* Traffic to the reserve increased since we added additional animals, and this has positively increased the turnout of tourists, both local and international
* At 1,800 km2, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve is Malawi’s oldest and largest reserve — a dense canopy woodland intersected by three major rivers leading to Lake Malawi
By Wongani Mkandawire, MANA
African Parks, which manages some of the country’s national parks and game reserves, collected a total revenue of K106 million last year from Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve.
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This was disclosed on Tuesday during African Parks’ 18th joint liaison committee meeting held in Nkhotakota District Council chamber, involving District Commissioners (DCs), traditional chiefs, and other stakeholders from Kasungu, Ntchisi, Nkhotakota, and Mzimba districts, which surround the reserve.
Park Manager, David Nangoma said this is attributed to more local and international tourists that are visiting the game reserve since the additional of animal species that were translocated into the reserve.
“Traffic to the reserve increased since we added additional animals, and this has positively increased the turnout of tourists, both local and international,” he said Nangoma.
Park manager Nangoma
Chairperson of the joint liaison committee, Inkosi Khonsolo of Mzimba District, said the meeting was crucial as a platform for Africa Parks and the various stakeholders to report on progress made in the implementation of various initiatives, challenges faced, and possible solutions moving forward.
On his part, Nkhotakota DC, Ben Matengeni Tohno commended African Parks for its continued commitment to wildlife conservation, saying thriving tourism activities in the reserve shall enable the Council to enhance Nkhotakota into a tourism city.
“We embrace African Parks and provide them with the necessary support so that they are successful in pushing the tourism agenda of the local authority, which we believe will help Nkhotakota District become a tourism city in the future,” he said.
On its website, African Parks records that at 1,800 km2, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve is Malawi’s oldest and largest reserve — a dense canopy woodland intersected by three major rivers leading to Lake Malawi.
“However, by 2014, years of ivory poaching had reduced the elephant population to a mere 100 animals — what was once a sanctuary for wildlife had become an empty, silent forest,” says the website.
“To help realise a new vision to transform Nkhotakota into a sanctuary for wildlife and an asset for the people of Malawi, the Malawi Government invited African Parks in 2015 to sign a long-term agreement to partner with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in the management of the reserve.
“Since then, a number of historic reintroductions have taken place in Nkhotakota. Over 2016 and 2017, in one of the largest wildlife restoration initiatives to take place, 500 elephant and 2,000 other animals were introduced to Nkhotakota, followed by further introductions in 2022.
“These two significant events rekindled hope, not only for tourism and advancement of the surrounding communities, but for the very integrity of the reserve as an important wildlife habitat.
“With our well-trained and equipped ranger team, as well as strong community engagement, illegal hunting has become a thing of the past. Employment and enterprise activities, such as beekeeping, fish farming and chilli production, together with investment in education, healthcare, nutrition and infrastructure, are benefitting thousands of people.
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“With Nkhotakota’s wildlife restored, tourism is helping to generate employment, livelihoods and revenue, and building long-lasting value for local communities. In just a few short years, Nkhotakota is on the road to hope and possibility.”
Between 2016 and 2017, African Parks records that apart from the translocation of the 500 elephant, 2,000 other animals were reintroduced with a further reintroduction of 800 animals of nine species in 2022.
Over 79,000 fruit and indigenous trees were planted by community members in 2023 in projects supported by African Parks while job creation and enterprise initiatives have improved the livelihoods of over 9,000 community members around the reserve.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
