SOUTHERN AFRICAN PEACE PARKS

Malawi / Zambia TFCA

The Malawi/Zambia transfrontier conservation area includes the Nyika TFCA, which is centred on a high undulating montane grassland plateau rising over 2000m above the bushveld and wetlands of the Vwaza Marsh. In summer a multitude of wild flowers and orchids burst forth on the highlands, making it a sight unlike any seen in most other game parks. Kasungu/Lukusuzi, on the other hand, is an area of importance for biodiversity conservation in the Central Zambezian Miombo Woodland Ecoregion.

A joint law-enforcement project operating as a single unit across international borders to combat poaching has been deployed with resounding success in the Nyika TFCA since 2005. Thanks to this, a wildlife restocking programme for Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve was begun in 2007.

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Progress

Several significant milestones in the development of the Malawi/Zambia TFCA have been reached, thereby effectively moving the process closer to the signing of an international treaty that will formally establish the TFCA. The following were highlights of that process:

• A well-established and functioning institutional framework with consistent representation is now in place. The institutional framework comprises committees and working groups and has addressed a whole range of complex issues such as tourism, immigration, joint management and security. Work was begun on developing the TFCA's joint management and integrated tourism development plans.
• The Nyika TFCA project plan was approved by all role-players and a project plan for the Kasungu-Lukusuzi component was drafted.
• The Ministers for the Environment of both countries approved the draft international treaty, the signing of which by the respective presidents will formally establish the TFCA.
• 2005 saw the implementation of a highly successful law enforcement support project in the Niyka TFCA, where more poachers were arrested and convicted than during the preceding five years. This bode well for the future of wildlife, and the resultant tourism influx to the TFCA. This project also trained 24 law enforcement staff, 22 of whom were deployed in the Nyika TFCA, one in Kasungu and one in Lilongwe. WWF-Netherlands and the the Dutch National Postcode Lottery are funding this project.

• A partnership between the Malawi-Zambia TFCA and WWF's Southern African Regional Programme Office's eco-region programme was established for the Kasungu-Lukusuzi area, thereby ensuring synergy in the implementation of programmes.

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Current projects

WWF-Netherlands and the the Dutch National Postcode Lottery are funding the Niyka wildlife restocking project while the Dutch National Postcode Lottery is also funding the drafting of the Malawi tourism master plan.

Sustainable management of the Nyika TFCA is one of the projects the Malawi and Zambian Governments have identified for World Bank / GEF support. This project has gone through the formal World Bank identification process and the resulting project identification form and the project concept note have been approved by the GEF Secretariat. A project preparation grant amounting to USD 365 000 has also been approved by the GEF Secretariat. The Foundation's role in providing technical, advisory and fundraising support to the TFCA process is recognised as pivotal throughout project preparation and implementation. Consequently, the Zambian and Malawian governments have requested that the Foundation manage the project preparation grant and oversee it to implementation stage. This is expected to last two years.

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Project Coordinator: Nyika TFCA World Bank Project

Mr Humphrey Nzima, the previous Malawi-Zambia coordinator, has been appointed as the Project Coordinator for the Nyika TFCA World Bank Project. Mr Nzima will be responsible for overall development of the Nyika Foundation, the development of sustainable financing options and the design of the project.

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International Coordinator

Mr Lackson Mwenya is the International Coordinator of both the Malawi/Zambia and the Liuwa Plains-Mussuma Transfrontier Conservation Areas.