Liwonde National Park

Since 2015, Liwonde National Park has been the site of some significant wildlife translocations and reintroductions, transforming it into a sanctuary for Malawi’s wildlife. When African Parks signed a management partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) for Liwonde in 2015, the park was riddled with tens of thousands of wire snares, and human-wildlife conflict levels were some of the highest in the region.

But since then, Liwonde has established one of the most effective conservation law enforcement measures and training in southern Africa, integrated advanced technology to protect and monitor wildlife, removed more than 40,000 wire snares, and orchestrated a number of historic animal reintroductions. In 2017, African Parks began re-establishing Liwonde’s predator population by bringing back cheetah, which had been absent from the park for a century. This was followed in 2018 by a founder population of lion, and wild dog in 2021. In 2019, 17 black rhino were relocated from South Africa to Liwonde, in one of the largest international black rhino translocations in history.

With wildlife populations on the rise, as well as the number of people who visit the park to witness its revival, Liwonde National Park has is now a thriving haven to benefit both the wildlife and the people who live here. In 2018, the area’s overall conservation footprint was increased by 60% when the contiguous Mangochi Forest Reserve was added to African Parks’ mandate.

Liwonde Highlights

• In 2022, 263 elephants were moved from Liwonde to Kasungu National Park in Malawi to reduce pressure in the park and establish a viable population in Kasungu in the second-largest elephant translocation to date.
• Poaching has been brought under control with zero reports of poached rhino or elephant for five consecutive years.
• Liwonde’s ranger training centre functions as a vital training ground for rangers in Malawi and on the continent.
• The Spicy Farmers project harvests chillies grown on ‘chilli elephant barriers’, which also help to decrease human-elephant conflict. Education continues to be prioritised with 94 schools supported and 100 scholarships awarded annually.
• Liwonde visitor numbers surpassed those of 2022 by 10.8%, indicating a steady increase in tourism revenue that supports both the park and the local economy.

 

Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) is the statutory organisation in charge of national parks, wildlife reserves and sanctuaries as well as wildlife management on communal lands in Malawi. African Parks began its partnership with DNPW in Majete Wildlife Reserve in 2003, in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in 2015, and Mangochi Forest Reserve in 2018.

Partners