The Nyika–Vwaza landscape is a strategic regional water catchment, contributing an estimated 10% of Lake Malawi’s annual freshwater. Lake Malawi is a national lifeline, supporting more than 10 million people directly and providing energy to approximately 18 million people across the country.
Nyika National Park is one of Africa’s most important Afromontane landscapes and a recognised global ecoregion. Over 1,225 plant species have been recorded, including exceptional orchid diversity with several endemic and near‑endemic species.
Together, Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve form the ecological backbone of the Malawi–Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area, linking montane grasslands, miombo woodlands and lowland marshes critical to wildlife movement, water flows and climate resilience beyond national borders.
Co‑management in the Nyika–Vwaza landscape is a shared approach in which communities, government and partners jointly plan, manage and benefit from protected areas. Decisions are guided by agreed priorities, long‑term sustainability and accountability in order to:
– Strengthen community relations and benefits through meaningful co‑management
– Build efficient, decentralised governance that secures sustainable funding
– Protect Africa’s largest Afromontane grassland system
– Control and contain invasive alien plant species
– Manage fire risks and protect peatlands, wetlands and grasslands
– Reduce illegal natural resource extraction along park boundaries
– Create accessibility across a large, remote landscape
Retired Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Malawi. In this guiding role, Judge Twea brings a powerful voice to the protection of one of Malawi’s most vital landscapes. His leadership will be key to advancing conservation efforts across the Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area.
As CEO of the Nyika-Vwaza Co-management Trust, George Nxumayo draws on a lifetime of conservation and community experience to guide one of Malawi’s most ecologically important regions toward a future that’s both sustainable and inclusive.
George Nxumayo, CEO of the Nyika Vwaza Co-management Trust
The Trust is designed to operate on business principles, supported by diversified revenue streams, long‑term funding mechanisms and tourism concessions. This approach enables operational independence and reduces reliance on short‑term project funding.
Communities living adjacent to Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve are partners in governance, management and benefit‑sharing. Co‑management aims to strengthen livelihoods, improve access to water, reduce human–wildlife conflict and create local economic opportunities linked to conservation.
Progress across the landscape is guided by regular assessments, monitoring and adaptive management to ensure priorities remain clear and decisions are evidence‑based.
