Malawi-Zambia
Transfrontier Conservation Area
From the high grasslands of Nyika to the miombo woodlands of Kasungu and Lukusuzi
The Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area brings together two distinct conservation systems across 35 216 km²: Nyika-North Luangwa in the north and Kasungu-Lukusuzi further south.
Key Facts
Countries
Area
35 216 km²
Formal establishment
Treaty signed in 2015
Landscape components
Nyika-North Luangwa and Kasungu-Lukusuzi
Peace Parks priority protected areas
Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
Defining natural features
Montane grasslands, highland water sources, wetlands and miombo woodland
History and Establishment
Why this landscape matters
The northern component is centred on the Nyika Plateau, a high montane grassland system rising more than 2 000 metres above the surrounding bushveld and wetlands. Streams flow from the plateau into the forests, marshes and lowlands below, making Nyika important not only for biodiversity but for water security across northern Malawi.
Vwaza Marsh lies below the plateau and combines wetland, woodland and grassland habitats. Together, Nyika and Vwaza form a connected protected-area system supporting wildlife, birdlife and the water resources on which surrounding communities depend.
Further south, Kasungu National Park in Malawi and Lukusuzi National Park in Zambia are separated by a narrow corridor of customary land. Protecting this connection is important for preventing further fragmentation of the Central Zambezian Miombo Woodland Ecoregion.
Peace Parks’ priority protected areas
Nyika-Vwaza Complex, Malawi
Nyika national park is Malawi’s largest national park,. It extends across the rolling grasslands, streams and evergreen forest pockets of the Nyika Plateau. This important biodiversity and water-source feeds Vwaza Marsh, a diverse wetland and woodland reserve with almost 300 recorded bird species and northern Malawi’s largest elephant population.
BEYOND PROTECTED AREA BOUNDARIES
The spaces between protected areas are part of living landscapes, shaped by the people who call them home and by the wildlife that moves through them. Ecological linkages help keep these landscapes connected across boundaries.
Peace Parks in Malawi-Zambia
Peace Parks has supported the development of the transboundary landscape since 2003. The Foundation helped facilitate the agreements and institutional arrangements that led to the treaty signed in 2015 and continues to act as implementing agent for KfW-supported work.
In 2023, the Government of Malawi and Peace Parks signed a 20-year co-management agreement for Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. The agreement creates the foundation for managing the two areas as a single connected conservation system under a dedicated co-management institution.
Work taking place now
- Establishing the Nyika-Vwaza Co-management Trust and the systems required for long-term management
- Strengthening ranger numbers, training, protection and field operations
- Monitoring wildlife populations and the current state of habitats
- Expanding the Nyika-Vwaza Water Scheme beyond the first 18 000 beneficiaries
- Supporting community participation in governance and the management of natural resources
- Maintaining coexistence measures, including solar-powered fencing and community-led responses to human-wildlife conflict
- Restoring connectivity between Kasungu and Lukusuzi
