Mr Beni Kasiyamphanje

West Virginia University

Bio

My name is Beni Kasiyamphanje, a third-year PhD student in African History at West Virginia University. I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the Catholic University of Malawi and a Master’s Degree in African Social History from the University of Malawi. My major field is African History, and I am interested in the British colonial policies that led to the establishment of national parks in Malawi and how local people responded to these ideas.

Contested Grounds: Establishment, Access, and Control of Wildlife Resources in Malawi, 1891 to the Present.

Abstract

British colonial conservation policies in Malawi prioritized wildlife preservation and elite access, systematically marginalizing local communities by disregarding their historical dependence on these resources. Local populations actively resisted these exclusionary policies, transforming conservation sites into contested spaces. Post-independence state structures paradoxically reinforced these colonial paradigms, adopting existing management frameworks and escalating punitive measures against wildlife offenses.