African Parks, a not-for-profit conservation organisation, was awarded €2.6 million by the Dutch Postcode Lottery as one of its ‘Extra Awards’, for the restoration of Liwonde National Park and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in Malawi, at the annual Goed Geld gala held in Amsterdam last week.
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The funding will be used for the rehabilitation and long-term protection of both the park and the reserve, two protected areas covering 225 000 hectares. The award will also assist conservation initiatives – the translocation of approximately 500 elephants from Majete Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park into a sanctuary in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve.
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"We thank the Dutch Postcode Lottery and its players for this extraordinary and generous contribution to our critical conservation efforts in restoring these two parks and enabling this elephant translocation to happen,” said Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks. "The funding will also greatly assist with the reduction in human-wildlife conflict, which has proven to be at unprecedented levels compared with other parks in Africa, and will enable African Parks to make a real, positive and lasting difference to the region on many levels.”
In addition, funds from the grant will be allocated to advancing the economic development of communities living outside Liwonde and Nkhotakota through the creation of employment, educational and social services and tourism opportunities.
African Parks has been an annual beneficiary of the Dutch Postcode Lottery since 2010, and this additional funding brings the total amount awarded to it by the Lottery to €8 million.
