MUST student plays critical role in Elephant Marsh’s KBA status
Posted By
James MphandePosted on
31st Jan, 2025
Over the years, Malawi has achieved significant milestones in the conservation of biodiversity. The recent one being the confirmation of the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site as a new Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).
The development is a testament to collaborative efforts between conservationists, local communities, and stakeholders to safeguard the country's rich biodiversity.
The journey to this milestone began in March 2024, when a KBA training was held in Malawi in collaboration with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM).
The training was part of the project implementing activities of the Darwin Initiative funded "Community Approach to Waterbird Resource Management at Chia Lagoon," Malawi's largest lagoon.
As part of the workshop proceedings, participants undertook a training and capacity-building exercise on the identification, proposal and review of KBAs to the National Coordination Group.
Following the training, the Malawian National Coordination Group drafted various KBAs or Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) that were to undergo assessment and re-assessment.
One of the areas identified was the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site, which had not been assessed before. The site underwent the KBA assessment process before it was officially recognized as a KBA and confirmed in November 2024.
A postgraduate student from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Walison Fixon, played a crucial role in this achievement.
Fixon worked with MUST’s and Spatial Biodiversity Assessments Prioritisation and Planning (SBAPP) Malawi project coordinator Dr Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa and Fred Barasa to propose the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site as a KBA.
The Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site is situated within the floodplain of the Lower Shire River in Southern Malawi.
It was first designated as a Ramsar site in 2017 and supports a wide range of species, including over 20,000 waterbirds, 65 types of fish, and 108 types of mammals.
The development is a testament to collaborative efforts between conservationists, local communities, and stakeholders to safeguard the country's rich biodiversity.
The journey to this milestone began in March 2024, when a KBA training was held in Malawi in collaboration with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM).
The training was part of the project implementing activities of the Darwin Initiative funded "Community Approach to Waterbird Resource Management at Chia Lagoon," Malawi's largest lagoon.
As part of the workshop proceedings, participants undertook a training and capacity-building exercise on the identification, proposal and review of KBAs to the National Coordination Group.
Following the training, the Malawian National Coordination Group drafted various KBAs or Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) that were to undergo assessment and re-assessment.
One of the areas identified was the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site, which had not been assessed before. The site underwent the KBA assessment process before it was officially recognized as a KBA and confirmed in November 2024.
A postgraduate student from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Walison Fixon, played a crucial role in this achievement.
Fixon worked with MUST’s and Spatial Biodiversity Assessments Prioritisation and Planning (SBAPP) Malawi project coordinator Dr Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa and Fred Barasa to propose the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site as a KBA.
The Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site is situated within the floodplain of the Lower Shire River in Southern Malawi.
It was first designated as a Ramsar site in 2017 and supports a wide range of species, including over 20,000 waterbirds, 65 types of fish, and 108 types of mammals.