The Dambo Ecosytems of the Diamphwe and Lilongwe River Catchments in Central Malawi I

THE DAMBO ECOSYTEMS OF THE DIAMPHWE AND LILONGWE RIVER CATCHMENTS IN CENTRAL MALAWI I. APPRAISAL OF RESOURCE AVAILABILITY AND USE

Mloza-Banda H.R[1]., Banda J.W., Lunduka R., and Mohamoud, Y.M.

ABSTRACT

The dry season cultivation of crops through the utilization of residual moisture and water management of dambos provide a vital strategy for addressing seasonal food shortages between two rainy seasons. However, the utilization of dambos for crop production and livestock grazing is often seen as responsible for the degradation of dambo ecosystems. It is therefore, necessary to quantify the relationship between the biological and physical components for the dambo utilization types because such an approach provides a rational basis for land resources assessment and for planning efficient exploitation of climatic resources for either crop or livestock production, or water and vegetation management in dambo ecosystems. This first paper describes a first approximation of a range of biophysical resources available and resultant socioeconomic activities in dambo ecosystems of the Lilongwe and Diamphwe river catchments of Central Malawi. It appears that the most important uses of the dambos are for livestock grazing and dambo gardens. The supply of water is a crucial dambo function but with careful management of resources, it need not be directly competitive with other major dambo functions.

[1] University of Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi. Email: