Agroforestry and deforestation in Malawi: inter-linkages between attitudes, beliefs and behaviours

Farm-level tree planting has been suggested to have potential to decrease pressures on natural forests and, consequently, contribute towards reducing deforestation and forest degradation. However, the scientific evidence for such a link is limited. We examined farmers’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviours in relation to tree planting on farms and cutting down trees from the forest, as one way of establishing this link. A household survey was administered to 200 farmers in two rural districts in Malawi, which included an attitude scale based on the theory of planned behaviour. The results showed that farmers in Malawi recognise the benefits of planting trees, feel encouraged by fellow farmers, and feel capable of planting trees on their land. In addition, they believe cutting down trees from the forest will result in mainly negative outcomes, and feel discouraged by others and hindered by control factors to cut down trees from the forest. In total, 76 % of respondents planted trees in the past 5 years, 50 % collected firewood from the forest and 21 % collected poles. There was no evidence for a direct relationship between attitudes towards planting trees and cutting down trees, nor were the behaviours in relation to tree planting and cutting down trees from the forest significantly associated. However, there was evidence for an indirect relationship between tree planting behaviour and cutting down trees from the forest, as respondents who had planted trees had more negative attitudes towards cutting down trees from the forest. Future research should further explore the direct relationship between agroforestry and deforestation to establish if and under what conditions such a relationship might exist.