A resource for those involved in African conservation

African Wildlife Foundation’s AFRICAN LANDSCAPE 2014.ISSUE 2 Paul Runze / PCRimages.com

IN THIS ISSUE New Tools for Protecting Land, Wildlife and Livelihoods By Kathleen H. Fitzgerald Vice president, conservation strategy

frica is facing unprecedented habitat Keen had approached AWF because he wanted and species loss. ough the continent to retain ownership of his land, which is directly hosts an important network of protected adjacent to the 28,962-acre Nairobi National Aareas that supports wildlife, provides ecosystem Park, while simultaneously protecting it from services and generates revenue for host coun- development pressures over the long term. Education support 4 tries, this network is too small and isolated to Keen donated the easement to AWF and Kenya support viable populations of wildlife. A major- Wildlife Service (KWS), who are monitoring ity of wildlife spends its time outside of pro- compliance with the easement. tected areas. Local communities are also limited in how they can benet. In countries that have private land tenure, voluntary easements can be an eective conser- Given the rate of land-use change and accelerat- vation mechanism. Easement holders should be ed threats across the continent, African Wildlife organisations with a conservation focus and the Foundation (AWF) has explored and piloted a ability to uphold the easement, rather than in- number of innovative conservation approaches dividuals. A valuation process should be clearly that are grounded in clear resource tenure rights outlined, and easements should be executed in Great ape workshop 5 and landowner participation, and use respon- perpetuity so as to achieve long-term conserva- sible investment to incentivise improved natural tion objectives. resource management. Following are brief sum- maries of some of these approaches. Payment for ecosystem services, Kenya Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya Environmental easement, Kenya measures 392 km2 and has an elephant popula- An environmental easement is an agreement tion of approximately 1,500 individuals that, between a landowner and an easement holder along with other wildlife, regularly leaves the that restricts uses of a property to protect certain park and moves east toward the Chyulu Hills. aspects of their land, such as biodiversity, scenic beauty and recreational values. In 2011 in Kenya, In this elephant corridor between Amboseli and AWF executed East Africa’s rst environmental Chyulu Hills lies the 25,120-hectare Kimana Aerial census in Kenya 6 easement, with a private landowner, John Keen. Group Ranch, which continued on page 8

2 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

Collaboration Is Critical ne of the greatest threats to the of concerned parties in an extended AWF Senior Staff survival of Africa’s wildlife and workshop where they were able to share other natural resources is the ideas and create new linkages to work Patrick Bergin Orapid rate of land-use change on the together in the future. You can nd the Chief Executive Officer Kenya/United States continent. We are witnessing the com- story on page 5. bined phenomena of land speculation, Jeff Chrisfield National wildlife and protected area Chief Operating Officer agricultural expansion and infrastructure United States development—all driven by the explo- authorities in Kenya and Tanzania, with AWF again playing a collaborating role, Daudi Sumba sion in human population. e result Vice President for Programme Design has been the subdivision, fencing o and jointly conducted a large-herbivore census and Government Relations overuse of land. Wildlife populations in the cross-border Kilimanjaro land- Kenya have dwindled. scape in 2013. Results, which we discuss Charly Facheux on pages 6 – 7, have conrmed that the Vice President for Conservation Projects To ensure that there is still space for wildlife populations here have rebounded Democratic Republic of Congo/Kenya wildlife habitat, even in the midst of nicely from the drought of several years Kathleen Fitzgerald this development, AWF is using vari- ago—primarily because stakeholders have Vice President for Conservation Strategy continued to collaborate closely to manage Kenya ous instruments to persuade landown- ers to undertake conservation. You can the landscape. Tye Haralson Vice President for Finance and Administration United States Craig Sholley Vice President for Philanthropy and Marketing Collaboration is critical United States for us—and for Africa’s Technical Directors wildlife and wild lands Jef Dupain AWF Director, Great Apes Programme Kenya Dave Loubser Programme Director, Climate Change read our cover story to learn how we In Zimbabwe, AWF is working in partner- Kenya employed these mechanisms—many of ship with the Zimbabwe Parks Authority Brian McBrearity which had never before been used in to develop a general management plan Director, Conservation Enterprise for Hwange National Park (see page 10). Kenya Africa until AWF implemented them— for everyone’s benet. To ensure the plan addresses stakeholder Philip Muruthi needs, we are using a participatory plan- Senior Director, ning process that includes the participa- Conservation Science In all cases, AWF worked in close part- Kenya tion and input of local communities, nership with all the stakeholders—from private sector partners, other NGOs and Alistair Pole landowners and community residents to other stakeholders. Director, Land Conservation local chiefs and national ministries—to Zimbabwe ensure full understanding and volun- Collaboration is critical for us—and tary participation in these conservation for Africa’s wildlife and wild lands. We African Wildlife Foundation’s eorts. are most thankful for our funding and AFRICAN LANDSCAPE on-the-ground partners, organisations Cornerstone of our work and individuals such as you who make it African Landscape is published three times a year, thanks to Such collaboration is a cornerstone of possible for certain landscapes to remain funding support from the Royal wild and available for wildlife and humans Netherlands Embassy in Kenya. all of AWF’s work. is issue of African Landscape illustrates the idea quite well. alike. We look forward to partnering with you to continue this critical work. P.O. Box 48177, 0100 In Central and West Africa, for Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2710367 example, primatologists and great ape Fax: +254 20 2710372 conservationists have historically worked [email protected] awf.org in isolation to protect the diminishing populations of Africa’s four great ape Daudi Sumba © 2014 African Wildlife Foundation species. In April, AWF played a central Vice president for programme design role in bringing together a number and government relations 2014.ISSUE 2 3

Household-Level Fish Ponds IN BRIEF

Offer Livelihood Alternatives AWF’s bonobo conservation work is featured in the brand new apeAPP from the UN Environ- ollowing on the success of the Mwandi Integrated Fish Farm, ment Programme. The app provides informa- AWF implemented a small-scale aqua sheries project in Sesheke District, Western Province, Zambia. e project tion and project updates for laypeople on the Fwas aimed at providing an alternative livelihood to shing on the world’s five great ape species. Download the Zambezi River, where sh catches have drastically reduced due app at: awf.org/apeapp. to overshing. e project was funded by the UN Development Programme Global Environment Facility (or UNDP – GEF) Small AWF has completed a commercial review for Grants Programme. the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to help the authority increase park AWF in conjunction with Inyambo Community Development Trust revenue to support conservation. identied 10 households whose livelihoods are highly dependent on shing in Namanjanga Village, 20 km west of Mwandi. As part of AWF signed an MOU with the Kavango–Zambezi their contribution, the households provided the labour to dig the 10 Transfrontier Conservation Area (known as the ponds. AWF provided pond construction materials, including dam KAZA TFCA) secretariat, making AWF an officially liners, a portable water pump, PVC pipes and extra labour to help dig and line the ponds. e Department of Fisheries trained the commu- recognised conservation partner in this Southern nity members in aquaculture and provided technical support during African transborder region. the construction of the ponds, which were completed in February. AWF, together with the Aspen Institute, hosted To commemorate the community’s hard work and to showcase how the first of its China–Africa Dialogue Series in alternative livelihoods can support conservation eorts, AWF held Nairobi in June. The policy dialogues, of which a ceremony as the rst 2,500 ngerlings—supplied from Mwandi five are planned, gather Track II professionals Fish Farm—were stocked in the rst two ponds. e ceremony was from across Africa and China to discuss sustain- attended by three chiefs, among them Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta, able development on the African continent. who hosted the event, Chief Sekute and Chief Liswani (from Na- mibia), and members of the traditional council. Also in attendance The Randilen wildlife management area (WMA), were stakeholders from the Fisheries Department and the Zambia Wildlife Authority, local government ocials, Namibian agencies one of several WMAs that AWF has helped in wildlife and environment, civil society representatives from the establish in northern Tanzania, officially deployed Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation of Namibia 15 village game scouts earlier this year to begin and Peace Parks Foundation, and local media. protection of this 315-km2 community conserva- tion area. Each of the 10 sh ponds have a holding capacity of 2,000 ngerlings. As such, the community will raise a maximum of 20,000 sh for sale, The Kilimanjaro team hosted a training workshop with a portion of the sh raised to be used for home consumption. in July on Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013 for magistrates, prosecu- tors, customs and security teams, county admin- istrators and others from southern Kenya.

A new AWF project manager has been hired near the Imatong Mountains in South Sudan, positioning AWF to more effectively continue its work in this protected area.

Under the banner of its species protection efforts, AWF has purchased a vehicle for the Kalahari Conservation Society to continue its elephant protection work in and around Botswana’s Makgadigadi National Park.

Household-level fish ponds in Zambia are providing new livelihood alternatives that will help to ease the overfishing of the Zambezi River. Perrin Banks 4 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

Graduating With Distinction in Zambia, With AWF Support By Perrin Banks Programme manager, AWF Conservation Schools

n the Kazungula landscape, access to quality education for rural communities is poor. Primary schools are oen ill-equipped in terms of teaching materials and lack a suitable learning Ienvironment, while secondary schools are located far from rural communities and unaordable for many families. e AWF Con- servation Schools (ACS) programme was designed to address these challenges as a way to support rural livelihoods in exchange for their commitment to conservation initiatives.

While Lupani Primary Conservation School in Zambia was con- structed under the auspices of ACS, AWF extended this support to secondary school students with the establishment of an education trust fund. Known as Easements for Education, this fund has en- abled deserving students in Sekute Chiefdom to attend secondary school. e fund is administered by the Sekute Community Devel- opment Trust, a community organisation responsible for managing a conservation area that had been established in exchange for ACS support. Scholarships are contingent on good marks and commit- ment by students and their families to protect the area’s wildlife and natural resources.

Between 2009 and 2014, Easements for Education sponsored more than 500 students in Sekute Chiefdom to attend secondary school.

One beneciary and recent graduate of this programme was Clement Masangu from Kazungula, Zambia.

Promising future Clement almost did not nish secondary school aer his father passed away in 2008. ough his uncle and mother continued to support Clement, tuition was too high for him to continue his schooling. With encouragement from his uncle, though, Clement applied for the Easements for Education programme and was accepted in time to nish his last two years at Hillcrest Secondary Technical School, a prestigious boarding school. “I didn’t realize I could go there because the tuition was so high,” said Clement. Scholarships are “Easements for Education allowed me to attend … the best school contingent on good in Livingstone.” Clement recently graduated from Hillcrest with distinction marks and commitment across all his subjects. Next year he will attend the University of Zambia in Lusaka to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, a by students and their dream since childhood. He hopes to one day work for the Zambia families to protect the Electricity Supply Corp. so that he can support his younger siblings and other disadvantaged children from the Chiefdom, so that they area’s natural resources may enjoy the same opportunities as he did.

In addition to giving him a promising future, Easements for Edu- cation has helped Clement see a clear link between education and conservation. “ rough education, you see benets that conserva- tion oers from tourism and employment,” he explained. “Conserva- tion will benet future generations and help people through better education opportunities.”

Perrin Banks Scholarship funding from AWF allowed Clement Masangu to attend a prestigious secondary school. He will soon enrol in university. 2014.ISSUE 2 5

AWF Workshops Foster Greater Collaboration on Great Ape Conservation By Jef Dupain Director, great apes programme Jef Dupain

Following a stakeholder workshop in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, AWF nly one year aer the launch of its African Apes gathered protected area managers and ecologists for an overnight field exercise Initiative (AAI), AWF is providing direct protection, and technical workshop (above) in the Congo’s Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve. funding and technical support to a number of great Oape sites in West and Central Africa. Earlier this year it also and this protected area is managed with technologies, such as hosted a stakeholder workshop and eld excursion for great CyberTracker, and procedures that can be applied to other great ape conservationists. ape sites. Managers and ecologists from the priority great ape landscapes joined their Lomako colleagues for an overnight e workshop, held in April in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic anti-poaching patrol in the protected area, learning about their of Congo (DRC), involved decision makers and key conserva- standards of procedures and management of the reserve. is tion players from ve priority great ape landscapes: Niokolo- rsthand experience allowed all to then have vivid discussions Koba National Park and its periphery in Senegal, Dja Biosphere on common conservation threats and to assess the best tools for Reserve in Cameroon, and DRC’s Maringa–Lopori–Wamba monitoring ape habitat and bolstering anti-poaching security. landscape, Bili-Uele Protected Area Complex and Virunga National Park. (AWF provides monetary and technical support Momentum and serious progress to many of these landscapes through AAI.) Both meetings were well received. As most of the participants are eld focused and have limited contact with the “outside In addition to imparting an improved understanding of dif- world,” these meetings were their rst opportunity to meet one ferent stakeholders’ roles, the workshop—which included the another and exchange best practises. directors of national parks, conservators and park wardens, plus representatives from technical partners such as Zoological A number of outputs have already resulted from the work- Society of London, Kyoto University, Jane Goodall Institute and shops. In early June, the conservator of the Dja Faunal Reserve, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (or IGCP)— with support from AWF, organised the rst-ever roundtable allowed the stakeholders to agree on conditions to improve meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with all stakeholders to collaboration and develop an action plan to be implemented at agree on next year’s workplan for the reserve. At the same the respective sites. time, GRASP has begun planning for Senegal’s rst national chimpanzee conservation planning workshop. Finally, Ikali “Eective partnerships are a critical and necessary element for Monkengo, director of the Centre de Recherche en Ecologie et conservation to be eective and lasting,” said Annette Lanjouw, Foresterie (or CREF) has met with authorities at the Luo Scien- vice president of strategic initiatives and great apes programme tic Reserve in the DRC to obtain clarication of its existence. for Arcus Foundation, which funded the Kinshasa workshop. Lanjouw also facilitated the workshop. e momentum at the dierent priority sites as a result of the meetings makes us believe that serious progress will be made is meeting was followed by a eld-based learning exercise on great ape conservation at the priority sites. At the request and technical workshop in Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve of the participants, a follow-up meeting will be planned in in the Maringa–Lopori–Wamba landscape, funded by the Great 2015. With Africa’s great apes under threat, conservationists Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP). Lomako, established across West and Central Africa need to band together to by AWF in 2006, is a haven for an estimated 1,000 bonobos, ensure they survive. 6 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

Wildlife in Kilimanjaro Recovering From 2009 Drought By Noah Sitati Manager, Kilimanjaro landscape

or the second time, AWF assisted in the aerial census border collaborative approach to managing wildlife that AWF in the Kilimanjaro landscape. e wet and dry season has initiated following many reports of wildlife insecurity along censuses, conducted in 2013, focused on the large the border. Fherbivore population and on large carnivores. e surveys— which were undertaken in the Amboseli–Magadi ecosystem in Recovery from drought southern Kenya and the West Kilimanjaro–Enduimet and Lake e survey used seven airplanes donated by dierent partners, Natron regions in northern Tanzania—covered an area including KWS, TAWIRI, Marwel Wildlife, Tsavo Elephant of 25,632 km2. Trust, Amboseli Trust for Elephants and Born Free Founda- tion, as well as individuals. It was is transboundary survey, conducted over a period of eight which began in its current days between March and May, form in 2010, is the rst of its Because of the migratory followed by a dry-season census kind in terms of collaboration that took place between Septem- between wildlife authorities nature of wildlife, taking ber and October 2013. from the respective countries, namely Kenya Wildlife Service a transboundary approach To increase the precision and (KWS), Tanzania Wildlife accuracy of results, partners Research Institute (TAWIRI) provides more accurate standardised transect widths and conservation organisations. wildlife estimates (using streamers on aircra wing In addition to nancial and struts), aircra altitude and air- technical support, AWF played speed during the counts. Spatial a crucial coordination role, statistics were used to quantify the bringing the wildlife authorities and other partners together as spatial patterns of various species. Kernel density maps were well as supporting the respective wildlife authorities to budget plotted to infer variation in seasonal space use by the animals. for future surveys. Overall, 28 large mammal species were recorded during the e purpose of these censuses was to establish the status of the survey. e good news is that the elephant population, a large herbivores following a serious drought in the landscape agship species, is stable. ere was also a general increase in in 2009, which had decimated more than 60 percent of most wildlife species. e census also helped to determine the the number of large herbivores between the years 2010 and distribution of specic species within the landscape. 2013. e elephant population increased from 1,420 to 1,930 individuals, while the elephant carcass ratio declined from 3.7 From a regional point of view, the census reinforced the cross- percent to 1.8 percent. Wildebeest increased by more than 100 border collaboration in conservation between Kenya and percent, from 7, 240 to 14,728. Similarly, zebra numbers more Tanzania. Ideally, because of the migratory nature of wildlife than doubled, while the bualo population increased by about between the two countries, taking a transboundary, broader- 72 percent, from 334 to 575. ese populations’ increases can landscape approach gives more accurate estimates of wildlife be attributed largely to the recovery of the populations aer the numbers as opposed to a country- or ecosystem-specic severe drought and, to a lesser extent (and more specically for approach. is transboundary census is one part of the cross- elephants), the increase in survey area. 2014.ISSUE 2 7 Max Chiswick

e results also showed marked variations in abundance and attended by high-level senior government ocials from the spatial distribution of wildlife species between seasons over two countries, including Kenya’s principal secretary in the time. In most instances, the abundance of most species of Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, animals was higher and more widely distributed in the wet and KWS Director Kiprono and other senior directors from season and lower and clustered in the dry seasons. KWS. Tanzania was represented by the director of TAWIRI, director of TANAPA and director of Tanzania’s Wildlife ese surveys show the importance of the cross-border land- Division, among others. scape as a wildlife conservation area, and ndings are crucial for spatial planning at a landscape level. In their speeches, the representatives heavily acknowledged the developed collaboration between the two countries in Human–elephant conflict wildlife management despite the logistical challenges faced Kicking o the aerial census in 2013, KWS Director William during the survey due to policy dierences. It was generally Kiprono and his TAWIRI counterpart, Dr. Maurus Msuha, agreed that high-level meetings between the two countries emphasised the need to jointly ght elephant poaching along should be undertaken to harmonise these policies and make the international borders, which has become a big threat to collaboration on future surveys easier. e call for future elephant population in the region and the world at large. surveys were echoed, as was the continued cross-broader wildlife security patrols between the relevant government For the time being, poaching due to illegal ivory tracking, agencies. while an existing threat, is being mitigated because of a robust scout network on the ground. ( e scout network was ABOVE and BELOW: Wildlife censuses require significant coordination and prior implemented by a number of groups, including AWF and planning, but can also provide useful information about conservation strategies partner Big Life Foundation, and continues to be supported being used. Below, AWF Kenya Country Director Fiesta Warinwa (foreground) by them and others.) In the greater Amboseli directs efforts during the 2013 Amboseli large herbivore census. ecosystem, 29 elephants were killed between 2011 and May 2014. In Enduimet WMA, no elephant has been poached in the past two years since 2012.

Human–elephant conict remains the biggest threat to elephants due to the changing land use from pastoralism to cultivation. Elephants are speared by farmers and oen succumb to the injuries. Sometimes poachers take advantage and remove the tusks in anticipation of being able to sell them on the black market.

A summary of the survey report was shared during a stakeholders’ dissemination work- shop in April in Arusha. e workshop was KWS 8 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

continued from page 1 has been subdivided into 60-acre lots. e lots are being of Lands. If the chief allocates land via a lease, the land is sold o by landowners for development or agriculture, alienated in perpetuity. ere is a history of poor land allocation blocking wildlife movement. AWF prioritised this area for a by customary authorities, where communities are excluded from conservation land lease programme, based on the concept of decision-making or benets. payment for ecosystem services (PES). e Sekute Chiefdom covers an area of 250,000 hectares and is PES oers a mechanism for rewarding land and resource home to an estimated 17,500 management practices that people, 2,900 households sustain ecosystem services, and 289 villages. Here AWF including hydrological ser- piloted the establishment vices, carbon sequestration, of the Sekute Community biodiversity protection and Development Trust, which landscape beauty. empowered the community to make land use decisions, e land programme out- protect land and secure lined parameters to protect conservation-based the integrity of ecosystems, benets. such as land-use restrictions that prohibited fencing and In a conservation agreement agriculture. Lease payments, signed between AWF and based on the average value the trust, the community set of tourism and agriculture aside approximately 40,000 leases in the region, started at hectares of land for conser- 500 KES/acre, with an annual vation. In exchange, AWF increase of 2.5 percent. e built an oce for the trust, leases range from 10 to 15 Rashid Abdul trained 18 scouts to patrol years. AWF helped landown- the community conservation ers set up bank accounts and area, constructed a modern makes direct wire transfer primary school, and brokered payments to the accounts a partnership with a private every six months. sector partner to establish a sport shing lodge on trust rough the lease programme, land wherein the community ve community conservan- receives a percentage of lodge cies—comprising more than revenues and a lease fee. 1,150 landowners—are now protecting approximately e establishment of commu- 28,000 acres of critical wild- nity trusts empowers com- life habitat. e programme munities to make land- use directly benets some decisions and helps mitigate 9,200 individuals, but is not the risk of land alienation. without its challenges: Non- participating landowners Land-use agreements, adjacent to the conservancy DRC may practice incompatible e Maringa–Lopori–Wamba land uses, which negatively Paul Runze / PCRimages.com (MLW) landscape encom- impact the conservancies. passes 74,000 km2 of lowland rain and swamp forest in Community conservancy and trust, Zambia north-central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). e e transboundary landscape of Kazungula in Southern landscape comprises a sizeable portion of the Congo Basin for- Africa hosts approximately 150,000 elephants. Scientists est ecosystem, the second-largest tropical forest in the world, have identied a number of elephant corridors in this area, and is home to the endangered bonobo, giant pangolin, forest including one that extends from Namibia into Zambia across elephant and other species. the Zambezi River onto the Sekute communal land area. AWF saw a need for overall macro-level land-use planning Community leaders in this area have the authority to allocate and zoning to address threats to wildlife populations and for- community land or access, such as to a tourism operator, est loss, which, at the time, had never been done in DRC. AWF through informal agreement with the chief—the traditional entered into agreement with the Ministère de l’Environnement leader in Zambia—or through a lease via the Commissioner Conservation de la Nature et Tourisme (MECNT) and 2014.ISSUE 2 9 convened a steering committee consisting of key ministries involved in land uses, agriculture and rural Balancing development development, land management, MECNT, provincial authorities, and national and international NGOs. AWF with proper planning worked with the committee to assess population, natural features, wildlife and infrastructure, using satellite imag- By Dave Loubser Director, climate change ery, GIS technology and participatory methods to zone the landscape, which was validated and approved by the At the World Economic Forum on Africa, held in Abuja, Nige- government. ria, in May, the overriding message was one of growth and development across the African continent. One of the major Aer the macro-level planning, AWF embarked on themes was ensuring Africa’s investments, infrastructure a micro-level planning exercise near the town of Djolu. and growth are resilient to climate change. It is reassuring is exercise looked at both permanent and non- that the ever-increasing specter of climate change is being permanent forest. AWF worked with communities to factored into the development taking place across Africa. zone areas for agricultural production, settlement and At the Forum, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke of China forest conservation. e residents demarcated the zones investing in a high-speed rail and highway network across the together and agreed upon boundaries and land use. AWF continent. This kind of development is vital for any growing entered into 60 Memoranda of Understanding with com- economy, but it needs to be planned carefully. One thing we munities that stipulated certain land uses in the dierent know about wildlife’s ability to adapt to climate change is zones, including forest protection. the need to move, to disperse out of areas of climate stress to more favourable areas. If we are fragmenting Africa’s wild In exchange, AWF assisted the communities with agri- lands with roads and rail, with no regard to the movement cultural improvements, provided access to markets via a patterns of wildlife, we will surely be pushing many species barge and agreed to build a primary school. closer to the brink of extinction.

Requirements for effective land conservation The planned road across Serengeti National Park in Tanzania While a system of large, well-managed protected areas offers an example of the potential devastating ramifications are critical for long-term conservation, these must be that can occur if infrastructure is developed without proper complemented by conservation eorts on community planning around wildlife movements. The famed Serengeti and private lands to achieve the scale required for migration is driven by rainfall events. As these events shift Africa’s megafauna and the connectivity needed for due to a changing climate, the patterns and paths of the climate adaptation. migration will change. Without the room to adapt to these changes, this incredible natural phenomenon will be under In pioneering many of these tools in Africa, AWF has threat. We know the development of this road would threaten found that land conservation approaches require: the existing migration routes—how will it and other future development affect new wildlife migration routes that occur • Strategic conservation planning; due to shifts in rainfall? • Full community/landowner awareness and voluntary participation; With regard to this particular issue, the East African Court of Justice ruled in June that constructing a bitumen road across • A fair payment for the ecosystem service; and the Serengeti is unlawful. The Tanzanian government has • Clarity around land tenure. reportedly requested that the German government conduct a feasibility study for a southern route, long suggested as an Simultaneously, legal policies should be developed to alternative by conservation groups including AWF. support innovative legal conservation and to provide incentives for communities and private landowners to AWF is committed to ensuring that development happens in a engage in long-term conservation. way that is sensitive to our natural heritage, not only for now, but also in response to future changes. With proper planning is article was adapted from a paper authored by and forethought, infrastructure development can occur while Kathleen H. Fitzgerald for the 2014 World Bank Conference also conserving the wildlife riches that also benefit national on Land and Poverty. economies.

Development, such as the paving of roads, is vital for any growing economy but must be planned carefully.

LEFT TOP: Through an innovative land-lease programme, more than 1,150 landowners are protecting approximately 28,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat in Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem.

LEFT BOTTOM: Sable are among the array of wildlife that have access to a 40,000-hectare protected area in Zambia’s Sekute Chiefdom, agreed upon between AWF and residents of the Chiefdom. AWF 10 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

Ground Survey of Elephants in Parc W

By eo Way Nana Programme ocer, forestry and climate change, Congo landscape, and former conservation management trainee

he elephant is one of the agship species AWF is committed to protecting in West Africa, speci- cally within the W–Arly–Pendjari (WAP) landscape Ttraversing Burkina Faso, Niger and Benin. is commitment, reinforced over the past 5 years through AWF’s eorts in the region, reached an important milestone in April and May with Marius Coetzee/mariuscoetzee.com a ground survey of elephants.

e purpose of the survey was to collect information on elephant presence and movement and on sites of human– AWF to Assist Zimbabwe elephant conicts to enable the proper protection of this species in protected areas and lands outside the parks in With Hwange Plan this landscape. is information will help focus AWF’s conservation work in this region. By Kathleen Fitzgerald Vice president for conservation strategy During the survey, AWF also collected and shipped more than 80 samples of elephant dung to the University wange National Park is situated in the northwest of Washington in the United States for DNA analysis. e corner of Zimbabwe. Founded in 1928, Hwange samples will help build an elephant DNA database, which is Zimbabwe’s largest park, measuring roughly will assist authorities in identifying the source of tracked H14,650 km2. It is a critical ecological unit for Zimbabwe ivory that gets conscated at ports. and for transboundary wildlife movement between Bo- tswana and Zambia. e park hosts more than 100 mam- Methodology and results mal and 400 bird species, including 19 large herbivores e entirety of the WAP landscape covers about 33,000 km2. and eight large carnivores. Hwange’s African wild dog e survey did not cover the entire landscape in full. AWF’s population is thought to be one of the larger surviving science team identied three blocks, which aligned with groups in Africa today. protected areas in each of the three countries—Parc W – Burkina Faso, Pendjari in Benin and Arly Reserve in Burkina With Hwange being one of Zimbabwe’s most important —where sample counts were taken. parks and wildlife habitats, and the park’s management plan having expired, AWF recently embarked on the e exercise was conducted with the full support and partici- development of a new general management plan for the pation of a wide range of stakeholders, including wildlife park with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Manage- authorities at the national level; park and reserve authorities ment Authority (ZPMA). is is a participatory plan- on the ground, along with their teams (foresters and rang- ning process that will include the engagement of local ers); NGO and community-based organisations; students; communities, private sector partners, other NGOs and and local community members. All participated in two days stakeholders. AWF will use the Protected Area Planning of training prior to the survey. Framework. Dr. Ian Games, an ecologist based in Zim- babwe with more than 30 years’ experience, will lead the Aer almost one month in the eld collecting data, results process for AWF with ZPWMA. have now been tallied and analysed. is work dovetails nicely with a recent assessment Elephant distribution primarily in Arly and Pendjari. completed by AWF and its partner Conservation Capital A total of 156 elephant observations were recorded, totaling on the commercial revenue of parks in Zimbabwe. e 872 individual elephants in the landscape. e majority country’s economic decline over the past decade, togeth- were found in Parks Arly (415) and Pendjari (347), with er with global economic challenges, have led to a severe comparatively fewer in Parc W (110). decline in tourism in Zimbabwe, resulting in a revenue

decit for ZPWMA. e assessment drew on best prac- 5 corridors, but all under threat. e team identied tices from across Africa and advised on how ZPWMA at least ve elephants corridors. Four of these were in can maximise revenue from its parks to ensure their Pendjari and Arly, while only one was in Parc W. All of long-term sustainability and generate enough revenue these corridors, however, are under threat from settlements, to support conservation. Some of the recommendations farming, grazing and habitat destruction, among others. from the assessment will piloted in the Hwange general management plan. 2014.ISSUE 2 11

Human–elephant conict incidences align with elephant distribution. A total of 30 villages around the protected areas, out of 50 located less than 10 km from one of the pro- tected areas, were reported to be experiencing conicts with elephants. e survey recorded 308 crop raid incidences in those villages, with the majority, 46 percent, being outside of Park Arly, followed by 34 percent outside of Pendjari and 20 percent in the area surrounding Parc W.

A high concentration of the conicts was particularly experienced around the enclave outside of Park Arly. Other high-conict areas included the periphery of the Pendjari hunting zone, Kourtiagou Partial Reserve in Burkina, Tapoa– Djerma and the western part of the land that borders Parc W in Burkina Faso. Potentially Significant ese ndings are potentially signicant for future conservation eorts in this region and should be used to help design conservation strategies to secure important elephant movement corridors, mitigate human–elephant conict and protect a critical population of elephants. e team working on the elephant count included Nathan Gichohi, ecologist for the Kilimanjaro landscape; Michael Maina, GIS specialist; and the Parc W landscape sta. is work was funded by MAVA.

MAP: Elephant Presence Niger and Human–Elephant Tamou Dosso Conflicts in WAP Parc W Niger

Diapaga Burkina Parc W Benin Faso Parc W Burkina Faso

Singou

Arly Kourtiagou

Benin Pendjari

Togo

Elephant Presence Human–Elephant Conict Country Border

Faunal Reserve Partial Reserve National Park Enclave Hunting Zone Rich Adams / vividnotion.com 12 African Wildlife Foundation’s African Landscape

African Wildlife Foundation is grateful New Manual on Kenya Wildlife Law for the support of all our By Paula Kahumbu CEO, WildlifeDirect funding partners, including: ith funding support from AWF, Second, the stakes are higher, as Kenya has WildlifeDirect, together with lawyer become a global hotspot for the transit of ivory. Shamini Jayanathan, is producing a We therefore need to bring prosecutions against Wreview guide on Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation major dealers and trackers. Finally, Kenya has and Management Act 2013 as a teaching sup- a new Wildlife Crime Prosecutions Unit, and port for investigators, prosecutors and judicial this manual gives the unit the guidance it needs ocers. e document gives details on the pro- to conduct eective prosecutions across the visions in the new legislation, the requirements country. for evidence and guidance on how prosecutors can use ancillary legislation in their prosecu- e use of the document will be piloted in tion of wildlife tracking cases. training sessions later in the year. e guide is document is critical because many wildlife will also be published and distributed across crime trials in the past were dismissed due to the country to all Kenya Wildlife Service sta- the failure of prosecutors to prove their cases tions, police stations and courts. e document beyond reasonable doubt. Under the new will be available online and key areas for public legislation, this is more important for three dissemination will be made through traditional Current Projects reasons: First, the penalties are steeper, and media outlets. WildlifeDirect are grateful for Aspirational Projects therefore the burden of evidence is greater. the support from AWF to produce this guide.

Nile R.

Niokola-Koba Ethiopian Highlands Niger R. Regional Parc W Simien Mountains

Gola Forest COTE Faro National Park D'IVOIRE Bili Niger Delta Chimps Uele Juba Ethiopian Highlands Nimule Bale Mountains Tai-Sapo Forest Murchison Kidepo Valley Dja Samburu Congo Falls Budongo Rift Lake Mburo Valley Congo R. Kalinzi Mau Forest Virunga Kilimanjaro Lamu Serengeti Tsavo/Ngulia How AWF Maasai Steppe

Ruaha Approaches Katavi Luangwa Selous Lake Indian Conservation Malawi Ocean Kafue Zambezi Marine

Zambezi R. WF achieves conservation impact in Skeleton Coast Okavango Kazungula Etosha Save Conservancy Africa by focusing on high-priority, Grootberg Lodge Kalahari large landscapes that have the poten- Limpopo Atial to conserve viable populations of African wildlife as well as key habitats and ecological AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION systems well into the future. Ora KwaZulu-Natal nge R. Headquarters Ngong Road, Karen ese landscapes are composed of dierent Great Fish P.O. Box 310, 00502 land units—national parks, private land and River Nature Reserve Nairobi, Kenya community land—within a single ecosystem +254 20 276 5000 2 2 fax +254 20 276 5030 ranging in size from 7,000 km to 95,000 km . Many extend across the borders of multiple Current Projects Aspirational Projects Washington, DC Oce countries. 1400 Sixteenth Street, NW, Ste. 120, Nile R. Washington, DC 20036, USA Target landscapes are selected based on a +1 888 494 5354 detailed analysis that examines theNiokola-Koba region’s specic to the area. AWF works in the following Ethiopian Highlands fax +1 202 939 3332 Niger R. Regional Parc W biological, ecological, social and economic op- strategic areas: land conservation and man- Simien Mountains awf.org portunities. AWF works closely with partners agement, species protection and conservation Gola Forest and stakeholders—including national and COTE science, conservationFaro National enterprise, Park conservation D'IVOIRE Bili local governments, communities, research or- schoolsNiger and Delta climate Chimps change. Policy andUele capacityJuba Ethiopian Highlands Nimule Bale Mountains ganisations, NGOs and the private sector—toTai-Sapo Forest building are cross-cutting themes that underMurchison- Kidepo Valley Dja Samburu Congo Falls develop priority conservation actions score all of AWF’s programmes. Budongo Rift Lake Mburo Valley Cover Photo Credits: Paul Runze/PCRimages.com, Congo R. Kalinzi Mau Forest Perrin Banks, Martin Harvey and Max Chiswick. Virunga Kilimanjaro Lamu Serengeti Tsavo/Ngulia Maasai Steppe

Ruaha Katavi

Luangwa Selous Lake Indian Ocean Kafue Malawi Zambezi Marine

Zambez Skeleton i R. Coast Okavango Kazungula Etosha Save Conservancy Grootberg Lodge Kalahari Limpopo

Ora KwaZulu-Natal nge R.

Great Fish River Nature Reserve