Transboundary Wildlife Law Enforcement: Challenges and Pathways in the Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jwc.v2i1.8011Keywords:
Conservation Governance, Extradition, Illegal Wildlife Trade, SADC LEAP Strategy, Transboundary Wildlife Law EnforcementAbstract
Wildlife crime poses a severe threat to biodiversity and rural livelihoods across southern Africa. The Malawi–Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area (MAZA TFCA) serves both as a refuge for endangered species and a corridor exploited by organized crime syndicates. A qualitative comparative legal analysis was conducted, examining Malawi’s and Zambia’s wildlife protection legislation alongside related immigration, customs, police, firearms, extradition, and mutual legal assistance laws. Regional frameworks such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement (1999) and the SADC Law Enforcement and Anti Poaching (LEAP) Strategy (2022–2032) provided the broader policy context. The analysis revealed significant disparities: Malawi emphasizes custodial sentences of up to 30 years with relatively modest fines, while Zambia enforces higher monetary penalties, streamlined extradition, and digital compliance mechanisms. These divergences weaken deterrence, complicate evidence transfer, and undermine cross border cooperation. Harmonization of penalties, evidence protocols, extradition procedures, and Mutual Legal Assistant (MLA) frameworks is essential to strengthen deterrence and close enforcement loopholes. Anchoring reforms in the SADC LEAP Strategy would position the MAZA TFCA as a flagship pilot for regional harmonization of wildlife law enforcement.
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