CONSERVATION
“We have recently witnessed African Governments, private sectors in the tourism industry, and donor organizations rallying and repackaging their programs to accommodate the impact of the pandemic on conservation. Discover Zambia has done an exceptional job and I must applaud them. Their cohesive response is a strong vote of confidence for Africa’s wildlife and wild lands, not just for their potential to attract tourists, but also for the invaluable ecological benefits they offer. Conserving wildlife is key to finding the balance between nature and economic development”.
Kaddu Sebunya, CEO, African Wildlife Foundation
African Parks Network
Liuwa Plain National Park and Bangweulu Wetlands are two of Africa’s most extraordinary wild landscapes. Liuwa has been managed by African Parks (a conservation non-profit) in partnership with the Government of Zambia and the Barotse Royal Establishment since 2003; and Bangweulu has been managed by African Parks, the Government of Zambia and six Community Resource Boards since 2008. Their shared vision is to ensure that the parks become ecologically, socially and economically sustainable over time and benefit both people and wildlife. Liuwa hosts the second largest wildebeest migration on the continent, has a growing predator population, and has one of the oldest conservation histories in all of Africa. Bangweulu is home to over 400 bird species including the shoebill, increasing ungulate populations including the endemic black lechwe, and just recently saw the reintroduction of cheetahs after a 100-year absence. Both parks are home to tens of thousands of people living legally within and around them and serve as living examples of landscapes where both people and wildlife can thrive.
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“What I see in the African Parks model is exactly what conservation should be about – putting people at the heart of the solution. African Parks is ensuring that the protected areas under our management directly benefit surrounding communities through security, education, jobs, and investments made in local services and enterprises that can stimulate conservation-led economies. Conservation can only be sustained when people living closest to nature are invested in its preservation”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, President of African Parks
To learn more about African Parks Network, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
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image credit: Scott Ramsay
Conservation Lower Zambezi
Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) is a non-governmental organisation committed to the protection of wildlife and to the sustainable use of natural resources in the Lower Zambezi, Zambia. Established in 1994, CLZ’s mission focuses on three main pillars of support: Wildlife Protection, Environmental Education and Community Engagement all working towards a mission of “A valued, protected and thriving Lower Zambezi landscape”. The organisation works in collaboration with Zambia’s local wildlife authority – The Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) for over 25 years to ensure the sustainability of species in the Lower Zambezi and their ecosystems.
“The Lower Zambezi in all its splendour has an abundance to offer, from the ever-changing landscapes, smells and views to the people and wildlife that inhabit this wonderful landscape. All the hard-working men and women at Conservation Lower Zambezi believe in what they are fighting to protect!”
Nikita Iyengar, CLZ General Manager
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To learn more about Conservation Lower Zambezi, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
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image credit: Scott Ramsay
Conservation South Luangwa 
 CSL Vision: The long term survival of wildlife and habitats in South Luangwa under the custodianship of the Zambian people. 
CSL was formed in 2003 and has built strong partnerships with Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in protected area management and counter-poaching initiatives across the Luangwa Valley. CSL practices a multi-faceted approach to wildlife resource management and protection, working in collaboration with DNPW and their respective Community Resource Boards (CRBs) to implement ‘frontline’ protection and counter trade/trafficking methods such as anti-poaching foot patrols, aerial surveillance and tracking, while engaging with their respective communities. CSL provides refresher training of law enforcement officers, equipment, uniforms, vehicles, fuel and maintenance, radio networks, IT and databases, infrastructure development, and wildlife crime detection and tracking canine units to support intelligence-led operations across the ecosystem. CSL established a Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) team in 2007, with community-based field officers. Their aim is to use participatory, strategic, and applied approaches towards HWC mitigation techniques which hold a high potential in decreasing damages by wildlife and to improve the relationship between local communities, wildlife managers and conservation agencies. CSL employs 100 full time members of staff, 97 of which are local Zambians, and supports 30 HWC mitigation volunteers.  
To learn more about Conservation South Luangwa, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
 
Game Rangers International
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Game Rangers International (GRI) is a non-profit conservation organisation working alongside the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and local communities to protect wildlife in Zambia. GRI embraces a holistic approach to conservation, empowering Rangers across three core thematic areas: Resource Protection, Community Outreach and Wildlife Rescue. GRI's core capability lies within its Ranger Empowerment Model which is designed to facilitate and empower existing Rangers with adequate levels of welfare, training and operation support, to motivate them to be more efficient and effective in conserving wildlife. The Ranger Empowerment Model is a partnership with government, whereby government provides the manpower, pays the salaries and meets the statutory obligations in relation to this manpower, and GRI supports the rest, including but not limited to: -housing, schooling, medical & bereavement support, performance bonuses, uniforms, kit & equipment, vehicles and logistics, rations, communications, technical and support services. This standardised plug and play model is easily replicable, allowing for rapid expansion into hotspot areas. Equally, the. Ranger Empowerment Model is very scalable, thus allowing for its deployment across large protected area landscapes. A centralised administrative support and governance system ensures that donor funds are maximised via an exponential economy of scale.
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“The population of Africa is set to double in the next 15 years, so the pressure on wild spaces is going to increase. If we're not careful, we'll lose those spaces and all the wildlife within. We need to find a way to protect and expand the remaining wild spaces by engaging the communities that live on their borders.”
Sport Beattie - GRI Founder and CEO
To learn more about Game Rangers International, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
Kasanka Trust Ltd.
“Tourism for Conservation”
Founded in 1986 by the late David Lloyd and Gary Williams, Kasanka Trust Ltd was established to conserve and protect the unique habitats and wildlife of the then largely depleted Kasanka National Park. The Trust entered into a public-private partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to manage Kasanka in 1989. The Trust is a not-for-profit company registered in Zambia, supported by Kasanka Trust UK and Stichting Kasanka Nederland, both charities that are focused on raising funds and awareness to help our work in Zambia.
At 478 km2 Kasanka is a relatively small park, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in diversity. The park was designed around the rich wetlands, floodplains and riverine forest of several small rivers that bisect the landscape. It is home to an incredible 479 bird species and 114 mammals, among them the secretive, semi-aquatic sitatunga, and a small but recovering elephant population. Kasanka is also the scene of one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth – from October to December every year about 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats migrate from across central Africa to a small patch of swamp forest in the centre of the park.
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The Trust’s work in and around Kasanka National Park is focused on 4 key areas:
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Resource Protection
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Community Development & Environmental Education
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Infrastructure Development
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Tourism Development
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Kasanka Trust Ltd relies entirely on donor funding and income received through tourism to run and manage its projects. Kasanka comprises of two lodges, as well as a season self-catering tented camp and four campsites within the park. Kasanka’s tourism business operates as a social enterprise, so every Kwacha earned in revenue is reinvested back into the park. By visiting Kasanka, you are making a direct contribution to the conservation of this wonderful landscape.
To learn more about Kasanka Trust Ltd, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
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Musekese Conservation
Musekese Conservation is a  truly  Zambian  conservation organization. As a not-for-profit, we help to provide resources for conservation  activities across a large portion of the Kafue National Park in Western Zambia.  Our primary focus is  increasing the capacity for  law enforcement (anti-poaching)  and research initiatives that contribute to the  effective  preservation of wildlife  and habitat - the sustainability of which shall better the livelihoods of communities within  and around  the Kafue National Park.
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“Zambia has long been at the forefront of conservation initiatives in Africa and it is a great privilege to be a part of this legacy. The greater Kafue National Park is a global treasure and it is our lifetime ambition to preserve its wildlife and habitats for future Zambian generations to come.” 
Phil Jeffery - Director
To learn more about Musekese Conservation, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
 
North Luangwa Conservation Programme
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Founded in 1986, the NLCP was initiated with the aim of conserving wildlife and ecosystems. FZS(Frankfurt Zoological Society) took over the project in the mid-1990s and continues to work with the DNPW to this day.
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The programme aims to provide assistance to communities to live within the limits of the ecosystem, creating an attractive investment culture based on equitable revenue sharing and devolved decision-making.
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In 2003, black rhinos were reintroduced to the park, with the goal of re-establishing a viable, breeding population of this critically endangered species. This created jobs for wildlife rangers and other programme staff. In 2014, the Rhino and Elephant Protection Unit (REPU) was established to support the existing protection strategy by patrolling core areas and monitoring the black rhino population. To help combat poaching, NLCP has also invested in training and deployment of intelligence and investigations unit across the Muchinga Province.
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In 2015, a new strategy was adopted to upscale anti-poaching efforts in the development of the North Luangwa Canine Unit (NLCU). The NLCU has seven dogs, able to detect ivory, rhino horn, firearms, and bush meat, amongst other products, and they play an important role in preventing wildlife crime.
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In order for communities to live harmoniously alongside wildlife, a range of strategies, such as participatory land use planning, equitable sharing of revenues and engendering community ownership have been promoted and adopted.
Our goal is to strengthen their ability to participate in, and benefit from, wildlife conservation. The project aims to build the capacity of community institutions for sustainable natural resource management and governance in order to engage communities with conservation enterprise opportunities, particularly tourism.
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The project supports conservation enterprise investment, ensuring fairness for all parties and includes tourism, land-use and business management plans developed with the communities. NLCP to facilitates community conservation banks (COCOBAs) and support small scale village saving and loan schemes, in order to help build resilience and drive socio-economic development.
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The black rhino is now the flagship of the ecosystem and used to leverage support and funding to develop a community orientated vision of landscape conservation.
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To learn more about North Luangwa, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
 
We Forest
As deforestation and forest degradation is rising across the country, WeForest Zambia focuses on holistic forest landscape restoration projects. With an expertise in miombo restoration and conservation, WeForest collaborates with local communities, farmers’ associations, Government Departments and traditional leadership to improve forest management. Tackling the drivers of deforestation, the organization is involved in clean cooking methods, beekeeping, improving agricultural practices and building community governance and law enforcement. As the pressures on forest resources are rising, WeForest continues to rethink approaches by using best practices to expand its impact across Zambian landscapes.
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"No trees, no bees. No honey, no money."
Luanshya Forest Commodities Association beementor - Samson Kamwendo
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To learn more about WeForest, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
 
image credit: Ruben Foquet
West Lunga Conservation Project
The West Lunga ecosystem covers 11,750km2 and is situated in North-Western Zambia. At its heart is West Lunga National Park which was once a breeding ground for elephant and supported a vast array of wildlife. The ecological significance of West Lunga is both hydrological, in its contribution to the head waters of the Zambezi and Kafue River systems and geophysical due to the presence of large tracts of mavunda or dry evergreen Cryptosepalum forest.
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The West Lunga Conservation Project partners with DNPW and local communities with funding from FQM, WWF and WCP to rehabilitate and restore West Lunga whilst creating conservation based economies in the surrounding communities.
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"The habitat remains vast, diverse, well watered, untouched and largely devoid of wildlife. It is truly one of the most remote places in Zambia and when one looks around, the word “potential” rings true at every turn.”
Dorian Tilbury – Project Head, West Lunga Conservation Project
To learn more about West Lunga Conservation Project, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
Wildlife Crime Prevention
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'Wildlife Crime Prevention (WCP) was established to support the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s (DNPW) mandate to reduce poaching and combat the illegal wildlife trade in Zambia. WCP identified how best to help Government and law enforcement institutions strengthen their response to the illegal wildlife trade. 
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Zambia is at the centre of several illegal wildlife transit networks, with wildlife products, including those from neighbouring countries, transported from and through Zambia to their end market, usually in Asia. This places Zambia on the front line of the response to Africa’s illegal wildlife trade. Over the last four years, WCP has developed into a national programme, working closely with conservation, research and Government organisations to provide technical and logistical support. 
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WCP focuses on three key areas it believes are central to tackling wildlife crime: improving law enforcement by supporting relevant Government institutions in investigations; effective prosecution of criminals along with the National Prosecution Authority (NPA); and raising public awareness of the detrimental impact wildlife crime has on people, communities and the economy. 
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WCP believes that through collaboration with Government, law enforcement agencies, regional and global conservation partners, and the public it can have a meaningful impact on wildlife crime in Zambia'.
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To learn more about Wildlife Crimpe Prevention - WCP, how to visit and or support them, please go to:
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