The pandemic hit the Lower Zambezi in Zambia hard last year – the collapse of ecotourism led to a huge loss of income at a critical time when protected areas were facing an increased threat from poachers. The economic downturn impacted the community too.
We were able to support CLZ’s Community Scout patrols by stepping in with emergency funding. We funded 17 Community Scout (CS) patrols between July ’20 and June ’21 – this covers nearly 18% of all CS patrols in this period.
Reporting shows that patrols on the ground combined with use of specialised units has led to a number of arrests and a regional decrease in poaching.
We have been sent a confidential report from CLZ outlining the impact of the patrols which we cannot share in full but which clearly show the positive impact of the patrols that were paid for by Sketch For Survival 2020. There are elephants alive today who would have been poached had it not been for these patrols.
Community scouts are recruited from the local villages adjacent to the park, so as well as the protection given to wildlife, the employment also forms an important source of income for communities who live in close contact with the wildlife.
Together the CLZ Community Scouts, K9 unit, Rapid Response unit and the Department for National Parks & Wildlife Patrols (DNPW) achieved the following results:
Numerous poachers camps were detected with suspects apprehended and firearms, illegal ivory and ammunition confiscated;
A number of pangolins were retrieved and released back to the wild;
More than 100 snares were detected and removed;
Over 600kg of bush meat was confiscated.
Image: Francois D’Elbee CLZ
