RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Communities and anti-poaching in the Selous-Niassa Corridor, Tanzania By Maximillian Jenes & Wayne Lotter

PROJECT AREA

RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Approximately 2 million hectares in size including: Village and agricultural land, Forest & game reserves, Wildlife Management Areas (community cons. areas) Very few roads Project area consists of: Lots of Miombo woodland & Wildlife Elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, wild dog, antelope

AIM & OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Aim - to improve the status of elephant conservation in the area between Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique Key objectives include to: –Control the poaching of elephants –Manage human-elephant conflict

CONTROL POACHING – FOOT PATROLS RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Each village in the WMA has 10 to 12 village game scouts –Have been given training Undertake regular joint patrols with –Village Game Scouts –Government Game Scouts 50 scouts doing patrols, from pool of 200 –Reward performance!

CONTROL POACHING – AERIAL PATROLS RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Using ultra light fixed winged Bantam aircraft –Cover big area quickly –Spot illegal activity, inform & direct anti-poaching teams (Rapid Response Teams)

CONTROL POACHING – AERIAL PATROLS cont. RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT

HUMAN ELEPHANT CONFLICT RUVUMA ELEPHANT PROJECT Training and erection of chili pepper fences 41 km of fence already erected No crops raided in area with chili fence

HUMAN ELEPHANT CONFLICT cont. Growing chili for fences and for market Also put up beehive fences for human-elephant conflict & for market

SUCCESSES Project has dramatically reduced poaching Helped villagers protect their crops from elephant High level of community participation Multi-dept. Govt. participation

CONCLUSIONS Community involvement is the heart of success Without extensive community engagement the Ruvuma Elephant Project would definitely not have been able to dramatically reduce poaching and IWT The community has been motivated to participate in anti-poaching because the Project has: –Shown genuine concern in helping with crop protection & in giving them the financial benefits of the introduced chili and honey opportunities –Rewarded good behaviour & cooperation, equally, reliably and without fail –Included a conservation education and awareness component

CONCLUSIONS cont. Efforts to mobilise community-based anti-poaching are likely to be successful in cases where: –they are treated as equal Partners & respect is shown to Their priorities –are Fairly and Consistently Rewarded for their cooperation –constant communication is maintained with them (to enhance intelligence info on IWT) Without community involved anti-poaching efforts will likely fail!

THANK YOU And thanks to our partners Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation The Wildcat Foundation PAWA The Thin Green Line Foundation Woodchester Trust