LION PROTECTIONBOTSWANA
LION PROTECTIONBOTSWANA
The kings of theSavannah are indanger
Human-wildlife conflicts are a problem in many regions of the world, including Botswana. The tensions often occur in areas where people are encroaching ever more densely on wildlife habitats with their settlements.
The local people hardly benefit from the valuable biodiversity and see native large herbivores and predators in particular as a threat to their livelihoods: elephants that eat their fruit and vegetables from the cultivated areas and damage houses, granaries and water tanks through their sheer strength and size, or predators that tear their farm animals.
To avoid such conflicts and to preserve the world’s fascinating and enormously biodiverse ecosystems, Botswana’s government provides for compensation payments for damage caused by lions and other wild animals.
“Through a better protection of livestock, species-conservation education and the creation of alternative sources of income, we want to enable the coexistence of humans and lions.“
Lars Gorschlüter, Foundation Founder
Unfortunately, the remoteness of the villages means that the affected communities do not make use of this. Instead, they kill the lions to protect their livestock. This approach threatens not only the lions, but the entire ecosystem.
Lions: threatened with extinction
Africa’s lion population has plummeted by 43% in two decades. Experts estimate that fewer than 20,000 lions live there today. Yet lions are massively threatened with extinction.
SAVE LIONS -Living with lions
Current lion conservation project
The project area (NG32/NG35) is located along the Okavango Delta in the northern part of Botswana. This region is one of the most fascinating landscapes in Africa and is home to enormous biodiversity. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to endangered species such as lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, black rhinos and elephants. At the same time, it is also home to rural communities that hardly benefit from this unique nature and therefore depend on livestock and vegetable farming for their livelihood. There are six communities in the project area where conflicts between people and lions occur regularly, as cattle and goats are easy prey for the free-roaming predators.
One of these communities is the village of Quqao, where about 250 to 300 people live. This is where we start our pilot project. Although the farmers try to protect their livestock as much as possible, the predators still manage to kill livestock again and again. According to the statistics of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), Quqao has the highest number of conflicts with lions compared to the neighbouring villages (Daunara, Boro and Xharaxhao).
Against this background, SAVE has launched the SAVE Lions lion conservation project in cooperation with Pro Wildlife and together with the community of Quqao.
Together with the villagers we will analyse the conflict situation and develop effective solutions for the protection of the herds and at the same time sustainably protect the lions.
The objectives of the SAVE Lions lion project are to.
(1) To protect lions
(2) To promote the coexistence of people and lions in the project area.
(3) To provide education and outreach that communicates the importance of lions to the ecosystem and the benefits of lion conservation to communities.
Achievements 2021
- Cooperation was started: In several workshops with the community, concrete conflict situations were analysed and approaches to solutions were developed.
- Creation of new jobs: Community members from Quqao were won over for the lion conservation project and the first lion rangers were hired.
- Immediate aid is in place: With the opening of a provisional SAVE base in the village, farmers and villagers receive immediate support in case of conflicts with lions.
Support:
- The management of the SAVE base and payment of lion rangers to minimize conflicts with lions.
- The construction of predator-proof enclosures (Kraals)
- Workshops for farmers to improve livestock management
- Training community members to become teachers and rangers
- Environmental education for children and school classes
- The early warning system through GPS-assisted tracking of lions
Support the lion conservationin Botswana
Approach
In order to achieve a peaceful coexistence of people and wildlife in the long term, we want to create alternative livelihoods for the affected communities and teach them the value of an intact ecosystem. In doing so, SAVE follows the approach of environmental education, awareness work, help for self-help and offers practical support on site.
The SAVE Lions project is developing a sustainable model for the six communities in the area in a pilot project with the village community of Quqao: Targeted environmental education enables awareness-raising from an early age and shows new ways of dealing with wildlife. At the same time, effective measures such as mobile and predator-proof fences are to be implemented to protect the herds and lions.
These should be constructed sufficiently high and strong to prevent cattle from escaping or lions from jumping in. In order to be able to provide help quickly in emergency situations, a temporary SAVE base has been set up in the village for the Lion rangers, who support the farmers on site and provide immediate help in emergencies. The rangers advise the affected farmers and monitor the movement patterns of the predatory cats through tracking. In addition, alternative income opportunities are to be created, for example through tourism offers. After successful implementation, the concept is to be transferred to the other five communities in the project area in order to improve lion protection across the board.
Become a patronfor lions now!
Protecting wildlife is protecting the environment. By becoming a patron, you will help
the lions in Botswana.
Artenschutz durch Bildung und Entwicklungsarbeit – auf diesem Ansatz beruhen all unsere Projekte. Wir arbeiten Hand in Hand mit den Menschen in den betroffenen Regionen und ermöglichen einkommensschaffende Maßnahmen dort, wo sie gebraucht werden. Mit unseren Bildungsprojekten bauen wir Brücken zu den kommenden Generationen – so dass Natur- und Artenschutz wieder ein natürlicher Bestandteil des Lebens werden.
Artenschutz durch Bildung und Entwicklungsarbeit – auf diesem Ansatz beruhen all unsere Projekte. Wir arbeiten Hand in Hand mit den Menschen in den betroffenen Regionen und ermöglichen einkommensschaffende Maßnahmen dort, wo sie gebraucht werden. Mit unseren Bildungsprojekten bauen wir Brücken zu den kommenden Generationen – so dass Natur- und Artenschutz wieder ein natürlicher Bestandteil des Lebens werden.
