Lilongwe Wildlife Trust boosts Alliance’s efforts in Malawi

The Nature Crime Alliance is pleased to welcome the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust as its latest member.

The Trust plays a vital role in disrupting the illegal wildlife and forest trade in Malawi, and delivers internationally renowned wildlife rescue services. It also supports conservation justice, running a court monitoring programme and developing specialist tools for magistrates, judges, prosecutors, and investigators.

By joining the Alliance, the Trust will be supported in developing new cross-sector partnerships with which to address specific challenges in Malawi and beyond. In turn, the Trust brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will support other Alliance members in their efforts to fight nature crime. The government of Malawi joined the Alliance in February this year.

Jonathan Vaughan MBE, Chief Executive of Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, commented: “There is a need to mobilise multiple sectors around the challenges of nature crime, especially as these crimes often share the same networks and value chains. The Nature Crime Alliance offers the chance to build the collaborative response required, and to raise the profile of these crimes and the challenges they present.”

With Malawi facing a range of environmental and security threats including illegal logging, mining, wildlife trafficking and fisheries crime in Lake Malawi, the Trust will engage with Alliance members to find solutions aimed at ending these activities.

Dr Charles Barber, Director of the Nature Crime Alliance, said: “The strong membership interest we’ve seen since launching the Alliance shows there is a real demand for multi-sector cooperation in fighting nature crime. We’re excited that Lilongwe Wildlife Trust is joining these efforts, and we look forward to working with them and other members to develop and scale solutions that protect Malawi’s natural resources and biodiversity.”