Our Story

Wildlife Action Group (WAG), a Malawian non-profit conservation NGO, was created in 1996 in response to severe illegal commercial deforestation and poaching of wildlife that was going unchecked in Thuma Forest.

As is the case in so many African countries, the forest was under relentless threat from the huge demand for charcoal, and wildlife was being decimated in the commercial bushmeat and illegal ivory trade. Wildlife populations, including elephants, were almost depleted and some had become extinct, including lion, rhino, waterbuck and leopard. Four local men were employed as scouts and anti-poaching patrols commenced. Since then, our motto has been "more sweat and less poaching” which captures the spirit, dedication and hard work of our team.

In 2007, the adjacent forest reserve, Dedza-Salima Escarpment, was added to our portfolio in order to manage the protection of wildlife which move freely between both reserves. Today, the organisation is much larger with the majority of staff being a team of dedicated, skilled rangers and village community fence attendants. Our headquarters are situated deep inside Thuma Forest which enables us to keep our finger on the pulse and react to any issues immediately. Though we still face many of the same harsh challenges which first sparked Thuma’s journey to recovery, we are continuously seeing incredible improvements on the ground.

Each and every day, we strive to provide the highest level of protection for these important bio-diversity hotspots for future generations of Malawians.