Natural Resource Management
What is Natural Resource Management
Natural Resource Management (NRM) in protected areas deals with managing the interaction between people, wildlife, and natural landscapes for the health and sustainability of the entire ecosystem. To be effective, NRM must utilize a combination of local community member involvement, education, and law enforcement to balance the local community's needs for cultural heritage, land use, and livelihoods with wildlife protection and land conservation to achieve the sustainability of wildlife and habitats in these protected areas where locals live.
Wildlife Protection
Wildlife protection is a multifaceted mission that addresses the urgent need to conserve and protect the wildlife while ensuring the well-being of the communities who live among it. Central to our efforts are robust anti-poaching initiatives, which include supporting and training local game scout officers who are pivotal in monitoring wildlife, enforcing laws, and preventing illegal activities. Equally important is our commitment to mitigating human-wildlife conflicts through innovative and community-driven strategies, such as creating barriers that protect crops from wildlife while ensuring that they are not causing harm to the animals. By integrating these approaches, along with reintroducing critical species back into their natural environment, ZWCF aims to safeguard Zambia's wildlife, so that one of Africa's most beautiful areas remains unspoiled for years to come.
Anti-Poaching Initiative
Eastern Zambia and the South Luangwa Valley faces critically high levels of poaching. The demand for bushmeat and the trafficking of wildlife products have escalated to record highs. To combat this surge in wildlife poaching, the implementation of anti-poaching patrols has become vital. These patrols play a crucial role in safeguarding wildlife by deterring poachers and disrupting illegal activities, thereby protecting Zambia's rich biodiversity and heritage.
We work closely with the DNPW and local communities to combat the poaching epidemic that has spread throughout the region. By educating local communities on the harmfulness of poaching for bushmeat and providing the DNPW with necessary resources to take legal action against poachers, we aim to stop the decline in wildlife numbers.
Game Scout Support
We assist the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in meeting their anti-poaching funding needs in the Luangwa River Valley National Park and it's surronding GMAs. Specifically, the DNPW requires funds for hiring, training, and equipping more game scouts to fight poaching activities in the region.
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We plan to hire, equip, and train an additional 50 game scouts, who will come from the local communities, to patrol the park and surrounding areas, with a particular focus on deterring poachers and intercepting poaching activities. Part of our funds designated for this purpose will also be used to build a second training school for game scouts in another region of the Luangwa River Valley. This will provide the adequate training necessary to maintain high standards of efficiency and safety. This includes following a strict fitness schedule, weapons training, self-defense courses, trauma medical training and radio communication protocols.
Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation
The communities of rural eastern Zambia frequently endure significant challenges due to conflicts with elephants and other wildlife.. As the human population in the region swells, driven by rapid development, incidents of crop raiding, property destruction, and livestock attacks are on the rise.The absence of a coherent land use strategy in Game Management Areas has led to unchecked development, with farms and infrastructure expanding quickly and encroaching on wildlife habitats.
ZWCF is at the forefront of addressing these issues, deploying an array of innovative solutions to deter wildlife conflicts effectively. Techniques such as chili blasting, constructing elephant-proof grain storage, erecting watch towers, and installing elephant-restraining electric fences are being implemented by ZWCF to mitigate the human-wildlife conflicts.
Our proactive approach to urgent threats to the safety and economic well-being of the communities aims to balance human development with wildlife conservation, ensuring a harmonious coexistence between the people of the communities and the native fauna.
Species Reintroduction
Human activities have significantly impacted Zambia's ecosystems, leading to the decline or extinction of certain species that once thrived across the continent. Addressing this challenge, species reintroduction emerges as a critical conservation strategy, especially when natural recolonization is not feasible.
ZWCF aims to plays a pivotal role in these efforts, collaborating with DNPW and other conservation organizations to facilitate the return of species, that are vital to the future health of the environment.
We are actively engaged in planning and executing the reintroduction of critical species across Zambia. These initiatives are carefully managed to ensure the animals successful acclimatization and integration into their natural environments, ultimately aiming to rebuild healthy, resilient ecosystems and preserve biodiversity for future generations.
Land Conservation
Like many areas on the planet, eastern Zambia wildlife rich heritage is threatened by a multitude of problems arising from improper land use. Rapidly growing human population, lack of adequate information on wildlife species, and a lack of training, education, and employment opportunities in the local communities have led to pressing environmental and social concerns that must be acknowledge. Land conservation is a cornerstone of ensuring the sustainability and health of both natural ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Recognizing the intricate link between biodiversity, human well-being, and environmental conservation, ZWCF is dedicated to preserving Zambia's rich natural heritage through our land conservation efforts. These efforts include, biodiversity monitoring programs that track the health and diversity of wildlife populations and ecosystems, enabling the natural flora and fauna to thrive, while eliminating alien species. Stopping deforestation is crucial to the protection of the regions ecosystem. By promoting sustainable land use practices and reforestation efforts, we look to eliminate the threats that deforestation poses on the wildlife habitat but also the livelihoods of local communities . Our focus on fire management initiatives aim to prevent uncontrolled bushfires that can devastate the natural land, further endangering both biodiversity and human safety. By addressing these critical challenges through integrated conservation efforts with our partners and the communities we work with, we strive to protect and rejuvenate the natural habitat or the wildlife and communities that rely on it.
Biodiversity Monitoring
Our biodiversity monitoring programs are at the heart of our conservation efforts. From community involvement and game cameras to aerial surveys and satellite imagery, we gather data on invasive species, wildlife distribution and population, and ecosystem changes.
To monitor alien plant species, we implement targeted removal strategies to restore natural habitats and support the recovery of native flora and fauna. This monitoring plays a vital role of protecting the biodiversity, as alien plant species can be harmful to the indigenous plants and animals.
Stopping Deforestation
Deforestation is a leading factor to human-wildlife conflict and climate change challenges like frequent and intense droughts. By tackling the underlying socio-economic drivers of deforestation; subsistence farming and charcoal and fuelwood collection we aim to reduce deforestation, as well as provide social and economical benefits to the local communities.
Our teams work directly with smallholder farmers and local communities to help them adopt more efficient and conservative farming techniques.
By implementing community education and training programs, we create greater community awareness of issues that arise from deforestation and offer guidance for better natural resource management.
Fire Management
The Eastern Province of Zambia is dominated by vast areas of fire-prone vegetation including woodland savannas and grasslands. Fire is a naturally occurring phenomenon within the region. Natural burning can lead to improved nutrient cycling in the soil, leading to nutritious forage for wildlife.
Bush fires are frequently set by communities for a multitude of traditional activities, such as clearing indigenous vegetation for agriculture, improving pastures for grazing, burning crop residues, and stimulating the growth of non timber forest products. These practices can be a threat to the health of the ecosystem if not managed correctly.
Our team focuses on the development of community-based fire management plans, increased establishment of community tree nurseries, and improved outreach to communities in order to lessen social and ecological effects of unnatural bush fire.
What We Support
