One Year of Village Scouts

This month, CLZ celebrates the one year anniversary of our Village Scout patrols. We are proud of this partnership with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the Community Resource boards (CRBs), and funding from USFWS, we recruited, trained and equipped a team of Village Scouts to support ZAWA and provide extra manpower for the tough job of protecting the Lower Zambezi’s wildlife. Our VS Programme has provided employment and training for young men and women from the Game Management Areas around the National Park. Not only do the Village Scouts work to protect wildlife and deter illegal activity, but thanks to ZAWA and funding from the International Elephant Foundation, we were able to place a team in the Chiawa GMA to help protect farmers’ crops and deter human-wildlife conflict.

Not without challenges and disciplinary issues, the current Village Scout team are dedicated, skilled and we are proud of their work for ZAWA/CRBs and CLZ to protect the wildlife of the Lower Zambezi. Thank you to all our Village Scouts and to our partners, ZAWA, the CRBs, USFWS and all our donors!

Goodbye to good friends

Sadly Chris Fenner and Theo Goveia passed away in 2014. At different times during CLZ’s history both were dedicated supporters and always there to help and assist CLZ. As good friends and supporters they will be be missed by many.

Awely – welcome to Lower Zambezi!

June saw the beginning of a long term relationship between Awely and CLZ for our community support programme. Awely’s founder and Executive Director Renaud Fulconis visited the Lower Zambezi this month to meet CLZ, the communities of Chiawa and see their challenges of living alongside wildlife. In the week leading up to his visit, there had been a crocodile attack and property had been destroyed by aggressive elephants in the area, showing how very real the dangers are. Awely specialise in human-wildlife conflict, and will partnering with CLZ for their ‘Red Caps’ programme to gather information on HWC and work with the communities of Chiawa to find ways to reduce conflict. Thanks to Awely, CLZ’s coordinator Stephen Kalio will be gathering information for the next two years at least, running more workshops on chilli fences, alternative crops, hippo scaring devices and building 30 more felumbus (elephant proof granary stores).

Thank you!

Conservation Lower Zambezi relies on donations, goodwill and some fantastic partners. Our close (and not so close) neighbours in the Lower Zambezi and beyond provide invaluable help and support in our work, without which we couldn’t carry out our work. This month a huge thank you to Chakanaka and Buya Bamba Farms, who have provided our staff, scouts and school groups with bananas and vegetables. Thank you to Baines River Camp and Royal Zambezi Lodge for their drinks donations to CLZ, to Fringilla Farm for their discounted meat, to Tony and Sally Squibb for their felumbu sponsorship, to Zambeef and Kanyemba Lodge for their support to ZAWA scout patrols, thank you to Proflight for flights and pilot accommodation, to the ‘All Stars’ from Lusaka for their fundraising tour which raised over $2,500 for CLZ. Thank you to Royal Air Charters for their support through flights and logistics, and thank you to Glenn Goodall for his donation of our plane insurance and continued use of 9J CLZ for aerial wildlife patrols. Thank you to Barry Savage and Top Gear of Lusaka for their invaluable help through repairs to our vehicles!

Thank you as always to our members:

CLZ is proudly supported by Platinum Members: Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp, Baines River Camp, Chiawa Camp, Chongwe River Camp, Mwambashi River Lodge, Old Mondoro Bush Camp, Royal Zambezi Lodge and Sausage Tree Camp; Gold Members: Chongwe River House, Kasaka River Lodge Silver Members: Kanyemba Lodge, Mvuu Lodge

Article by: Conservation Lower Zambezi

Photos courtesy CLZ