The Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) has embarked on a deforestation study, which is being implemented under the name “Gender, Deliberation, and Natural Resource Governance: Experimental Evidence from Malawi. The core purpose of the study is to examine whether women in deliberative bodies around communal forest governance affect forest management practices. The study is commissioned by Vanderbilt University, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Ohio State University.

IPOR’s Field Manager Funny Muthema says, the study has a sample size of 3 780, targeting both women and men ages 18 and above in communities around forest reserves in Traditional Authority Malemia, Mlumbe, Mkapita in Zomba, and Traditional Authority Nkula in Machinga districts.

“By the end of the study, IPOR research teams are expected to visit 90 villages and, in each village, randomly select 42 men and women who will participate in both surveys and Focus Group Discussions”, added Muthema.

 In this study, ordinary Malawians will be given an opportunity to deliberate on problems and solutions of deforestation in their communities. The most exciting part is that, at the end of each session, study participants will have to vote on workable policies to combat deforestation in their communities.