New base supports rangers who protect wildlife in Lukusuzi National Park

Isaac Daka is no stranger to the threats and hardships game rangers face in the line of duty as they work to protect animals in wildlife reserves worldwide. A game ranger in Zambia’s national parks since 1989 and based in Lukusuzi National Park in the Eastern Province, Daka admits that the satisfaction of knowing his work secures wildlife from poachers and human-wildlife conflict is sometimes overwhelmed by the reality that the job can be life-threatening to himself and his colleagues.  

Poachers, wild animal encounters, and extreme weather all pose a significant danger to rangers as they do their daily duties. Field officers appreciate the interest in their welfare as it inspires them to soldier on in what is a complex and often dangerous job.  

For years, field officers at Chikomeni Wildlife Camp have made do with poorly maintained institutional housing. Poor infrastructure is present in several national parks across the Malawi-Zambia landscape. 

An example of this is the former dilapidated ranger village located at the entrance of Lukusuzi National Park. Exhausted and weary after patrolling the vast 2,720-square-kilometre protected area, rangers would return to broken-down structures for years.  

All that has changed with the construction of a new base and comfortable housing for the rangers at the Chikomeni Camp—all part of IFAW’s commitment to supporting the welfare of wildlife rangers.  

A place for rangers to recharge 

Towering miombo trees surround five houses—allocated for senior and regular officers—each painted in ranger combat fatigue colours. The new facilities will provide rangers with an ideal environment to relax and recharge between patrol assignments.  

Patricio Ndadzela, IFAW’s country director for Malawi and Zambia, says that improved ranger welfare through housing construction is key to our strategic activities for the landscape.  

‘There’s no doubt that well-looked-after rangers are more enthusiastic, work harder, and are more determined to meet the challenges of working in a wild environment,’ he says, adding ‘The rangers are the first line of defence in our conservation work inside the national parks, and improving their welfare motivates them to engage extra gear in their efforts. The houses are part of IFAW’S response to that call.’ 

The new Chikomeni camp includes a modern administration block and comfortable accommodation.  

Ranger support benefits conservation 

Over the past five years, IFAW has supported field officers in the landscape with uniforms, patrol vehicles, equipment, training in law enforcement, food rations, and allowances—provisions that used to be hard to come by. This initiative has significantly improved rangers’ morale and has ultimately contributed to decreased poaching in the landscape over the past few years. 

Daka and his colleagues are equally excited: ‘We have not seen such beautiful houses for a long time. This base, alongside the other equipment and provisions that are supplied, is a big incentive to all of us to work harder,’ he says.  

Erastus Kancheya, Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DPNW)’s Area Warden for East Luangwa Area Management Unit, where Lukusuzi and Luambe national parks lie, commended IFAW for putting up a type of accommodation which he said will tremendously contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in the park.  

‘Rangers and their families will be elated and feel well cared for in this chosen career. In general, I see Lukusuzi National Park rising from the long-forgotten dust and awakening on the long road of meaningful conservation,”’Kancheya said.  

IFAW is also currently constructing housing units at Luambe National Park in Zambia, ensuring rangers based there are similarly equipped and cared for.  

The camps lie strategically in the corridor where animals move between Kasungu National Park in Malawi and Lukusuzi and Luambe national parks in Zambia. The new accommodation facilities ensure the availability of motivated field officers in the corridor to enhance conservation objectives in the landscape. 

These ranger bases are strategic outposts for IFAW’s ambitious Room to Roam initiative. Built on 20 years of science and fieldwork, Room to Roam aims to sustain the achievements which IFAW’s Combating Wildlife Crime (CWC) project has registered over the past five years through connecting and securing animal habitats in the landscape. The vision is to ensure safe passages for elephants and other wildlife, promoting biodiversity protection, a natural resilience to climate change, and a future where animals and communities coexist and thrive.