Reconnecting elephant habitats in Malawi and Zambia

A shared landscape

Restoring this vital ecosystem requires more than local action. It demands coordination between Malawi and Zambia, two countries managing different landscapes within a single ecological reality.

"Wildlife moves instinctively in search of proper habitat that provides food, water, and most importantly, shelter and safety," says Bruce Sosola. "Elephants do not recognise political borders."

Sosola sees this as both a challenge and an opportunity.

"This landscape requires a unified approach," he said. "Even if national strategies differ, the ecosystem is shared."

Conservation authorities and partners are therefore working to strengthen cross-border monitoring, improve data sharing, and align management approaches across the wider landscape.

Sustaining progress

The challenges facing Kasungu-Lukusuzi are reflected across much of southern Africa, where wildlife continues to face pressure from habitat loss, climate change, and illegal trade.

Sosola believes the response must be equally coordinated. His vision includes a "rangers without borders" approach, in which conservation enforcement operates across national borders to close the gaps traffickers exploit.

Meeting those challenges requires long-term commitment and sustained investment. Protecting large landscapes, supporting local communities, restoring habitats, and maintaining effective law enforcement all depend on strong partnerships and reliable funding.

"We must collectively plan and implement activities that lead to improved outputs, measurable outcomes, and ultimately positive impact-reflected in increased wildlife populations, reduced human-wildlife conflict, and enhanced long-term ecological landscape restoration," says Sosola.

Sustaining that progress will require investment at a scale that matches the challenge. Conservation today is increasingly complex and resource-intensive, requiring governments and partners to address everything from habitat loss and climate pressures to transnational organised crime. Without long-term financial support, efforts to restore and protect connected landscapes risk falling behind the threats they are designed to address.

Brighton Kumchedwa, Director of National Parks and Wildlife in Malawi and a key IFAW conservation partner, remains optimistic about the future.

"Through partnership with government and local communities, IFAW intervention is expected to significantly reduce human-wildlife conflict around the park and beyond," he says.

A future in motion

Back in Kasungu, the elephant continues its journey through woodland and open grassland, following routes shaped by instinct and memory. Whether those routes remain open will depend on the work being done today.

For Sosola, conservation partners, government agencies, and local communities, the goal is clear: to ensure wildlife can move freely, ecosystems can recover, and people can thrive alongside nature.

Every elephant that moves safely between habitats represents more than a conservation success. It is evidence that landscapes can be restored, communities can benefit, and wildlife can once again move through ecosystems that have sustained them for generations.

Across the Kasungu-Lukusuzi landscape, that future is already taking shape.