One of the country`s development partners European Union (EU) has appealed for concerted efforts aiming at protecting habitants in wildlife protected areas.

Team Leader of Economic, Trade and Governance Section at the EU Jose Navarro said this in Lilongwe during launch of a project dubbed “Building climate-resilient communities living around protected areas”.

According Navarro, the three year project alone cannot fight against poaching and encroachment in the targeted protected areas of Mwabvi Nature Reserve, Kasungu and Lengwe national parks where about 196, 157 people are expected to be reached.

“Of course the legal set up is there and the regulatory setup as well, the issue is of course the means and the capacity to implement and to comply with laws,” said the EU Team Leader.

And on her part of one the community members Pricilla Mayibeki from Chikwawa says the enrollment of the project has greatly assisted her to be economically independent without encroaching the wildlife protect in her community.

“Despite that the project has just been launched recently, but I have seen that there are a lot of benefits that we us communities members we will benefit and be independent as women in managing our finances,” said Mayibeki.

Meanwhile, Director for the Department of Land Resources Conservation in the Ministry of Agriculture Gertrude Kambawuwa said government is expecting that the project will empower individuals and communities that take lead in conserving the environment.

“This is a very important project, the issue at stake here is about protecting our natural resources and the environment in general in the targeted protected areas by directly engaging the community members,” said Kambawuwa.