Lake Chilwa

Lake Chilwa is Malawi's second largest lake, behind Lake Malawi. It is located in the eastern Zomba District, close to the Mozambique border. The lake is 60 km long and 40 km wide, and it is surrounded by large marshes. Chisi Island is a small island in the middle of the lake. The lake has no outlet, and its level is heavily influenced by periodic rainfall and summer evaporation. During a period of very dry weather in 1968, the lake vanished. When David Livingstone visited the lake in 1859, he said that its southern edge extended all the way to the Mulanje Massif, making the lake at least 32 kilometers (20 miles) longer than it is today.

To secure the preservation of the lake and its wetlands, the Government of Malawi and the Danish International Development Agency have been working together. The Lake Chilwa Basin Climate Change Adaption Programme (LCBCCAP) was established to preserve the sensitive environment, which serves as a significant source of fish products in the area in addition to being an important wetland for the local wildlife.

Barbus paludinosus, Oreochromis shiranus chilwae, Clarias gariepinus, Brycinus imberi, and Gnathonemus are the most abundant fish species in Lake Chilwa. The lake is home to over 1.5 million waterbirds of approximately 160 distinct species. Every year, some of them travel from Siberia along the Asian-East African Flyway. With twelve bird species, this represents more than 1% of the entire flyway population. When the water level is low and fishing is difficult, the surrounding human population is dense and rising, and waterbirds are targeted for food. Efforts are being taken to guarantee that hunting is done in an environmentally responsible manner.

Lake Chilwa's western side, with Chisi Island in the distance. A total of 20% of the fish caught in Malawi are caught in the lake, which is fished by about 335 settlements with over 60,000 residents each year.