African Bat Conservation - developing an evidence base for bat conservation and human bat conflict mitigation in Malawi

Bats in Africa are in decline due to persecution, habitat loss and roost destruction. I have been running a Bat Conservation Research Programme in Malawi since 2011. Through my project African Bat Conservation (ABC) I am working and to conserve bats through applied research, direct conservation and mitigation activities and conservation education and outreach.

​Little is known about bats in Africa and my research fills the knowledge gaps about the roosting and foraging ecology of bats to help mitigate conflict and conserve habitats and roosts. To date this work has managed to get nine species legally protected under the new Wildlife Act of Malawi (2018) there are over 64 estimated species in the country which remain unprotected and regularly persecuted. Hundreds of bats are killed daily in Malawi through gassing and destruction of roosts.