Initiatives: Wildlife Conservation: Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention Program:
Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention in Action
Human-Wildlife Conflict Monitoring
Human-wildlife conflict monitoring
Developing community-led conflict monitoring systems since 2003, APW concentrates on building the skills and abilities of rural villagers to verify and collect comprehensive information on human-wildlife conflicts. With substantial training in GPS use, data collection and data entry at the Noloholo Environmental Center, local human-wildlife conflict officers are equipped with the skills they need when responding to and verifying daily wildlife conflicts in rural villages. Well known throughout the community, the conflict officers are quickly summoned when an incident occurs, meaning they can collect the best information possible. Back at Noloholo and using a unique database provided by our partner, AWELY, our Maasai program coordinator evaluates attacks on livestock and crop damage monthly and uses this information to advise village efforts to prevent conflicts, often coordinating with local village game scout teams.
Preventing Human-Wildlife Conflict: Local Solutions to Local Conflicts
Live trees and vines bring chain link to life in a Living Wall
Reliable, objective information is fundamental to making informed decisions. Yet, in rural Africa, access to information is severely limited. By training and supporting local conflict monitoring teams and exposing them to up-to-date information on global strategies for the prevention of human-wildlife conflicts, APW ensures rural villagers have credible information when developing local strategies to prevent conflicts.
Strategies currently utilized by local villagers in the Maasai Steppe include village game scout teams to prevent crop-raiding and the installation of Living Walls to reduce large carnivore attacks on livestock. Given APW’s local presence in the Maasai Steppe at our Noloholo Environmental Center, we are also facilitating participatory land use mapping incorporating Google Earth images to help community members visualize and identify wildlife movements that overlap with farmland. Recognizing areas that are inherently set up for conflict is the first step in developing improved land use management plans for the mutual benefit of people and wildlife.
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