Wildlife Conservation Zimbabwe Project #40202

Help mitigate Human Wildlife Conflict in Zimbabwe

by African Lion & Environmental Research Trust

Summary

Villagers in the Sebungwe region of Zimbabwe who live beside Protected Areas are subject to human-wildlife conflict. Lions frequent homemade livestock holding pens, called kraals, and kill livestock, devastating impoverished communities. The construction of predator-proof bomas (larger, secure structures for livestock) are an effective mitigation strategy against predator conflict. Our project collaborates with communities to implement these strategies and improve the lives of local villages.

$5,000
total goal

$1,922
remaining

29
donors

0
monthly donors

4
years

Challenge

In the Sebungwe region, rural communities living close to Protected Areas are subject to intense human-wildlife conflict. Lions and spotted hyena are among the large predators infiltrating kraals at night and killing livestock. Livestock is the "bank" to these communities, keeping livestock to be sold or bartered for food, school fees, crop preparation, and transport. Losing livestock is devastating and there are predator conflict mitigation strategies ALERT implements to help support them.

Solution

ALERT constructs predator-proof bomas to safely hold livestock at night. We currently have three predator proof bomas installed. We also work to educate and encourage appropriate kraaling of livestock to effectively mitigate conflict. Our lion research monitors movement to then develop early warning systems for communities when predators are nearby. Our mitigation efforts work with communities to improve their livelihoods and create a safer coexistence for them and for lions.

Long-Term Impact

Our project aims to collaborate with communities to improve their quality of life and mitigate predator-human conflict. We are already doing this in real-time and have seen the positive impact it makes. Long-term, we hope this project will change human perceptions of predators so retaliatory killings are infrequent, and we can continue species conservation work. In future, our predator movement research can be used to install early warning systems for communities as a preventative measure.