Impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on electricity generation in Malawi

This paper explores the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on electricity generation in Malawi. Hydropower provides almost all of the country's electricity; a reliance on freshwater supply makes it a highly vulnerable energy source to climate change and environmental degradation. Additionally, with Malawi being a low-income nation with poor institutional capacity, people are especially vulnerable to increasing climate-related risks.

The paper first presents a baseline context for the discussion, providing a brief geographical profile of Malawi (featuring the dominant Lake Malawi and Shire River) and its’ environmental and socioeconomic circumstances. Malawi is a densely populated nation, with around 85 per cent of the estimated 15 million people relying on subsistence agriculture. The burning of biomass represents by far the greatest source of energy, with electricity representing just eight per cent in 2011. The paper discusses government interventions against deforestation, a traditional source of biomass energy and the challenges that are faced, e.g. tobacco companies regularly disregard legal mandates to conserve at least ten per cent of land for active forest cover.

According to the paper, Malawi still has significant untapped resources of hydropower, enough to meet demand in the future. The government is making plans to increase electricity generation through a number of new partnerships and construction projects, as well as the import of power from Mozambique. The report identifies the following four major risks to maintaining hydropower capacity.

• Drought: This can reduce water flow below what is required by the generators designs;
• Floods: In 2001, two power plants were damaged resulting in a loss of 40 MW of capacity. It took seven years to find funding and to restore them to the power grid.
• Siltation: Deforestation, along with population density and limited livelihoods, has a direct effect on hydropower through increased siltation in the rivers reducing flow.
• Aquatic weeds: In particular the water hyacinth, which increases evaporation through evapo-transpiration, slows water velocity and increases siltation.

The paper concludes that Malawi’s hydropower generation is negatively impacted by climate change and environmental degradation. Flood control systems should be considered and long-term environmental degradation mitigation measures mandated for the entire basin system of Lake Malawi and the Shire River.