ABSTRACT
Conservation of natural resources is a critical issue in developing countries, more especially those dependent so much on natural resources for tourism and economic development. The natural resource products are dominate in most of Africa’s tourism, including Malawi. However, the natural resource base continues to face tremendous pressure from local communities. Some of the local people surrounding national parks are involved in wildlife poaching and deforestation. Several factors drive locally based communities to be involved in such malpractices. Currently, Malawi’s tourism boasts nine wildlife reserves that are strategically spread countrywide. The presence of the natural resources calls for community-based responsibility to help in the conservation through collaboration with wildlife and natural resources site managers. Therefore, using qualitative in-depth interviews with eight senior tourism conservation officials and two senior tourism regulators, it was discovered that the challenges to tourism’s sustainability, mainly poaching and deforestation, are primarily due to poverty because food security becomes a priority for human survival. The results also indicate that there was minimal community involvement in conserving natural resources and a lack of proper enforcement of tourism laws by regulators. Positively, Lake Malawi National Park is connected to various water-related resources, including its history, which is also kept in a museum within the park lake. Furthermore, this park is surrounded by a community which depends on the same natural resources for their livelihoods in Lake Malawi.
