Managing ecosystem services demand under a changing catchment: a case study of Lake Malombe Catchment, Malawi

Inland tropical freshwater shallow lakes’ catchments are experiencing a severe threat to their sustainability. Changing the lake landscape affects ecosystem services (ESs). However, these connections are often overlooked, resulting in policy conflicts. This study identifies major ESs and their link to United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discusses their potential trade-offs and synergies. The multiple data collection approaches were employed, such as systematic review, key informant interviews, focus group discussion, rapid participatory appraisal (PRA), and geospatial techniques. The study findings identify 18 major ESs. The identified ESs were linked to seven SDGs such as zero hunger (SDG2), clean water (SDG6), climate action (SDG13), sustainable communities (SDG11), clean energy (SDG7), education (SDG4), life on land (15), and responsible consumption and production (SDG12). The land use/land cover classes showed significant change from 1989 to 2019, with cultivated land and settlements, increased progressively by 49% and 149%, while forest land and water-bodies declining by 84% and 8.5%. These land use/land cover dynamics influenced trade-offs and synergies between ESs and had severe ecological and economic consequences on the lake ecosystem and the local population. The findings from this study create a public debate among the diverse stakeholders on the sustainable utilization of landscape and diverse ESs in the tropical freshwater shallow lakes’ catchment to achieve several SDGs. The study recommends integrating various stakeholders’ interests into the policy framework and balancing economic and ecological models to sustain the freshwater shallow lakes’ ecosystems.