High demand for our nature crime and saving wildlife programmes across the year reflected continued threats to nature from illegal trade, human-wildlife conflict, and habitat loss. Our wildlife sanctuary registered the highest number of intakes in three years, with pangolins making up 15% of rescues. Meanwhile, our emergency response unit undertook 26 operations to provide crisis support for animals in distress across Malawi.
In addition to field-level interventions, we also continued to deliver high-level support for the criminal justice sector to ensure that nature crimes are answered with appropriate, deterrent sentences. This year Malawi achieved a conviction rate of 95% for serious wildlife offences – the highest since 2017 – and a 93% conviction rate for forestry cases.Â
Marcus Westberg
We were thrilled that our urban nature reserve, Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, made the 2025 Wanderlust Magazine Travel Green List, an annual celebration of sustainable travel destinations. New biodiversity mapping initiatives, visitor attractions, and community engagement events continued to highlight the special appeal of this unique site, which is one of very few remaining green spaces in a rapidly developing capital city.Â
Omar Hakeem
Our on-site forest education centre engaged around 9,000 children, while our education content also reached a wider national audience through the continued roll out of the Wildlife and Environmental Education Sourcebook to 170 additional primary schools. Encouragingly, the book is already being widely used in the Government’s ongoing update of the national curriculum.Â
Tilly Sant’Ana
Last year we also launched a new programme area, ‘securing healthy landscapes for people and wildlife’. Our focal area for this work is the Southern Region, which is home to some of the country’s most vulnerable but most biodiverse landscapes, including unique mountain ecosystems, endemic forests, and Ramsar-designated wetlands. Our new project – which is still under development – aims to enhance climate resilience, protect biodiversity, build food security, and improve livelihoods for rural communities.Â
As we look back on the year’s achievements, we are grateful for the support of our many donors and partners who share our commitment to protecting nature in Malawi. With your continued partnership we look forward to expanding our impact again in the years to come.Â
