The Department of National Parks and Wildlife says it is excited with the progress made by the Community Conservation Area (CCA) on the increased presence of fish and birds in the elephant marsh, which has been attributed to the protection of the environment.
Director of National Parks and Wildlife Brighton Kumchedwa made the observations at the Bangula Fisheries Office in Nsanje on Tuesday during the handing over of equipment to the CCA committees valued at K30 million.
He said it is pleasing to hear directly from the members themselves that they are eating adult fish, unlike in the past years when people were eating smaller ones.
” This is a development which clearly shows that the locals are adhering to what they are doing to conserve the environment,” he said.
A member of the CCA for Gong’o, Rachael Molotali, said that with the coming of the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP), the members were trained on the conservation and management of the environment.
She revealed that before the orientation the locals were devastating habitats.
“Fishermen were applying illegal fishing materials such as mosquito nets resulting in catching both adults and young ones while, on the other hand, hunters were killing birds, which also scared birds,” she explained.
Global Environmental Facility is a component of the SVTP responsible for the conservation and management of natural resources by implementing various interventions for the communities living in the surrounding areas of Lengwe National Park, Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve, Matandwe Forest Reserve and the Elephant Marsh.
By Cornelius Lupenga – Nsanje
