MALAWI: Malawi Leads In Animal Conservation

In one of the largest and most significant translocations in human history, African Parks’ conservation efforts bring the total number of elephants on the move in Malawi to 400.

These elephants have travelled 350km from Liwonde National Park and 600 km from Majete Wildlife Reserve to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. The final 100 of the historic #500Elephants will be moved in the coming weeks.

African Parks is responsible for 90% of Malawi's elephant population and protects 15,000 elephants across the continent. This translocation will continue over the next few weeks so stay tuned for more updates.

African Parks is also moving over 1,500 other animals besides elephants to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve to help repopulate the whole park. They have restocked the reserve with more than 100 buffalo and over 1,000 other game animals from Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve. Rangers in Nkhotakota have been ensuring the safety of all the animals being moved there.

The reserve had lost much of its wildlife due to poaching but it is now ready to be restocked and restored which will boost tourism and help support local communities. An enormous amount of planning and care has gone into these translocation projects – from overhauling law enforcement to make their new home safe from poachers, to ensuring the individual well being of each and every animal.

As well as helping to safeguard the future of these animals, these developments will result in a total transformation of Malawi's wildlife and safaris. Malawi will become one of the most complete destinations in Africa - lake, landscape, culture and now wildlife experiences of the highest quality. Warm, welcoming and unspoilt, Malawi really is just waiting to be discovered.

The historic #500Elephants initiative has brought a massive amount of well-deserved positive media coverage for Malawi. The operation in 2016 was boosted by the involvement of Prince Harry and this year's is being covered by such international media giants as CNN, National Geographic and ITV.



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

MALAWI: Good News Is The Absence Of Bad News, Majete Wildlife Reserve Restored

Majete is a 700km2 Wildlife Reserve nestled in the south-western part of Malawi with an unlikely story of resurgence and restoration. Just 13 years ago, this reserve was practically an empty forest devoid of most wildlife apart from a few remaining antelope.

Rhinos had been poached out of Majete in the 1970’s (the last wild black rhino in all of Malawi was killed in Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve in 1992); a population of 300 elephants had also been poached out with the last individual killed in 1992; the predators and most of their prey species were gone; and even the trees were being illegally cut and charcoal production was well underway.

The reserve, given its condition, had almost no tourists in the three years prior to 2003, and therefore hardly a single tourist dollar made it to Majete in that time. Only 12 scouts were employed to patrol the park, but by then there wasn’t much left to protect.

But Majete’s story didn’t end there.

In 2003, African Parks entered into a 25-year agreement with the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to manage Majete and to realize a shared vision of restoring the reserve and to having wildlife flourish once again.

We immediately began by overhauling law enforcement to prepare for the needed reintroductions of key species. Black rhinos were brought back in 2003; elephants followed in 2006; lions in 2012, as well as a host of other wildlife making this budding reserve Malawi’s only Big Five destination with now more than 12,200 animals thriving within its perimeter.

This year alone we’ve seen almost 7,000 tourists who are the major contributor to the nearly $400,000 in gross revenue the reserve now generates; all of which goes back into the management and conservation of the reserve which includes supporting local community projects as well.

Eighty-five surrounding villages and tens of thousands of local people are being positively impacted by this parks resurgence. In 2014 a state-of-the-art malaria research and prevention centre was constructed in Majete with the goal of reducing malaria by 80% in surrounding communities by 2018.

Other community projects include bee-keeping with the production and sale of honey, locally produced crafts, and providing cultural tours. A scholarship programme has been set up to provide school fees for local children who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to attend school.

Employment has risen more than ten-fold with now 140 people being employed on a full-time basis, including our growing ranger force who patrol the park daily and whose efforts have resulted in not one rhino or elephant being lost to poachers since 2003.

Majete’s trajectory tells a story of possibility, and serves as a beacon of hope for how a park can be revived, brought back from the brink, and thrive once again.

In conservation, good news is often just the absence of bad news.

MALAWI: Translocating 250 Elephants To New Home In Malawi

Prince Harry assists conservationists in translocating 250 elephants to their new home in Malawi.

The first round of the translocation process of a total of 500 elephants was completed last month, seeing just over 250 elephants rehomed into a sanctuary at Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in central Malawi.

The world’s media have been closely following Malawi’s elephants since the first elephant family was translocated from Liwonde National Park on 5th July 2016.

Prince Harry joined the operation in its final stages, which saw him supporting the African Parks team with the delicate process of darting and capturing the elephants to load them onto trucks for their 350km journey north.

Not just elephants were involved in this, one of Africa’s biggest ever animal translocations. Other games species totalling 1117 individuals were also moved including 404 waterbuck, 200 sable, 199 warthog, 122 impala, 100 kudu and 92 buffalo.

The operation ensured the safeguarding of not only the elephants, but also the livelihood of local agricultural communities. Surplus populations of elephant were resulting in habitat degradation and human wildlife conflict. Their new home is a vast wildlife sanctuary that was once home to over 1500 elephants, but due to poaching only 100 remained.

Peter Fearnhead, CEO for African Parks said, “The reason we are moving these elephants is to prevent further habitat degradation and mitigate conflict in Liwonde and Majete, as well as to restock Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. To do this, we have to be sure of their long-term security, which is why we have already overhauled law enforcement and anti-poaching measures in the elephants new home.”

Kelly White from Malawi Tourism said “The future for Nkhotakota looks bright, the next 12 months will see a repopulated park both with elephants and over a thousand individuals of other game species providing a premier elephant sanctuary for Malawi and a tourism hotspot for the country in the coming years. With Malawi’s three premier parks now benefitting from the proactive management of African Parks Malawi will soon have a high quality safari experience on offer to match its existing lake, landscape and cultural highlights making it perhaps one of the most complete destinations in Africa”.

Phase two of the process to move an additional 250 elephants from Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve will commence in July 2017, along with plans to secure populations of lions and cheetah to reintroduce into Liwonde National Park in early 2017.

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in apartment with government and local communities. African Parks manages 10 national parks and protected areas in seven countries covering six million hectares: Malawi, Zambia, CAR, The Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Chad.

To learn more, please visit www.african-parks.org

Expelling Poverty Through tourism

The power of tourism in any sequence cannot be underestimated, with the sector’s capability to contribute to economic growth and mitigate poverty especially in Africa, being recognized.

Under the theme “Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation”, the World Economic Forum on Africa 2016, which took place between 11th -13th May in Kigali Rwanda, explored ideas towards combating global challenges, whose long term goal, in my opinion, remains to further revolutionize the continent.

As Africa and the whole world anticipate the outcomes of the forum, we would all be forgiven to expect that measures and policies on mitigating poverty in the developing countries, most of which – by default – happen to be African countries, will be discussed and implemented. Yet, this is all a matter of wait-and-see.

While various stakeholders seem to focus on tourism other factors such as technology and international trade as the way to go, which I don’t refute, it is important to remember that the tourism sector also holds immense potential towards alleviating poverty that is yet to be fully tapped. Think about this; while some remote places remain segregated with poor infrastructure, poorly built schools and health centers, these regions, are home to some of the unrivalled African cultures and tourist destinations.

Perhaps, if the respective governments would pay more attention to these rather left out attractions such as Turkana and Samburu in Kenya, Cape Maclear in Malawi and Nyanyadzi hot springs in Zimbabwe among others; by first educating and sensitizing locals on the opportunities they hold, then there probably will be a difference.

Establishing learning institutions that will provide technical training and financial support to tourism destinations in preparedness for skills as relates to tourism, will go a long way in putting food on the tables of a vast majority of the world’s hungry people; who according to WFP Hunger Statistics, live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished.

There is evident need for tourism stakeholders to increase efforts towards solving the poverty puzzle in developing nations. And as long as the human species has not quelled the need to explore new destinations, he will more often find ways and places to satisfy this unending urge. Then, what better way to tap into this opportunity but by investing in the tourism sector in developing countries? You are assured of virgin prospects while at the same time creating job opportunities for the locals. In return, this will stimulate local businesses and further translate into the development of the national economies.