From Training to Implementation: A New Key Biodiversity Area in Malawi Confirmed

Author: Fred Barasa, IBA/KBA officer, BirdLife International — Africa

Malawi has achieved a significant milestone in conservation with the confirmation of a new Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site. This development is a testament to collaborative efforts between conservationists, local communities, and stakeholders to safeguard the country’s rich biodiversity. KBAs are internationally recognized as sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity and are identified using criteria designed to capture elements of biodiversity across genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

In March 2024, 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. National Coordination Groups (NCGs) have been prescribed as the institutional mechanisms in each country for overseeing the process of identifying and monitoring KBAs. Their structures generally involve a mixture of governmental, and non-governmental organizations, local communities, and academics. This mechanism of establishing an NCG encourages national cooperation for overseeing the conservation of biodiversity and brings together different sectors of society, fostering inclusive governance and exchange of experience and co-learning. Establishing and building the capacity of NCGs as comprehensive networks is the recognized approach for the global KBA standard to deliver biodiversity outcomes at regional, national, and local levels.

Following the training, in collaboration with the birdlife secretariat guidance — the Malawian NCG drafted various KBAS/IBAS that were to undergo assessment and re-assessment. One of those sites was the Elephant Marsh Ramsar Site. It had not been assessed before. Thus, through the scoping analysis and various consultations with the various stakeholders within Malawi, this site underwent the KBA assessment process (proposal, review, nomination, and confirmation). Following a rigorous peer-review process to ensure scientific accuracy and relevance, the site was officially recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area and was confirmed in November 2024.

The Elephant Marsh is situated within the floodplain of the Lower Shire River in Southern Malawi in the districts of Chikwana and Nsanje. It was first designated as a Ramsar site in 2017. It supports a lot of waterbird species, fish, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles. The habitats include lagoons, floodplains, marshes, and riverbanks. The marsh is important for both agriculture and fisheries production in Malawi. It’s managed as a single unit, where various stakeholders have joined hands with the district councils of Chikwawa and Nsanje to support the communities to ensure sustainable management and utilization of the biological resources in the marsh.

The site qualified as a KBA after the following species having fulfilled the following criteria:

Mozambique tilapia (Vu, A1b,A1d), Yellow-belly Bream (CR, A1c), Silver Barb (DD,B1), African Skimmer (LC, D1a) and Madagascar pond-Heron (EN, A1a, D1a)

The confirmation of this KBA highlights Malawi’s growing commitment to biodiversity conservation. The site will serve as a refuge for endangered species and critical ecosystems. The initiative contributes to international conservation efforts and reinforces Malawi’s role in addressing the global biodiversity crisis.

This achievement demonstrates how a structured approach—from capacity building to rigorous data analysis and stakeholder engagement—can yield tangible conservation outcomes. The new KBA is not just a symbol of success, but a model for how countries can balance ecological preservation with community empowerment and development.

As implementation unfolds, the lessons learned from this process will inform future initiatives, ensuring that Malawi continues to lead by example in biodiversity conservation.