By Jon Stevenson

Malawi by any definition is in the top 10 poorest countries in the world and could be in the top 5.

73% of the population live below the poverty line and 25% live in extreme poverty. The population is expected to double by 2030 which is a disaster in the making. Malawi has no natural resources and almost no industry of any kind. The economy is mostly based on agriculture growing maize, tobacco, cotton, peanuts, tea and sugar cane. There is a high infant mortality rate, HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent and women bear an average of 6 children each.

There has been widespread deforestation of Malawi’s forests due to the illegal cutting of trees for production of charcoal. Over 50% of prime forest land has been stripped. Charcoal is the only means that the population has to cook food and heat their homes so the government turns a blind eye to the practice. Saving what is left of Malawi’s forest is critical since stripping of the land leads to excessive runoff, soil erosion and loss of habitat for wildlife.

Enter Elefence International Inc. and Wildlife Action Group which are in partnership to save and restore two endangered forest reserves – Thuma Forest and Dedza-Salima Forest.

The goal is to surround both reserves with solar powered electric fences to keep the wildlife, especially elephants, from leaving the forest to raid village gardens.

The Thuma Forest fence has been completed thanks to various grants and a generous donation from an Elefence supporter resulting in a 95% reduction of Human Elephant Conflict ( HEC).

Fences also mark a clear boundary to define the forest areas. Poachers and woodcutters inside the fence are subject to fines and imprisonment.

Remarkably the fences have allowed the last of the escarpment elephants to return to the forest —with the population, amazingly, going from zero to over 200.

There are still about 45 miles of fence to be completed to close the Dedza-Salima forest.

The forest land is amazingly resilient if given the chance to recover. The following photos show what a hillside looks like after being stripped of vegetation prior to construction of a fence. The next photo shows what it looks like after only three years. The last photo is a sample of what it will become in ten years.

Hillside Stripped before Elefence errected.

Forest recovery after three years.

Forest representation after ten years.