canopy class (>60%). These protected areas had an area weighted carbon stock of 57.26 tC/ha while forests outside the protected areas had an average carbon stock of 45.03 tC/ha. The estimated annual emissions from deforestation and forest degradation were 1,008,600 and 543,511 tCO2e/yr, respectively. Annual removal due to forest enhancement averaged 61,070 tCO2e/yr. The mean net forest emissions for this reference period were 1,491,041 tCO2e/yr. Malawi has the potential to enhance its forests and mitigate its emissions through industrial plantations while also abating forest and biodiversity loss through avoided deforestation and forest degradation. By using Collect Earth, a free and open source platform, this analysis provides a model for emissions and removals assessments that are transparent, fully replicable, and cost-effective for governments.