The Elephant Marsh is a wetlands area found in the Shire Valley Districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje which is recognised internationally.
The area stretches from Phokera in Nsanje to Kamuzu Bridge in Chikwawa as the former district has a larger portion of the marsh.
The Elephant Marsh was declared wetlands site under the Ramsar Site in 2017 with batch number 2308.
Division Manager for Lower Shire Division, Wisely Kawaye said an early missionary Dr David Livingstone sailed along the Shire River from Mozambique in 1859.
He said as Livingstone was passing through Chiromo towards Chikwawa the Scottish saw huge herds of elephants grazing in the area.
Kawaye told ProjectM the missionary decided to name the area as “Elephant Marsh” from then to now it remains the same.
“Despite bearing the name, one can hardly find any elephant in the marsh,” he said.
Kawaye also said that the herds of elephants used to move freely across Malawi even beyond the borders to Mozambique.
According to the Division Manager, due to increased human activities, especially cultivation blocked their movements which were further restricted by fencing around the protected area.
The division manager further said migratory bird species also come to the wetlands site in Malawi from Europe and Asia in search for warmer weather and food.
“The migratory bird species arrive in Malawi’s wetlands from November to March. During this period thereafter they fly back to Europe and Asia together with their chicks,”
Group Village Head Ntchenyera described the elephant marsh as an area where the communities ply several activities such as agriculture, fishing, hunting and other livelihoods.
He said during hunger women and girls flock to the marsh to fetch for water lilies commonly known as ‘Nyika” as food.
He said the Shire River Basin Management Programme (SRBMP) initiated in 2017 to 2022 to the Elephant Marsh changed life for the better.
The traditional leader was quick to say after the departure of the SRBMP came the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP) project that brought a great change in the management of the elephant marsh.
“There have been the formation of Community Conservation Area (CCA) Elephant Marsh Association (EMA), Zonal Committees plus the introduction of the Tour Guides who are working tirelessly in the conservation of the area,” he said.
One of the Tour Guides Finias Faela said he had no knowledge of guiding tourists coming to the marsh.
He said he can manage to introduce various species of birds of tourists whom he guides into the marsh.
“’The training on tour guide has equipped me with knowledge of identifying hotspots of birds,” said Faela.
The Elephant Marsh also has crocodiles, hippos, fish and birds which are in large numbers.
