Lengwe National Park Educates Surrounding Communities on Wildlife Conservation and Self-Protection

Malawi: Lengwe National Park, located in the Shire Valley district of Chikwawa, is educating the surrounding communities on how to protect the environment and wildlife animals, writes Comfort Bulangete.

The Division Manager for Parks and Wildlife in the Shire Valley, Wisely Kawaye, explains that the community is being engaged to participate in the conservation of wildlife and the environment at the park through the use of a community extension element.

They also allow the community to harvest some of the resources found in the park, such as lemons, mangoes, and baobab fruits, and also use glass for thatching their houses, so that the community knows the importance of conserving the resources that are there.

Group Village Headman Mphamba expresses concern over other people who are destroying the fencing at the park, leaving their lives at risk of being attacked by wild animals.

He calls for more organizations to intervene in sensitizing the community on how they can conserve the park and also the benefits of conserving wildlife.

Peter Simau, one of the villagers from Mphampha, says that they were educated in their village on how best to take care of the park and also conserve wildlife.

He states that at the end of the sensitization meetings, they received goats, which are helping them in their day-to-day lives.

Lengwe National Park is conducting sensitization campaigns with funding from the Shire Valley Transformation Project.