Majete Wildlife Reserve Malawi, proclaimed in 1955, is situated in the Lower Shire Valley, a section of Africa's Great Rift Valley, covering an area of 700 km². Vegetation is diverse, ranging from moist miombo woodland in the western hills, to dry savannah in the east with prominent thickets along the riverbanks.

Since its proclamation as a protected area in 1955 Majete had been managed by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). However, due to a lack of resources, scouts were poorly equipped to deal with heavily armed poachers. In 1988 there were estimated to be over 200 elephants in Majete but by 1992, all had been exterminated together with buffalo, sable antelope, eland, zebra and hartebeest. Other species that inhabited Majete included hippo, warthog, bush pig, zebra, kudu, bushbuck, waterbuck, grey duiker, klipspringer and spotted hyena. By the early 1990s their numbers too had been greatly reduced through poaching. Small numbers of crocodiles still survived in the Shire River.

Majete was gradually becoming less and less of an asset to the country. When African Parks first arrived, Majete was in a poor state of neglect following years of under-funding. Uncontrolled poaching of animals saw Majete emptied of most of its large mammals by the early 1990s.

African Parks (Majete) arrived with start-up capital from three private donors and got to work straight away. The first priority was to engage the DNPW (Department of National Parks and Wildlife)  and improve and expand the law enforcement capacity through funding, training and equipping the scout force. Then a 40km fence enclosing a 14,000ha intensively protected sanctuary area was erected in a corner of the most productive part of the Reserve. This was constructed for the initial phase of rehabilitation, the most important element of which is the reintroduction of viable populations of wildlife. Since 2003 already more than 3,000 animals have been introduced. These include black rhino, sable antelope, buffalo, waterbuck, eland, impala, nyala, warthog,zebra, hartebeest and elephants. Restocking will carry on in national parks in Malawi, but many were also purchased from game ranches in Zambia and South Africa. African Parks carried the capture and transport costs. One of the goals is to re-establish Majete as a Big 5 Game Reserve, which means that once there is enough game, the big predators like lion, leopard and cheetah will also be brought back.

Infrastructure has been greatly improved since African Parks’ arrival, including clearing 250km of new roads, many river crossings (drifts), the completion of several scout houses, administration facilities, a mechanical workshop and an operations room. Since 2008 the 160 km electrified perimeter fence around the whole reserve has been completed. An investment necessary to ensure dangerous species such as elephant, buffalo and hippo do not impact on neighbouring communities. In due time the existing sanctuary fence will be removed and animals will be able to roam freely in the full 70,000ha area of Majete.

Visitors are welcomed at an attractive entrance gate where they can enjoy refreshments at the scenic Heritage Centre. Overnight stays are possible at the Community Campsite or in en-suite Tented Chalets at Thawale Camp. More and more tourists are attracted to the many activities and comfortable accommodation in Majete Wildlife Reserve.

An important objective of African Parks is to ensure that Majete contributes to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people living around it. This helps to achieve a general awareness of conservation efforts around Majete, thereby creating an environment conductive to the park's long-term sustainability

To learn more of the efforts of African Parks on this project:

Phone Number:        +265 (0) 999 521 741

Website :                  www.majete.org

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