The government of the federal republic of Germany through the Peace Parks foundation has handed over a 70-kilometer solar power electric fence to the Malawi government in an effort to decrease the pressure of wildlife safety of people living adjacent to Vwaza Marsh wildlife reserve.
The fence will protect over twelve thousand people as the area has witnessed escalation in both human-wildlife conflicts mainly from elephant and hippos developing into a growing concern for wildlife conservation in the areas of Nyika and Vwaza in the past years.
In an interview with Online Werner Myburgh, Chief Executive Officer of Peace Parks Foundation said the construction of the game proof electric fence will deter human wildlife conflict.
He then disclosed that that the peace parks foundation will also be managing the four point seven billion-kwacha Thazima gravity fed portable water scheme project which will benefit over thirty three thousand individuals in Rumphi and Mzimba district.
“so this program is about the Thazima water scheme and it is to provide portable water to hopefully in the long term about 53,000 people that live around Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh and the idea is that trust is formed for the Nyika-Vwaza co-management between Peace Parks Foundation, the Community and the government” said Myburgh.
Meanwhile Vera Kamtukule, minister of tourism has hailed the progress that the country is making progress in combining conservation, tourism and people’s lives hence the need for people to carefully guard national parks.
“Community participation is very integral to the sustainability of any project and so this is the flagship project we have never seen any project like this anywhere in southern Africa”.
Kamtukule added “ we are using natural resources to respond to people’s needs because I think there have been questions to say what are we benefiting from the National Parks, what is it that the communities are benefiting , so this is a demonstration of what the communities can benefit from the natural resource that God has blessed them with”.
Speaking on behalf of the communities, Traditional Authority Mpherembe said “the solar fence has been a very good security for the individuals as well as to their crops in the fields because in the past wild animals were destroying people crops”.
Mpherembe added “the water project is a plus because the ground water along the Rukuru River is very salty”