By Memory Chatonda
Blantyre, December 1, Mana: Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change, Werani Chilenga has disclosed that Malawi is ranking among the top ten countries in the world that are doing well in wildlife conservation.
Chilenga attributed the development to the revision of the Wildlife Act of 2015, which stipulates strong penalties for people found guilty of wildlife crimes in the country.
He was speaking on Saturday in Chikwawa when the committee visited Majete Game Reserve, which is being run by Africa Parks on behalf of the government.
Chilenga said: "Parliament played an instrumental role in ensuring that we removed all the fines and made all the offences custodial. This means that once one is caught trafficking wildlife animals or products, in most cases, the sentences are as high as 30 years of imprisonment.
"So this has made Malawi to be among the top ten countries in the world that have won the battle against wildlife trafficking and we are very proud of that."
Chilenga, who is also the Member of Parliament for Chitipa South, commended Africa Parks for restoring the former glory of Majete Game Reserve, which was marred by poaching of wild animals by surrounding communities.
He therefore advised the Ministry of Tourism to fully utilize the conservation efforts being made in various game reserves, including Majete, to propel the country's economy through tourism.
Chilenga also urged government to continue entering into Memorandum of Understanding with more organizations like African Parks to conserve other game reserves such as Kasungu, Lengwe and Nyika.
In his remarks, Field Operations Manager for Majete, Martin Gibson Awazi, hailed the parliamentary committee for visiting the park, adding that great strides have been made in conserving Majete Game Reserve.
Awazi also disclosed that African Parks installed cameras in strategic places in the game reserve to monitor animal activities and their populations.
Majete has close to 100 lions, 30 giraffes, 13 wild dogs, 10 cheetahs and elephants, among others.
Apart from Majete, African Parks also manages Liwonde, Nkhotakota and Mangochi Forest Reserve.
