Majete, a 700km2 Wildlife Reserve is located in the south-western part of Malawi, has an unlikely story of resurgence and restoration.
Thirteen years ago the reserve was practically an empty forest devoid of most wildlife apart from a few remaining antelope.
Rhinos had been poached out of Majete in the 1970's (the last wild black rhino in all of Malawi was killed in Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve in 1992).
A population of 300 elephants had also been poached out with the last individual killed in 1992.
Thee predators and most of their prey species were gone and even the trees were being illegally cut and charcoal production was well underway.
The reserve, given its condition, had almost no tourists in the three years prior to 2003, with only 12 scouts were employed to patrol the park, but by then there wasn't much left to protect.
In 2003, African Parks entered into a 25-year agreement with the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to manage Majete and to realize a shared vision of restoring the reserve and to having wildlife flourish once again.
This saw an initial overhauling of law enforcement to prepare for the needed reintroductions of key species.
Black rhinos were brought back in 2003, elephants followed in 2006 andlions in 2012, as well as a host of other wildlife making this budding reserve Malawi's only Big Five destination.
Animals thriving
There are now more than 12,200 animals thriving within its perimeter.
Eighty-five surrounding villages and tens of thousands of local people are being positively impacted by this parks resurgence and resulting tourism boost.
In 2014 a state-of-the-art malaria research and prevention centre was constructed in Majete with the goal of reducing malaria by 80% in surrounding communities by 2018.
Other community projects include bee-keeping with the production and sale of honey, locally produced crafts, and providing cultural tours.
A scholarship programme has been set up to provide school fees for local children who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to attend school.
Employment has risen more than ten-fold with now 140 people being employed on a full-time basis, including our growing ranger force who patrol the park daily.
This has resulted in not one rhino or elephant being lost to poachers since 2003.
African Parks
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities.
African Parks manages 10 national parks and protected areas in seven countries covering six million hectares: Malawi, Zambia, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Chad.