Many sectors in Malawi rely on biodiversity and ecosystem services and these include but not limited to agriculture, forest resources, fisheries, water transport, tourism, and energy – all of which significantly contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Millions of rural Malawians who constitute about 85% of the population also rely on biodiversity and ecosystems for their livelihoods. Continued loss of biodiversity and ecosystems consequently results in the loss of irreplaceable functions with cascading impacts on the national economy, food security, household incomes, and social cohesion. In order to prevent this, government officials and other decision-makers need to have access to information about biodiversity that helps them to understand the potential impacts of the decisions that they are taking.  Download full text here..