Shifting/Changing Habits for the Better Tomorrow
For Alli Maulidi of Chimpini Village, in the Central Lakeshore district of Nkhotakota, Chia Lagoon offered a happy hunting ground for birds. He used to go on the lagoon and prey over bird species for food and sale to support his six-member family. He explains that through bird hunting, he could make about MK120,000 (US$60) which he could use to buy food, pay for school fees of his children and dependents and also buy fertilizer and other agricultural inputs in the agricultural dependent country.
“Since I learnt bird hunting skills from my uncle when I was kid, this is all trade I have known in my life and Chia Lagoon has been a very reliable bird sanctuary for me and other bird hunters,” he says.
However, he explains as time went by, he noted a gradual decline in numbers of visible birds at the lagoon. This translated to diminishing catch for him and other hunters which affected their livelihoods and those of their dependents. He says in the past Chia Lagoon had a variety of birds which made their hunting easy and faster. However, the story is different. Each hunting trip resulted in little catch and was sometimes not worth the effort.
“As time went by, we noticed the diminishing number of bird and species we could catch. Bird species which were easily available, became scarce leaving us with few catch and on a bad day the catch was not worthy our effort,” explains the 33-year-old.
Maulidi says the scarcity of some bird species on the lagoon awakened him and other people in the area. Through a community led initiative, he and other members of Chimpini Hunting Club started the sustainable hunting initiative, a community led initiative which aims at conserving waterbirds through the establishment of bird sanctuaries and habitat restoration activities around Chia Lagoon.
Chimpini Hunting Club now works with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi to better manage and restore the vital ecosystem around Chia, aiming to achieve the reversal in decline of vulnerable and endangered bird species. There are now 15 fully established and mapped out bird sanctuaries within the wetland which came into being as a result of a collaboration with the Malawi University of Science and Technology and the Department of Fisheries. These sanctuaries include a diverse birdlife.
“We now have 15 established bird sanctuaries which offers birds a safe habitat for their breeding and feeding. Some of the birds found in sanctuaries are Herons, Little Egrets, Common Ringed Plovers, African Comb Ducks and Eagles,” he says.
Maulidi says he and other former bird hunters now earn a living from acting as tour guides to bird enthusiasts who flock to the wetland all year round to watch birds, while some are making income from agro-waste briquettes which are made from maize and rice chaff. These briquettes are used for cooking in some households around area. By using the briquettes, households are playing their small part in conservating the forests since less trees are being used in cooking in a country where about 85 percent of Malawi’s 18 million people use wood for cooking and heating.
The Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) has been teaching members of Chimpini Hunting Club sustainable bird hunting management, avitourism, monitoring and documentation of bird species population and establishment of bird hunting protocols.
Blessings Chinagwe, who is WESM Programmes Manager says they were attracted by the initial community driven initiative by the Chimpini Club which she describes as rare since most of the conservation initiatives around Malawi are driven by non governmental organizations. She explains by working with the club, they are not just protecting the environment, but also enhancing lives of people who rely on Chia Lagoon’s resources for their survival
“We were impressed by the commitment and dedication to environmental conservation by the Chimpini Club such that we decided to partner so that we can work together. To us, this also it presents an opportunity to bring together conservation and community livelihoods,” she points out.
Another member of Bird Hunters, Shabani Mtila, says while in the past they relied on bird hunting as their primary source of income, which led to depletion of some bird species, now with the support of WESM, they have acquired knowledge which they now focus on sustainable livelihood alternatives like bird watching and smart agriculture.
Mtila says so far he and other 179 hunters have been trained on how to identify and record bird species as part of capacity building to the communities around the lagoon which helps them to be knowledgeable in their new occupation as tour guides to tourists who come to Chia Lagoon.
“This approach is not only better for the environment but also offers long-term economic benefits for our communities around Chia Lagoon, a vital waterbird habitat in Nkhotakota and the whole of central Malawi,” emphasizes Mtila.
According to the data from Wildlife and Environmental Society Malawi (WESM), the lagoon has over 600 bird species some of which are endemic while the rest are near-endemic. Bird watching in Chia is possible throughout the year. However, the best time is during the wet season which stretches from November to April when migratory birds are present.
Chia Lagoon, a 17 square kilometre body of water which was formed around 1900s after the area experienced flooding, is also home to various species of fish namely Chambo (Oreochromis) and Mpasa (Opsaridium Microlepis), Bubu (Auchenoglanis occidentalis), Cichlidae (Aulonocara gertrudae), Pindani (Chindongo socolofi) among others. Recent study by researchers from Mzuzu University suggest a higher nutrient composition of fish from Chia Lagoon than those from the Lake Malawi.
However, according to Chifundo Dalireni, an environmentalist from Nkhotakota, an administrative district under which the wetland is located, the aquatic ecosystem of Chia has been affected by artisanal goldmining which has picked up in last six years especially on the western side of the lagoon where miners are using chemicals which are harmful to birds and fish.
“The increasing activity in artisanal goldmining in the upper western side of the lagoon involves the use of dangerous chemicals to birds and fish like cyanide and fenus. These chemicals found their way into the lagoon ecosystem resulting in the killing of fish and bird species,” he laments.
Dalireni says taking care of the Chia biodiversity is a duty for everyone pointing out that previously the conservation efforts were not inclusive which has resulted in the loss of some insects like fireflies which were very common in the area but are no longer in vicinity due to devastating wildfires. He says it is time everyone put their energy together so that we can achieve Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 which among others emphasize sustainable communities, responsible consumption, climate action, and taking care of life below water and on land respectively.
Alli has one last word. He appeals to all people living or passing through Chia Lagoon not to dump thin plastics in the basin as it kills birds and fish, thereby disturbing the biodiversity of the lagoon which in the end affect the diverse ecosystems it supports. He urges people to switch to environmental friendly, sustainable and bio-degradable material for carrying items.
“I call upon the people of Nkhotakota and those who just pass through our area not to dump thin plastics anyhow as they end up in the waters of the lagoon in which they endanger fish and bird species. It is high time we adopt sustainable and biodegradable carrier bags for a better tomorrow,” he sums up.