Environment

This paper assesses the quality and extent of provision for water and sanitation in urban areas in Malawi – where over 60% of the population lives in informal settlements. It also considers whether the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation are likely to be met
in Malawi, and examines the current and potential role of community-led sanitation improvements. It includes recommendations for interventions needed by governmental, international and civil-society organizations to improve living conditions of communities to contribute to the realization of the MDGs.

The Government of the Republic of Malawi is still increasingly concerned about the deterioration of the country's natural resources and the environment. The biggest environmental and developmental challenge is how to narrow the gap between the degradation of the natural resources and the environment on one hand and sustainable production and economic growth on the other. The Government of Malawi adopted a National Environmental Policy in 1996 to provide guidance and set standards for development of sector policies in environment and natural resources.

The Government of the Republic of Malawi, realizing the dependency of the economy on water resources and its impact on poverty reduction, considers the conservation, management, development and utilization of water resources as one of the priorities on its national development agenda which require supportive policies and legislation.

The importance of forests and trees in improving human welfare is increasingly recognized worldwide. Both natural and man-made forests play an important role in providing basic human needs (fuel, food fodder fibre and pharmaceuticals), employment, income and foreign exchange, hence contributing to socio-economic development.

Malawi’s development policy expresses the need for reduction of poverty, ignorance and disease by the achievement of rapid and sustained economic growth, an improvement in income distribution and a reduction in the instability of welfare for both the individual and the nation. The policy recognises that if the welfare of Malawi is to be further increased economic growth will have to exceed population growth. The performance of agriculture will be critical, and other natural resources, will where viable, need to be exploited.

The research was aimed at producing low cost durable cement extenders from ash residues of agricultural co-products to enhance sustainable utilization of natural resources. Agricultural residues such as rice husks, wheat straw, maize stalks and industrial wastes such as sawdust and ashes present disposal problems to authorities. Cement is the main constituent material in the construction industry. However, the production of cement contributes up to 10% of the global CO2 emissions. Furthermore it is an expensive commodity to a majority of low income earners in emerging economies.