COMACO reported that for the first time in 13 years, the Kambombo Chiefdom has seen the return of elephants. After a long history of poaching, His Royal Highness, Chief Kambombo, and the people who live in his chiefdom, have taken significant steps in the conservation of their natural resources. A Community Conservation Area has been established with adopted conservation farming practices. Now elephants are regularly seen in various areas around the Chiefdom which borders Vwaza National Park, Malawi to the east, and the Luangwa River to the west.
“I enjoy having the wildlife back. I am working hard to encourage all my subjects to surrender their guns and snares as a measure to protect the animals that have returned after such a long time. There should be no more poaching here,” said Chief Kambombo.
It is not just elephants that are now being seen. Buffalo, kudu, bush buck and eland are now sharing the Chiefdom with the Kambombo community.
TPAZ takes shape
The Transformed Poachers Association of Zambia (TPAZ) has now identified its main objectives. These are the elimination of poaching and the reduction of deforestation activities in order to protect local wildlife and their habitats.
In order to do this, TPAZ Chairperson, Smoke Phiri, along with fellow Executive Leaders have established 15 chapters representing 13 chiefdoms. Registration of TPAZ is almost complete and they are developing these chapters into operational units for conservation.
TPAZ are also engaging former poachers with a range of activities so they become role models in their communities. These transformed poachers now have a higher calling – to bring wildlife back. By utilising the livelihood skills they have learnt. along with the improved markets that COMACO has provided, this is now becoming a reality.
“Before our members would see wildlife only as meat. Now they see wildlife as something special in their lives. I am receiving calls more and more, as members call me to report wildlife sightings. I can hear the pride in their voices when they make these reports. For sure, we will help Zambia protect its wildlife,” said Chairperson Smoke Phiri.
Gliricidia Agroforestry Campaign Launched
This year COMACO has set a target of planting 60 million Gliricidia trees. This is part its Integrating Agriculture with Conservation program in which about 500 trees per quarter hectare of farmland will be planted by each farmer. Last year, COMACO farmers planted 45 million trees and they are excited by their next ambitious goal.
Their short documentary explains the multiple benefits of going ‘green’ with Gliricidia. It focuses on the benefits that experienced farmers have already learnt.
A Wonder Tree for the Small Scale Farmer
COMACO’s field teams are deploying 5 mobile video viewing units to different chiefdoms, showing the video and then taking part in discussions with chiefs and other local leaders on how to roll out their campaign. It is hoped to create a public movement towards sustainable, soil-improving approaches to farming like never seen before in Zambia!
“We were in the dark without knowledge until you brought us this light. We are happy that we are being introduced to another level of trainings using video shows. This is more important because as farmers we believe in what we see. We have learnt a lot from these video shows how our friends are progressing when they farm with this tree and gain better yields and earn more profit,” explained Judith Kaoma, Principal Lead Farmer from Chalwemba Cooperative, Mpika.
Find out more
You can read all COMACO’s latest news in their August Newsletter and you can keep up to date by following them on their Facebook Page or check out their new website at www.itswild.org
With the Scottish COP26 UN Climate Change Conference coming up next month, it is the small scale on the ground projects that will help people change their lifestyles in the fight against climate chanage. One problem is how to tackle the growing demand for charcoal and to find a way for people to cook safely in their homes using environmentally friendly bio-fuels instead.
In Kenya, one company is now using ATMs (vending machines) to dispense affordable bioethanol to their customers in Nairobi. Designed and built by KOKO Networks, these ATMs are being installed inside local shops to provide fuel in small quantities for daily cooking. This is providing a solution to a widespread problem in African cities – how to get clean fuel for cooking into homes safely and affordably.
The machines, which resemble ATMs, dispense bioethanol – this is a sustainable by-product of their local sugar industry. So far, KOKO has installed 700 bio-fuel ATMS in the capital, providing clean cooking fuel to 170,000 users in Nairobi. They are preparing to expand across the rest of Kenya from next year.
Zambia’s cooking fuel market, like many African countries, is dominated by charcoal and paraffin. Both of these are expensive and more seriously, emit toxic fumes and soot harming people’s health. In Kenya, almost 300 people die every week from household pollution. The growing need for charcoal in our cities is also leading to mass deforestation, decimating our ancient forests.
So this innovative way to dispense eco-friendly, affordable fuel, is both tackling the problems of household pollution, helping to save lives, and also assisting in the fight against deforestation and climate change.
Do you have a local project that is also tacking climate change? If so, let us know, and we will feature it on our blog.
As well as the UK’s 26th Climate Change Conference which is taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, on 31 October – 12 November 2021, there are lots of local and virtual events which you can easily join in coming up over the next few weeks.
Wildlife Rangers Challenge – Saturday 18th September
Have you been joining in training with the Rangers? 187 teams from 19 African countries have signed up to take the challenge. During the last few months they have been taking part in a series of physical and mental challenges which will culminate in a 21km virtual rage on 18th September. Their goal is to raise money to support the men and women who protect Africa’s protected areas who continue to see drastic cuts in resources due to the devastating economic impact of Covid-19.
There is still time to virtually join in – you can register to join the virtual race, donate to the fund or donate to your favourite protected area. All donations will be matched by the Scheinberg Relief Fund. Find out more at www.wildliferangerchallenge.org
The Elephant Charge – Saturday 25th September
You might have seen the teams busily fundraising on social media to raise money for conservation through education. So far 33 teams have entered in this year’s extreme 4×4 event which will take place somewhere outside of Lusaka! The actual venue is only announced just before the competition so teams don’t know what type of terrain they will be challenged with. And don’t forget, spectators are also welcome to join in and cheer on their favourite teams.
Since the Elephant Charge began, 13 years ago, they have raised US $1,181,732, supporting 107 grants to 22 local conservation organisations. You can find out more about the charge, teams and beneficiaries at www.elephantcharge.org and on their Facebook Page.
Conservation Careers Fair – Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th October
This year the Conservation Careers Fair will again be held virtually online due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, so there is no excuse for you not to join in! They will be bringing together potential employers, conservation organisations, students and graduates from Zambian training institutions, offering environmental and conservation information and advice for you to kick start your conservation career.
We will be bringing you more details on how you can join in nearer the time, but you can also keep checking their Facebook Page for more details.
October Big Birding Day – Saturday 9th October
Big Birding Day is a 24 hour opportunity for everyone to celebrate our birds. This is the second ever Global Bird Weekend, and the actual day takes place on World Migratory Bird Day.
You can join in, wherever you are. All you have to do is just get an eBird account and then enter your sighting. You don’t have to go to a protected birding area or spend the full 24 hours birdwatching! You can spend a few minutes checking which birds are in your garden at home and then report your sightings on the eBird website or the free eBird mobile app. Go to www.ebird.org for more details and check out the Birdwatch Zambia Forum Facebook Page for more local details.
Last year, over 32,000 participants worldwide submitted an astonishing 80,400 checklists with 7,128 species. So make a date and join in the Global birding team!
A newly published research report on our Bangweulu Shoebill looks into how environmental changes in their habitat, especially the seasonal availability of surface water, alters their movement patterns.
By analysing the movements of Shoebills in different life stages, and how these movements relate to available surface water (which is a key environmental factor for wetlands), the study’s goal was to improve ecological understanding of Shoebills to further assist future conservation efforts of this unique species.
Advances in GPS tracking technology has meant that studies on individual birds can take place over several years, and now throughout a bird’s lifetime. This has shown that juvenile and adult Shoebills use habitats differently, especially in their movements and habitat selection.
The research
Using GPS transmitters, fitted onto 11 Shoebills, researchers were able to track the Shoebill’s movements between December 2011 and October 2018, collecting 119,321 valid GPS positions. They obtained 47,134 GPS positions for 6 Shoebills tracked as immatures and 44,985 GPS positions of 5 Shoebills tracked as adults. During this time 4 immatures matured into adults, with researchers analysing home ranges and the distances they moved.
“The way individuals explore the environment can change as they age.”
The team found that these Shoebills stayed in the Bangweulu Wetlands all year round, normally moving less than 3 km per day. They have large home ranges although there was high individual variability, with immature and adult Shoebills responding differently to changes in surface water.
The sites that adults abandoned became drier, whilst sites abandoned by immature Shoebills became wetter. These differences might be because immature birds have different foraging techniques so need different feeding conditions compared to adult birds.
Shoebills
Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex) are an iconic wetland species, found in various locations in central-eastern Africa. They live in permanent swampy wetlands and seasonally flooded grasslands, hunting fish in shallow waters and using floating vegetation as fishing sites.
They are a large, long-lived species which are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. This is due to their declining populations – it is estimated that there are between 5000-8000 individuals left in the wild. Their decline is because of habitat loss, the illegal bird trade and disturbance by humans.
Shoebill habitats
The Bangweulu Wetlands is a typical Shoebill habitat, similar to the other regions that they live in. It undergoes dramatic changes in water levels between the dry breeding season and the wet season.
“One of the key challenges in ecology is to understand how environmental fluctuations drive animal movements. Changes in the environment can alter resource distribution, which consequently determines animal migratory and, local, movements.”
The distribution of surface water in wetlands areas is one of the key determinants of species’ spatial distribution and an individual movements. Tropical regions have changing seasonal environments – prolonged periods of drought followed by extreme floods. This can lead to major changes in suitable habitat for waterfowl, leading to large-scale movements due to fluctuations in the abundance of food.
Further research
The research team from the University of East Anglia, UK, University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands and the University of Cape Town, South Africia recommend that more research is needed into a Shoebills life-cycle to fully understand their different habitat needs throughout their lives. This will then provide much needed knowledge for successful conservation efforts for this little known about species.
You can read the full research report Changes in surface water drive the movements of Shoebills at www.nature.com
With jobs in conservation and the environment currently being in short supply due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, why not take the opportunity to fine tune your skills and learn something new? Not only will taking a short course improve your knowledge and skills, but you will also virtually meet and share ideas with like-minded students from around the world.
There are now thousands of free short online courses offered by leading institutions worldwide, ranging from nature, science and climate change to business strategies, IT and communications, and improving your study skills. You can even learn a new language!
Many online courses are community supported, with the opportunity to ask questions and share your experiences. Fellow students come from all walks of life, and courses are run and designed by leading colleges and universities.
Not only are they all free, but they can be done at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home. So, whatever your interests are and wherever you are in your career, with such a huge choice of free online courses available, why not check them out and join one today?
Open Learn – free learning from The Open University
“Making the decision to study can be a big step, which is why you’ll want a trusted university.”
The Open University has been delivering flexible learning for over 50 years. They currently have over 900 free courses on offer at Open Learn, with 170,000 students currently studying with them right now. You can sign up for their newsletter to hear about their new free courses as they are released.
Future Learn – 100% online flexible learning from world class universities and industry experts
Future Learn‘s free short courses are aimed to help you develop your hobbies, learn new skills and find career-changing expertise with their flexible courses. They are currently offering 1180 different courses, taken over 2 to 6 weeks, including 83 nature and environment courses, 197 computer and IT courses and 364 business and management courses.
They also offer specialist accredited courses and training in key sectors and industries as well as online degrees. Their online microcredentials courses are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. These paid for courses can be used as an independent certification, with some even offer academic credits towards a degree.
Conservation Training – set up by The Nature Conservancy
Launched in 2009 to provide conservation based training to the global conservation community, they offer over 400 hours of free online courses.
Conservation Training courses cover topics such as the IUCN, conservation tools and biodiversity and are designed to improve your conservation knowledge. Their courses have been built in partnership with scientists from conservation organisations such as the IUCN, UNDP, UNEP, and CBD.
National Geographic – free courses from the National Geographic Society
Their six online conservation course – Exploring Conservation – is a free wildlife conservation series of courses aimed at educating everyone about the importance of conservation and how they can get involved.
Their self-paced courses explain key conservation issues, help you explore the biodiversity that makes up our planet and learn why saving these species is vital for the preservation of our planet. The courses were developed by United for Wildlife and the Zoological Society of London.
Wildlife Campus – offering a choice of free and affordable wildlife courses
Based in South Africa, Wildlife Campus has been teaching students online for over 20 years. They are a FGASA endorsed, having an international online virtual campus which offers a wide variety of wildlife related, natural science and Ecotourism courses, focusing on Africa.
Although their full courses are fee paying, they also offer a selection of free short courses. Their course content is available online and can also be downloaded in PDF format, which means you do not have to be online to study, making it easier if you are in an area with unstable internet access! You can also sign up for their free newsletter.
