Local hunters: Poachers vs Farmers Responding to livelihood opportunities in a world of limited alternatives Facts: Hunters produced 1989 kg of grain crops versus 1188 kg for non-hunters (2000) Area farmed by hunters is approximately 2 times that of non-hunters Hunters use illegal income from sale of game meat to support added income from farming Hunters earn almost six time more than non-hunters Hunters are generally young and relatively well educated. Current penalties and risks of poaching relative to potential rewards are not sufficient to discourage illegal hunting.

Wildlife off-take by local hunters reduces economic opportunities from legal wildlife markets for rest of community. Average number of hunters per chiefdom varies from 4 to 12, suggesting 200-300 wild animals killed annually per chiefdom.

Economic cost-benefits associated with strategies to reduce wildlife mortality caused by local hunters Options: Accept as a tolerable level of illegal hunting : equivalent to at least 3 safari hunts ($45,000 in lost revenues from license sales) per area Control with intensified law enforcement and commitment by both Government and local authorities, requiring sustained, intense patrolling and investigations. Likely to exceed $35,000 annually. Transform local hunters with alternative livelihoods that meet their economic needs while respecting their skills and interests. Likely to cost less than $400 per hunter, or about $2000 per area.

Transformation process: building trust & cooperation thru dialogue and exposure to: alternative livelihood skills private sector opportunities, community/wildlife issues, economic scenarios thru conservation 26 participated in 2001 at ACCBNRM Bee-hive making Community issues Honey processing Carpentry Conservation farming Skinning & tracking Dry season farming Legal markets Tourism opportunities Cost per hunter (poacher) of transformation course: $180, duration: 8 weeks

Commitment: Six month pledge to stop poaching and practice new livelihood skills Pledge signing and graduation at the African College for CBNRM - Nyamaluma

Verifying compliance and on-site follow-up Status and future of transformation program:

Next big steps for WCS: shaping the future for wildlife conservation in Zambia/region  Building alliances among individual CRBs for addressing landscape-level management issues, negotiating better trade links and market opportunities through a stronger regional voice, and improved sharing of lessons learned: The Luangwa CRB Association Regionalizing ADMADE lessons and applications while testing their generality and adapting more landscape specific solutions to a given region ADMADE is an evolving, improving programme with over 10 years of experience. ZAWA is committed to its success. It has spread to many points in Zambia with varying degrees of progress.  Fostering a national centre for applying CBNRM lessons and linking facilities and programs to regional capacity building efforts  African College for CBNRM / Nyamaluma