Lilongwe Wildlife Trust Impact Report 2021-2022

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust (LWT), a non-profit conservation organisation that works to protect Malawi’s wildlife and reserves, has released their Impact Report for 2021 – 2022. Despite the challenges the ever-changing environment with the handling of COVID-19, this report showcases the facts and figures from a really successful year for the Trust.

As well as working to prevent wildlife crime, LWT run a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and education centre in which hundreds of animals are treated and temporarily homed on a daily basis. A total of 150 animals were rescued, with 84 animals released back into the wild in the past year. A record high for the Trust.

From constant ongoing campaigning and petitioning, LWT have managed to toughen laws on poaching and wildlife crime. This has led to a total of 112 wildlife trafficking convictions, with an 87% conviction rate against Listed Species (elephants, pangolins, rhinos) with all convictions resulting in custodial sentence.

Through sustained campaigns and education programmes, 10,292 children and 150 schools have engaged in sessions about animal welfare, wildlife crime, human-wildlife conflict, biodiversity, deforestation and climate change. That is a huge achievement given the restraints that education has had due to COVID-19. 205 teachers have also been trained to deliver environmental education and micro projects such as beekeeping. 11,494 trees have been planted throughout their projects, with 2,056 please reached through community outreach.

Through consistent effort to protect the future of Malawi’s wildlife and wild areas, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust managed to be in the spotlight throughout the year. 204 TV, radio and press articles were secured focused on wildlife and forest crime. 41 journalists received training on investigative techniques, or attended workshops on prominent wildlife crime cases and species-specific issues. A total of 4 campaigns were delivered on a wide range of wildlife and forest crime issues throughout the year.

Finally, following the success of the first season of the worldwide hit Malawi Wildlife Rescue, the documentary was commission for a second series putting the Trust’s achievements on the international stage once again.

After highlighting some key achievements in his foreword within the report, CEO of Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, Jonny Vaughan, MBE, celebrated the combined effort of all that have contributed to the past 12 months success.

“The other achievements highlighted in this report were set against a backdrop of significant challenges, including the turmoil created by COVID-19. Our impact is due to our wonderful team and the strong, collaborative relationships we have forged with government and technical partners. The incredible generosity of our donors also meant that we were able to put over $4 million into our wildlife conservation and welfare initiatives in Malawi this year.”

The snapshot of facts and figures within this article is just a small part of all the fantastic successes in the report. Lilongwe Wildlife Trust would like to thank all their donors, partners, volunteers and staff who have made their work possible. If anyone has any questions or comments, then please do get in touch with them.

To take a look at the full Impact Report 2021-2022, click here.

To learn more about the fantastic work undertaken by Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, take a look at their dedicated page here.