Guidelines for the Conservation of Lions in Africa Version 1.0 – December 2018 A collection of concepts, best practice experiences and recommendations, compiled by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group on behalf of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Guidelines for the Conservation of Lions in Africa A collection of concepts, best practice experiences and recommendations, compiled by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group on behalf of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) The designation of geographical entities in this document, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or the organisations of the authors and editors of the document concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimi- tation of its frontiers or boundaries. 02 Frontispiece © Patrick Meier: Male lion in Kwando Lagoon, Botswana, March 2013. Suggested citation: IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group. 2018. Guidelines for the Conservation of Lions in Africa. Version 1.0. Muri/Bern, Switzerland, 147 pages. Guidelines for the Conservation of Lions in Africa Contents Contents Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................................................4 Acronyms..........................................................................................................................................................................5 Country codes...................................................................................................................................................................6 Contributors......................................................................................................................................................................7 Executive Summary ..........................................................................................................................................................9 1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................15 2 Status and assessment of the lion in sub-Saharan Africa ......................................................................................17 2.1 Distribution and abundance of lion in Africa and its assessment in the IUCN Red List .................................17 2.2 Inventory of lion populations ...........................................................................................................................18 2.3 Threats .............................................................................................................................................................18 2.4 The situation of the lion in West and Central Africa .......................................................................................20 2.5 Discussion and conclusions .............................................................................................................................20 3 Existing lion conservation plans ..............................................................................................................................25 3.1 The 2006 lion conservation strategies and the 2015 review ..........................................................................25 3.2 National and Regional Action Plans ................................................................................................................27 Box 3.2.1 A Large Carnivore Conservation Strategy for KAZA ........................................................................28 4 Policy frameworks for the conservation of the lion in Africa ..................................................................................29 4.1 International cooperation under auspices of CITES and CMS ........................................................................29 4.2 IUCN approach to strategic conservation planning in species conservation ..................................................31 4.3 Identification of transboundary lion populations .............................................................................................35 Box 4.3.1 Transboundary Conservation Areas .................................................................................................36 03 5 Lion survey and monitoring methods ......................................................................................................................40 Box 5.1 Surveying areas with limited access ..................................................................................................41 Box 5.2 Spatially-Explicit Capture-Recapture (SECR) ......................................................................................42 6 Conservation solutions ............................................................................................................................................46 6.1 Promoting coexistence and mitigating conflicts ..............................................................................................46 Box 6.1.1 Lion Guardians as a conflict cast study ...........................................................................................51 6.2. Lion conservation and law enforcement ..........................................................................................................52 Box 6.2.1 The crisis posed by the under financing of protected areas ...........................................................54 Box 6.2.2 Partnership between NGOs and wildlife authorities .......................................................................55 Box 6.2.3 Case study of Kafue National Park, Zambia ....................................................................................57 6.3 Settings for the conservation of wildlife and habitats ....................................................................................58 Box 6.3.1 Impacts of bushmeat poaching on prey populations and lion viability ...........................................60 Box 6.3.2 Competition between livestock and natural prey ............................................................................63 6.4 Conservation landscapes for lions ...................................................................................................................67 Box 6.4.1 KAZA Lion connectivity model .........................................................................................................68 6.5 Lion trophy hunting ..........................................................................................................................................69 Box 6.5.1 Point system for lion trophy hunting ................................................................................................73 6.6 Non-Detriment Findings ...................................................................................................................................76 Box 6.6.1 Example of a sustainable quota setting practice ............................................................................79 6.7 Persistent stock-raiding lions and problem animal control .............................................................................80 6.8 Reintroduction, genetic management and genetic rescue of lion populations ...............................................83 Box 6.8.1 Lion Management Forum .................................................................................................................84 Box 6.8.2 Lion reintroductions in Zambia, Malawi and Rwanda .....................................................................88 Version 1.0 December 2018 Contents 6.9 Incentives for lion conservation and financial tools for co-existence .............................................................89 6.9.1 Community camera-trapping in Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape ................................................................93 7 Capacity development in conservation and management ......................................................................................96 7.1 Existing training opportunities in Africa ..........................................................................................................96 7.2 Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practices ..............................................................................99 Box 7.2.1 Account of an alumnus ..................................................................................................................100 7.3 Establishing trained and effective National Coordinators ............................................................................101 Box 7.3.1 Training for National Lion Coordinators .........................................................................................102 7.4 Training for handling poisoning incidences and poaching evidence .............................................................104 Box 7.4.1 Poison intervention training: a case study of Zambian lions .........................................................105 7.5 Law enforcement and site based intelligence training .................................................................................108