Majete is a Wildlife Reserve nestled in the south-western part of Malawi with an unlikely story of resurgence and restoration.
Majete Wildlife Reserve was the first park to fall under our management - signed with the Government in 2003. Prior to this agreement, Majete was an unknown and failing reserve in the south western part of Malawi. All of the wildlife had been hunted out – elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, even warthog – and only a few antelope remained. Trees were being felled for charcoal; only 12 scouts were employed, and not one tourist had visited the park in three years. It was a wasteland, with no perceived value, and little to no hope for a revival. But it was the perfect place to put our model of delegated management to the test. We immediately began securing the area and working with communities. In our first year we reintroduced rhinos; elephants in 2006; lions in 2012, giraffe in 2018, cheetah in 2019, and wild dogs in 2021. In 2017, we were able to move surplus elephants and other animals to help repopulate Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. Majete has come a long way in the last 18 years – from being a sink to a source; to providing hundreds of jobs and supporting thousands of community members with education, health and other social benefits. Not one rhino or elephant has been poached from the reserve since they were reintroduced and this once hopeless reserve has put Malawi on the map as a coveted wildlife destination. Today, Majete serves not only as our point of origin, but as one of our north stars, guiding a path along the road of possibility.
We aim to continue to improve the quality of life for the communities surrounding the reserve by scaling up income generating activities. We will increase the efficiency and time spent in the field by rangers. We also aim to increase revenue from tourism to increase sustainability of the reserve and create more jobs for local people.
Malawi 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. We began our work with the DNPW in Majete Wildlife Reserve in 2003 and in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in 2015.
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