2019 LRF Progress Report

February 2019 Progress Report LION RECOVERY FUND

©Frans Lanting/lanting.com Roaring Forward SINCE AUGUST 2018: $1.58 Million granted CLAWS Conservancy, Conservation Lower Zambezi, Honeyguide, Ian Games (independent consultant), Kenya Wildlife Trust, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, TRAFFIC frica’s lion population has declined by approximately half South Africa, WildAid, Zambezi Society, Zambian Carnivore Programme/Conservation South Luangwa A during the last 25 years. The Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) was created to support the best efforts to stop this decline 4 New countries covered by LRF grants and recover the lions we have lost. The LRF—an initiative of Botswana, Chad, Gabon, Kenya the Wildlife Conservation Network in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation—entered its second year with a strategic vision to bolster and expand lion conservation LRF IMPACT TO DATE: across the continent. 42 Projects Though the situation varies from country to country, in a number of regions we are starting to see signs of hope, thanks 18 Countries to the impressive conservation work of our partners in the 29 Partners field. Whether larger organizations or ambitious individuals, our partners are addressing threats facing lions throughout $4 Million deployed Africa. This report presents the progress they made from August 2018 through January 2019. 23% of Africa’s lion range covered by LRF grantees Lions can recover. 30% of Africa’s lion population covered There is strong political will for conservation in Africa. Many by LRF grantees African governments are making conservation a priority 20,212 Snares removed and there are already vast areas of land set aside for wildlife throughout the continent. Africa has the potential to have 250 Poachers arrested three to four times the number of lions currently there. Lions are a resilient species and with sufficient investment to protect 355 Poachers’ camps destroyed them, their prey, and their habitats, they can rebound quickly. 205 Rangers, or community guardians/ There is no doubt that the species can be saved. We just need scouts LRF has helped employ to raise the funding to provide the protection needed. 458 People in total that LRF has helped Thank you for your support; we hope you will continue to employ work with us to bring lions roaring back. We are only just getting started. 110 Camera traps deployed 37 Lions fitted with tracking collars

©Jack Swenson/ExpeditionGallery.com WHAT IS THE LION RECOVERY FUND? STRATEGY FOR LION RECOVERY The Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) is a collaborative granting initiative created by the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, with a bold vision to double the number of lions in Africa, bringing back the half we have lost. The LRF is managed by WCN and draws on a coalition of advisors with expertise in conservation and philanthropy to guide grantmaking and ensure that decisions made are rooted in sound science and financial integrity.

1. EXPAND CONSERVATION HOW DOES IT WORK? FOOTPRINT Increase the extent and effectiveness • The LRF is managed by WCN. The LRF directs 100% of every donation of the management of lion landscapes directly to the best projects to recover lions, with zero administrative across Africa. or overhead fees taken. • The LRF team—including a granting committee comprised of conservation experts—identifies and vets the best lion projects across Africa. This team does the groundwork for our donors, ensuring that their dollars are spent where they can have the greatest impact and with the most trusted players. • The donations raised by the LRF are deployed quickly so grantees can get to work. 2. BUILD THE WILL • The LRF team monitors and tracks progress and impact towards our goals Build the public, political, and and reports back to our donors. philanthropic will to bring lions back.

HOW WILL WE SUCCEED? Recovering lions and their landscapes cannot be done by any single organization or single fund. A key element of the LRF strategy is to bring together governments, nonprofits, philanthropists, and the public through various forums to allow for greater impact than would be possible through our 3. SCALE THE FUNDING efforts alone. Elevate the amount of funding available for—and encourage greater focus The LRF is like a venture capital firm for lions: we seek innovative approaches, on—the conservation of lions and their bolster tactics known to work, disperse funds quickly, and track results. landscapes.

© Jon McCormack • none. to little previously was there where in areas presence conservation a help establish to and continent, the across habitat planning lionservation core of the protection for is working provide and con secure LRF to The Lionsfor Areas the Core Protecting Supported Projects Kyle de Nobrega expansion 16,778 of mi species help prey and to plan amajor geographic is enabling lions of LRF survey The important an African Parks organization conservation the between oration collab the to thanks recovery, of incredible story isChad’s Zakouma becoming Park National an a major stronghold for lions in Central Africa. lionsa major for stronghold Africa. in Central creating for hope provides extinct’—and ‘possibly swathes lions land of where consideredvast are includes park the around expansion proposed The management. and wildlife protection for support Chadian government. Chadian the and Parks African between collaboration the to thanks lions, for ofrecovery story incredible an becoming is Park Chad’s National Zakouma and the Chadian government. government. Chadian the and 2 to guide to increased - - • • • prey recover. prey helping and poaching bushmeat lionsreducing and Fundingaimed at will add anti-poaching efforts support. management receiving not previously was Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park National Zambia’s Zambezi Lower neighbors which Area, Management Game Rufunsa is enabling of their them expand to protection Zambezi Lower Conservation to grant LRF An The The key populations protect to action lions. of conservation kick-start to the potential has and planning will into directly conservation survey feed distribution and the status about lions. of This Kenya, northern of vey sur national ambitious and collaborative highly a is fundingLRF Kenya Trust Wildlife implement to lions and critical habitat. critical and lions to reducethreats to component effort a broader of anti-poaching This is important an enforcement. to enhance inwildlife their efforts authority Society Zambezi to grant liontential LRF for An recovery. enormous with po is and awilderness area tries François D’Elbée Rufunsa Game Management Area. Management Game Rufunsa into efforts anti-poaching their expand Zambezi Lower Conservation helping is grant LRF An Lower Zambezi Valley Zambezi Lower multiple coun spans is helping them support Zimbabwe’s helping is support them where the least is known known is least the where , and , and - - - • • ing the participation of additional funders. additional of participation ing the funding–thus other encourag raises successfully matching that will grant unlocked be when CWF a issued been as has our of grant Apart teams. their and establish activities new anti-poaching additional will CWF to support help them expand LRF’s anti-poaching through wildlife efforts. areas communal, privatethe adjacent and forestry, securingby aroundthepark buffer protected more a Zimbabwe’s create Hwange Park National Fund Wildlife (CWF)Conservation in year, help to gave grant aseed theLast LRF partnerships. partnerships. coordinated and rehabilitationfor areas these of Thisorganizations. will in result acoordinated plan non-governmental and communities, authority, life wild involving the planning process conservation Park and Chirisa Safari Area recover. National In lions Chizarira can where areas in efforts conservation aims support to As As buffer zones around Hwange National Park. National Hwange around zones buffer protect will teams anti-poaching new CWF’s Zimbabwe begins a new political era, the LRF the LRF begins anew political era, , LRF is enabling, LRF a - - Promoting Co-existence • Lions in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley are threatened of body parts most in demand, or the nature of by snaring and a rise in human-lion conflict. With the players involved. The LRF funded TRAFFIC to Between People and Lions an LRF grant, Zambia Carnivore Programme conduct an in-depth investigation into the lion body and Conservation South Luangwa will work with When conflict occurs between lions and the local parts trade in Tanzania and Mozambique, key local communities to help them improve livestock communities living alongside them—typically due to sites because of their large lion populations, and husbandry and reduce human-lion conflict. lions preying on livestock—it can lead to retaliatory countries where targeted lion poaching is known to killings. This is one of the biggest threats facing lions. be severe. The project is a precursor to more effec- • The LRF is working with Honeyguide in Makame tive law enforcement; it will help conservationists 2 Wildlife Management Area, a 1,407mi commu- understand this issue and devise strategies to • In Damaraland, northwest Namibia, LRF provid- nity area in . The project will northern Tanzania address it. ed an extension of the support given to Integrated build good governance and management of the Rural Development and Nature Conservation Wildlife Management Area and strengthen conser- for their ‘Rapid Response’ teams—designed to vation practices. Additionally, the challenge posed Fostering Pride by human-lion conflict will be assessed to design interventions that help communities and wildlife co-exist in the long term. Investigating the Lion Trade In recent years, there has been a marked spike in the poaching of lions for their body parts. However, little is currently known about this illegal trade—the source of the demand, the trade routes, the types Alexandra Wattamaniuk

IRDNC’s ‘Lion Ranger Program’ trains rangers Lilongwe Wildlife Trust’s social and behavioral to respond quickly to human-lion conflict change campaigns are helping to re-frame lions as incidences. a national treasure for Malawi.

engage with communities pre-emptively and In addition to the more traditional field con- reactively to minimize conflict with lions. servation projects, the LRF supports creative, • Near the Okavango Delta in Botswana, CLAWS innovative campaigns that abate threats to wildlife works with communities to tackle human-lion and build the public, political, and philanthropic conflict and improve management of livestock, to will to protect lions. The LRF is helping Lilongwe ensure habitat does not become degraded. With Wildlife Trust embark upon a social and behavioral LRF support, CLAWS will set up a ‘virtual fence’ change campaign to re-frame the lion as a national of sensors that will warn communities when GPS- treasure and asset for the people of Malawi. It will

collared lions approach their livestock. CLAWS VinksMilan also raise awareness about the threats posed to will also train herders to improve the protection of TRAFFIC conducted a thorough investigation into Malawi’s lions and the nation’s tourism industry the illegal trade in lion body parts to understand their livestock. its causes and devise effective solutions. by the trade in illegal bushmeat and in carnivore products. In Tanzania, the LRF is working with WildAid to launch one of their renowned campaigns that is engaging national celebrities and local champi- ons to promote conservation and foster pride for lions at both the public and political level. Reintroducing Lions Lions were considered to be locally extinct in Gabon—that is, until 2014, when a lone male lion was sighted in Batéké National Park. Since A Story of Lion Recovery: his arrival, the lion has acted as an ambassador and catalyst for increased conservation action Liwonde National Park in the region. The LRF is helping Panthera start a recovery of Gabon’s lion population by While this Progress Report covers new grants made over the past six months, we also want to share an update from one of the LRF’s first grantees, an excellent story of recovery unfolding in Malawi.

After a 20-year absence, the roar of lions can once again be heard in Malawi’s Liwonde National Park, thanks to the efforts of LRF grantee African Parks.

Up until four years ago, Liwonde’s woodlands concealed thousands of wire snares that indiscriminately killed scores of wildlife. Poaching was rampant and the park had some of the highest human-wildlife conflict levels in the region. Liwonde appeared on the verge of collapse. Fortunately, in 2015 African Parks assumed co-management of the park in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. Since then, they have invested heavily in law enforcement, removed over 36,000 wire snares, recruited and trained a new ranger force made up largely of local people, and monitored the landscape to reduce and prevent further poaching and conflict between people and wildlife.

Now that safety and balance were restored in Liwonde, African Parks could bring lions, Peter LindseyPeter Africa’s most iconic predator, back to the park. With the help of a grant provided by Lions are returning to Gabon after a long absence. the LRF in 2017, African Parks reintroduced nine lions into Liwonde early last year— With the help of an LRF grant, Panthera aims to restore the region’s lion population and build four males and five females, translocated from Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi and pride for lions among local communities. from South Africa. These lions will be the founders of a new population of lions, re- establishing the species in the park. African Parks has also been providing extensive translocating two female lions from Botswana to training to local staff to learn how to safely work in an area with lions, a skill that was Gabon in the hopes of successful breeding with lost when the big cats disappeared from the landscape. the existing male (genetic testing showed these African Parks will continue to invest in robust management and strategies to protect the to be most closely related to Batéké lions). The prides and prevent human-lion conflict. The success of this initiative, to bring lions back reintroduction of lions will involve local commu- to a once depleted landscape, demonstrates that with the right support from communities nities to make sure that they are aware of, and and governments, and with sufficient funding, lions can return to the areas where they benefit from, lions coming back to the region. have long been absent. © Jon McCormack Jon © Where We Work LION RECOVERY FUND SITE-BASED PROJECTS

MAURITANIA MALI NIGER ERITREA

SENEGAL CHAD SUDAN 5 1 BURKINA 4 DJIBOUTI FASO 3 PROTECTED AREA THE GUINEA GAMBIA 2 IN LION RANGE GUINEA- GHANA BISSAU COTE NIGERIA S. SUDAN ETHIOPIA D’IVOIRE C. AFRICAN REP. LION RECOVERY FUND SIERRA LEONE 6 SUPPORTED PROJECTS BENIN CAMEROON LIBERIA TOGO 7 UGANDA SOMALIA EQ. DEM. REP. GUINEA OF CONGO 10 CONGO 9 1. Niokolo-Koba NP 23. Kafue NP GABON RWANDA 11 13 2. Pendjari NP 24. Zambia 8 BURUNDI KENYA 3. Yankari NP 25. Lusaka 12 14 4. Zakouma NP 26. Rufunsa GMA 15 16 5. Dinder NP 27. West Petauke GMA 6. Badingilo NP 28. Majete NP 17 18 TANZANIA 7. Boma NP 29. Liwonde NP 8. Batéké Plateau NP 30. Damaraland 21 9. Queen Elizabeth NP 31. Okavango Delta ANGOLA 19 20 24 10. Kenya 32. Hwange NP ZAMBIA MALAWI 11. Serengeti NP 33. Chizarira NP 22 23 27 25 29 12. Ngorongoro Cons Area 34. Charara Safari Area 26 13. Eduimet WMA 35. Mozambique 33 34 28 MADAGASCAR 14. Tarangire NP 36. Limpopo NP 31 ZIMBABWE 35 15. Tanzania 30 32 MOZAMBIQUE 16. Makame WMA BOTSWANA NAMIBIA 17. Ruaha NP 36 18. Nsumbu NP/Tondwa GMA 19. South Luangwa NP NP = National Park SWAZILAND 20. Malawi NR = National Reserve S. AFRICA 21. Niassa NR WMA = Wildlife Management Areas 22. Luengue-Luiana NP GMA = Game Management Areas LESOTHO

Map does not display LRF campaign and illegal wildlife trade projects. We All Have Pride for Lions

All of us at the Wildlife Conservation Network who manage the Lion Recovery Fund are truly grateful for the individuals and institutions who share our vision to see lions thrive across Africa. We are humbled by the overwhelming response to the LRF from people around the world. Your support so far—and commitment going forward—is leading to real change for lions and the people living alongside them. Thank you.

We are just getting started.

Please visit lionrecoveryfund.org for more information about the great work made possible thanks to your support. If you are interested in making a donation to the LRF, please visit wildnet.org/lrf or contact [email protected].

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