Charles Mpaka

About

Charles Mpaka is a Malawian journalist with over 10 years of experience in the field. From being an all rounder, he has grown an interest in covering agriculture, environment and conservation science.

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37 stories

Two suspects were arrested in Kenya in January with 110 kg of ivory. Image courtesy of Freeland.

After 110-kilo ivory bust, familiar questions over Kenya’s follow-through

Charles Mpaka 23 Apr 2026

Excavations at the mine, which has been found to be the source of the pollution in two rivers in Karonga district. Image by Jordan Simeon Phiri for Mongabay.

Malawi government suspends coal miner’s license over river pollution

Charles Mpaka 20 Apr 2026

Malawi says there’s been no illegal crayfish smuggling for a year

Charles Mpaka 8 Apr 2026

Integrated Women’s Development Organization at work in Sidama, Ethiopia. Image courtesy of Ruhama Getahun.

Ethiopian women plant trees, restoring lands & livelihoods

Charles Mpaka 1 Apr 2026

Zambia seizes half-ton of ivory in major illegal wildlife crime operation

Charles Mpaka 28 Mar 2026

Students are planting indigenous and other fruit tree species on school grounds. Image courtesy of Namulindwa Brendah.

Five more community-led African groups join global landscape restoration network

Charles Mpaka 25 Mar 2026

Lions. Image courtesy of Kasaine Sankan-Mara Predator Conservation Program.

Study finds livestock pushing lions away from shared rangeland in Kenya

Charles Mpaka 12 Mar 2026

Beetle known for ravaging mango trees now killing baobabs, study finds

Charles Mpaka 5 Mar 2026

Malawi’s solar boom is leaving a toxic legacy of lead waste

Charles Mpaka 20 Feb 2026

According to scientists, the enhanced protection for southern elephant seals is likely benefiting other species in their habitat. Image courtesy of Nico de Bruyn.

Southern elephant seals recover in Southern Africa, but global picture is mixed

Charles Mpaka 18 Feb 2026

Members of the Nazareth Baptist (Shembe) Church in South Africa wearing both wildlife skins and synthetic Heritage Furs provided in partnership with Panthera. Image courtesy of Gareth Whittington-Jones/Panthera.

Study reveals overlooked cultural threat to wildcats across Africa

Charles Mpaka 22 Oct 2025

Local divers pick away at Lake Malawi’s underwater garbage problem

Charles Mpaka 14 Oct 2025

Community rangers guard elephants in Sera Conservancy, Northern Rangelands, Kenya.

Wildlife crime crackdown in jeopardy worldwide after US funding cuts

Carolyn Cowan, Philip Jacobson, Spoorthy Raman, Charles Mpaka, Hans Nicholas Jong, Gerald Flynn 22 May 2025

A young orangutan grasps and hangs on to a woody liana.

As apes adapt to human disturbance, their new behaviors also put them at risk: Study

Charles Mpaka 24 Mar 2025

Artisans fix nets at Chikombe Beach ahead of their trip to Mbenje Island – . Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.

Fish-tracking robot aims to make fishing more sustainable in developing nations

Charles Mpaka 20 Mar 2025

The number of lions in the reserve had been rising since the introduction of three lions in 2012. The population now stands at between 80 and 100, according to the officials at the reserve

In Malawi reserve, contraceptives help balance lion and prey populations

Charles Mpaka 19 Mar 2025

Study links African lion survival to prey availability

Charles Mpaka 21 Feb 2025

Chimps remember, for years, the location of ant nests that provide food

Charles Mpaka 3 Feb 2025

Bonobo with a thumb on his mouth

Study finds bonobos more diverse, and more vulnerable, than previously thought

Charles Mpaka 4 Nov 2024

A boat arrives at Chikombe Beach with a haul of fish from Mbenje Island – . Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.

How a lineage of chiefs built a thriving fish oasis in Lake Malawi

Charles Mpaka 4 Nov 2024

Women make up a considerable proportion of the coffee farmers in the area.

Coffee agroforestry holds promise for smallholder growers in Malawi

Charles Mpaka 7 Oct 2024

Two young gorillas play in Gabon. Experts say humans' and gorillas' shared used of medicinal plants highlights the interconnectedness between humans and other apes. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Indigenous knowledge proves key in a study of plants gorillas use to self-medicate

Charles Mpaka 3 Oct 2024

Peter Kamowa settled in the edge of the forest and helps to guard it from invasion. Image by Charles Mpaka for Mongabay.

As Malawi government struggles to protect a forest, communities show the way

Charles Mpaka 29 Aug 2024

Sick chimps seek out medicinal plants to heal themselves, study finds

Charles Mpaka 20 Jun 2024

Chimps are lifelong learners, study on tool use shows

Charles Mpaka 9 May 2024

Savannah elephants at Majete NP, Malawi. Image by Peter Steward via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Malawi police arrest elephant poachers in Kasungu National Park

Charles Mpaka 18 Apr 2024

The number of oribis (Ourebia ourebi), small, floodplain-bound antelopes, declined by 47%.

Big problems for little animals when floodwaters rise, study finds

Charles Mpaka 14 Mar 2024

Tana is his field.

Africa’s land and forest restoration initiative gathers pace in Malawi

Charles Mpaka 7 Jun 2023

Village Headman Kawale.

Australian niobium mining project instills 16 years of anxiety for Malawi communities

Charles Mpaka 18 Jan 2023

A bonobo

Easygoing bonobos accepting of outsiders, study says

Charles Mpaka 10 Oct 2022

A crane lifts an elephant into a truck.

Jumbo task as Malawi moves 263 elephants to restock a degraded national park

Charles Mpaka 5 Aug 2022

Boats in Lake Malawi National Park.

Construction begins on controversial water project inside Lake Malawi National Park

Charles Mpaka 4 Jul 2022

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News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

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A New Zealand long-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata). Image © hrubbo via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0).

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