Elephants, Crops and People (ECP)

Report – January 2007 to the International Elephant Foundation (IEF)

Goal of Project To reduce elephant crop raiding in the Ishasha River Region.

Objectives

1. To successfully complete the digging of a trench along the Bukorwe ridge as part of a larger regional strategy to mitigate Elephant-Human Interaction (EHI).

2. To strengthen park – community relations.

3. To reduce threats to elephant and human life resulting from EHI.

4. To pilot a cost effective strategy for mitigating crop raiding through valleys within the Ishasha River Region.

5. To employ communities severely affected by crop raiding in order to provide alternative income generation options.

Project summary:

Elephant crop raiding in Southern Queen Elizabeth National Park, Southwest is at extreme and intolerable levels and ECP, along with the local community and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) began hand digging a 20km, 2 by 2 metre trench as the first part of a larger strategy towards mitigating crop raiding in the region. The trench excavation is being carried out by the local villagers from the Ishasha Customs village through Bukorwe to Rushorosa. ECP requested the IEF’s support in this vital activity to help protect the subsistence farmers, and the elephants as in an 18 month period 1403 crop raiding records had been fully documented at an alarming annual increase. With community crop losses beyond tolerable levels, communities had been spearing and poisoning elephants in revenge. In addition to reducing the elephant crop raiding this activity will stop the communities’ illegal cattle grazing and the parks buffalo crop raiding. It will also forge a commitment between the communities and UWA, through action, and this will inevitably have positive effects on anti- poaching as well.

Page 1 of 12 Anticipated benefits and outputs

1. Reduction in Elephant Crop Raiding 2. Reduction in Buffalo and other mammal crop raiding. 3. Reduction in Illegal Cattle Grazing 4. Reduction in elephant and human deaths associated with crop raiding. 5. Temporary employment of subsistence farmers. 6. Improved park – community relations. 7. Testing of pilot trial / technique to reduce crop raiding in valleys where trenches can not be dug 8. Communities able to harvest crops for the first time in many years. .

Personnel and organizations involved

• Uganda Conservation Foundation (UK Charity & Uganda Not For Profit Company). • District Council and Sub County. • Kihihi Wildlife Management Association. • Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Page 2 of 12 Page 3 of 12 Location: Ishasha is based in Southern Queen Elizabeth National Park, South – West Uganda. This sector of QE forms the largest and most significant connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Parc National des Virunga. Within the Ishasha Sector there are three river systems and the elephants tend to come from the riverine forests to the community areas to crop raid. As such ECP divided the community areas geographically and this proposal dealt with the Ishasha River region. The park border runs along the Bukorwe escarpment / ridge which lends itself towards a crop raiding strategy based around a trench along the crest of the ridge.

Map: Crop raiding in Southern QECA, all river regions.

Page 4 of 12 Progress towards meeting objectives

1. To successfully complete the digging of a trench along the Bukorwe ridge as part of a larger regional strategy to mitigate EHI.

The initial project application submitted in August 2005 was hopeful that with the planning already having taken place and some funding having been secured that the main excavations would begin in September 2005 with the completion of the works dependant upon the speed of funding. The Memorandum of Understanding between the District legislature, Uganda Wildlife Authority and the local communities could not be finalized until December 2005. Although the local communities continued some voluntary excavation works the major excavations began in January 2006.

Initially funding was allocated to meet the revised costs of digging 5,000 metres of the trench and for the provision of digging tools. In order to maintain the initial commitment of the respective communities, UWA and local community leaders agreed that sections of the trench should be commenced in each of 3 parishes and mobilization of the workforces from these communities took place in January 2006. By mid-April the community workers had excavated a total distance of 10,233 metres funded approximately 50/50 from the initial funding provided by UCF and from local revenue sharing schemes.

An inspection and monitoring visit was made in February 2006 and in mid-April the Directors walked the length of the completed trench works and identified with the community leaders and UWA remedial works necessary and some areas of concern around maintenance, valley areas and lower lying areas. It had always been recognized by UCF that a trench would not be appropriate in valley areas or the lower lying land and with the works under way this view was reinforced. As a result the excavated trench is not yet a continuous length but is interrupted in a number of valley areas.

A further inspection visit was made in June and it was pleasing to see that outstanding works in areas of partial completion had been carried out and the communities had also commenced a programme of maintenance work to ensure that completed sections were maintained at the required standard to be effective. Following this monitoring visit it was agreed that the next installment of funding would be released subject to a revised Memorandum of Understanding specifically covering maintenance and supervision issues.

The MOU between UWA and Ishasha community was signed and UCU received a copy on 23rd August 2006. Subsequently, a total of UGX 8,000,000($4,372) was released to UWA as a payment to facilitate the work on the Bukorwe ridge trench. It was later realized that the work was under estimated and undervalued. This led to release of additional UGX 3,000,000($1,639) in early October 2006 to complete the excavation. UCF strives to ensure that projects are administered efficiently and professionally. Therefore, last year UCF recruited a Projects Officer and Finance and Administration Officer. Since August last year, the Projects Officer has visited Bukorwe ridge trench excavation four times. The trench excavation would have been completed last December but the last section of it has proven difficult to dig due to rock underneath. However it is anticipated that by March 2007 excavation will be complete.

Page 5 of 12 Maintenance has been hindered by harvesting season since most able community members are involved in crop harvesting. It is anticipated to commence at the end of the season this January.

1

Top Soil Heap

Top Soil Removed

2

Soil Removed

2. To strengthen park – community relations.

A positive result has been seen already towards this objective through the establishment of a Steering Committee to oversee the trench works. The committee comprises representatives of UWA and the local communities at District Sub-County level and Parish level. The main UWA representative is the Warden in Charge of the Ishasha sector which has brought him into very close contact with the community influencers enabling any park / community friction areas to be more easily resolved. In addition he is working with the communities on complementary income generation activities so that they may benefit more from the increasing tourism in the area. Illegal cattle grazing in the park has already been reduced with the trench cutting off access routes.

3. To reduce threats to elephant and human life resulting from EHI.

The strengthening of park – community relations is also being aided by the reduction already being seen in the instances of crop raiding and human / wildlife interaction. Whilst no actual statistics are available at this time, at each inspection visit the local community confirms that positive results are already being seen. It is acknowledged that in view of the broken trench line at the valley areas problem animals are still being seen but these areas can now be guarded and monitored more effectively. There are no reported incidents of elephants having been killed by the communities in retaliation for crop raiding since the commencement of the project.

Page 6 of 12 4. To pilot a cost effective strategy for mitigating crop raiding through valleys within the Ishasha River Region.

It was recognized in the project funding application that the valley areas funnel wildlife into the crops and were ‘hotspots’ for crop raiding and a weakness in the mitigation strategy. Suggestions were set out in the funding proposal as to how the strategy in these areas should be developed but these were an outline only. In order to give due regard to any environmental impact and to find both a practical and cost effective solution in the valley areas, work in the valleys has not yet commenced with the focus being maintained on the trench works. Nevertheless, solutions and ideas are currently being sought both in Uganda and in the UK. Solutions must recognize the limitations of available materials in the locality and difficulties of transport and lack of equipment. Investigations are being made into the suitability and availability of ‘mud brick’ making equipment that has started to appear in country, recycled plastic pole fencing, in addition to more traditional barriers and fencing. Without doubt the valley and lower lying areas will be a challenge both in practical creativity and funding requirement. The funding made available by IEF will help towards costs in the first trial areas and in solution research.

To strengthen mitigation measures, UCF is sending its project officer and another member from Ishasha community to Elephant Pepper Development Trust (EPDT) training in Zambia in the near future. The training is centred on the use of chilli pepper products to reduce human- wildlife conflicts. This method has been tested in some parts of Africa but has never been used in Uganda and we look to gain transferrable knowledge and skills and test the effectiveness of this method on other types of problem animals.

The erection of three watchtowers to cover two valleys is also being investigated. These will provide a bird’s eye view of elephants coming to raid crops enabling the rest of the community to be alerted and take actions to scare away the approaching animals.

See following diagram:

Page 7 of 12 Side View

Watch Tower: 30ft high Gives elevated guarding, Park Boundary and communications •30 meter clearance of bush land and cairn capability. Identify the problem woodland from within the park. (vision / sound) communication and coordination to and of • Area in which alarm systems can be placed community guards with more deterrents •Chilli pepper based deterrents Soil Spoil Heap

High Ground – good draining soil: Trench: 2m by 2m. Maintained under MoU agreement between Park and Community. Spoil heap: grassed over and a minimum љ meter back from trench edge

5. To employ communities severely affected by crop raiding in order to provide alternative income generation options.

Digging of the trench is all done by hand and the workforce has been mobilized from the 3 parishes through which the trench passes. From funding already made available through UCF the communities have received 23,500,000 UGX ($12,828) for their excavation work in addition to other payments from revenue sharing. There is an additional unspecified benefit from the higher crop yields as a result of a reduction in crop raiding by animals. Also as mentioned under Objective 2 other income generation activities are being encouraged under the new UWA / community partnership.

Page 8 of 12 Summary

ECP has found a region in extreme trouble and that was (alarmingly) completely unsupported. After close collaboration with UWA and the local communities the management orientated research project has now transformed into clear action. Between the three stakeholders we have a unilateral recognition and understanding of the problems and now the action. The positive impact of this project to the area, wildlife and people is remarkable.

The complexities of providing a strategy for a 20 km boundary incorporating valleys and lower lying areas are large and the time indicated for the completion of the project was underestimated. Strategies must be found which are acceptable, practical and feasible in this remote area and where funds and resources are difficult to source.

Historically it has been very difficult to attract funds to the region, though through ECP and now the registered charity and the administration, legal and networking support that it strives to provide, the project has already managed to raise $46,000 and the communities further funding through the UWA revenue sharing scheme in addition to their in-kind contribution through voluntary digging.

With the IEF funding which UCF received in 2006 and the further grant agreed for 2007 it is hoped that the trench works for the section between Ishasha Customs and the Kihihi Road will be completed in early 2007 and the valley works later in 2007 for this important site in the biodiversity ‘hotspot’ of the Albertine Rift Valley. Lessons learnt on this stretch will then assist the completion of remaining sections in the Ishasha River area.

Page 9 of 12 Accompanying images representative of the project

Top of a valley section

Easier progress in softer soil conditions

Page 10 of 12 Measuring newly excavated section

New section under construction

Page 11 of 12 Taking a break, hard soil conditions

Team talk on monitoring visit

Page 12 of 12