When Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve entered a new phase of long-term management between the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and African Parks in 2015, the landscape reflected years of complex and competing pressures. Addressing these required more than conservation law enforcement alone. It called for engagement, trust and a shared path forward with surrounding communities.
Between 2015 and 2017, an amnesty programme invited community members to voluntarily surrender tools used for illegal hunting and logging. It marked an opportunity to reset, with a focus on working together.
The response was significant. Hundreds of items including weapons and tools of every description – wire snares, axes and pit saws – were handed in. Rather than being discarded, many of these materials were transformed into something that could hold meaning over time.
Located at Nkhotakota’s Environmental Education Centre, the “Problem Elephant” is a sculpture built from the very tools that once placed pressure on the landscape. Snares form part of its structure, while metal fragments shape its surface.
The sculpture is not art for beauty. It is art for reflection. For school groups, it prompts important conversations. For the community, it reflects progress through a journey of dialogue and engagement. For visitors, it reveals that sustainable conservation can only be achieved through strong relationships and trusted partnerships.
Inspired by the work, a visiting team from Nyungwe National Park took the idea back to Rwanda and created their own sculpture using confiscated snares – this time in the form of a chimpanzee.
What began as a local response has since been carried into another landscape, reinforcing the importance of shared creativity and ideas that can inspire meaningful change.