Wilderness Community Drought Relief

As Southern Africa suffers from its most severe drought in decades, brought about by a severe El Niño event, millions of people face food insecurity. Our 40 years of conservation tourism experience have taught us that communities are inseparable from the wild places we protect, and the wildlife that call them home. 

As custodians of many of the affected wilderness areas, we recognise our responsibility to support our partner communities in this time of crisis. We can’t bring back the rains, but we can support with vital food relief to those most in need. Funding to the amount of US$250,000 has been secured from the Mike and Karen Stone Foundation. We have mobilised our local teams across Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia (east Africa is not impacted by the drought). These teams will concentrate relief efforts on the communities most severely impacted by the ongoing drought and in urgent need of temporary food aid. Our teams have consulted with local community leaders and government officials to identify the people most needing of support. We have also sought their views as to how this support should be provided.

On the basis of these consultations, we have designed our intervention. Over the next three months—expected to be the most challenging period of this devastating drought—our teams aim to distribute more than 9,000 emergency food parcels to 12,500 people, largely children. This latter focus is intended to ensure proper nutrition in school in order to both alleviate pressure on parents but also, more importantly, to ensure proper nutrition while learning. Our relief plan encompasses both the preparation and delivery of these food parcels. It is hoped that the need for this intervention will be short-lived, given that the El Niño event that caused the drought is in the process of being replaced by La Niña, which will hopefully lead to good rains in the coming months.

This intervention will also help to reduce the pressure on natural resources, which always results when livelihoods are threatened by natural or man-made disasters.

Donors wishing to add to this campaign, which would allow the inclusion of further beneficiaries or the enlargement of the proposed food parcels, can do so at this link.

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Botswana Human - Lion Co-existence

In partnership with the CLAWS Conservancy (Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably), a collaboration was born to foster a pride in our prides. Working with neighboring communities, we aim to reduce human-lion conflict and foster co-existence. It’s about building a strong, inclusive program for exchanging ideas and using technology to our advantage. Take, for example, our first-of-its kind automated, adaptable Lion Alert System, which gives communities real-time warning messages when a lion is close.

There’s also our Wildlife Friendly Beef initiative, which ensures cattle remain disease free and away from wild Cape buffalo through mobile quarantine enclosures and supporting rangeland grazing. There’s a dual impact here where empowering local cattle farmers economically ensures cattle are managed effectively, and ultimately lions and buffalo in the area can thrive.

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Namibia Rhino Rangers and Desert-Wildlife Protection

Together with partners like the Desert Lion Conservation Trust, Save the Rhino Trust, Skeleton Coast Brown Hyena Project, and desert-adapted elephant researchers, we’re creating a world where this unique wildlife thrives.

Here, we’re actively working to alleviate human-wildlife conflict, conduct essential research and monitoring, and managing populations to ensure the future survival of desert-adapted elephants, black rhinos, giraffe and lions, as well as leopard and brown and spotted hyena. Through our support of the Save the Rhino Trust we are challenging the conventional military-style rhino protection tactics, and rather taking on a simple, but highly effective approach, harnessing respected local people and their unrivalled skills, such as traditional on-foot tracking techniques and knowledge of the landscape, to monitor and protect Rhino. This fosters a newfound, locally-grown pro-rhino attitude.

Additionally, we support projects that provide water, create predator proof kraals, implement early warning systems, and conduct game counts and aerial wildlife monitoring. We’re also funding radio collars, camera traps, computer equipment, optics, drugs, wildlife medication and veterinary equipment, and assisting in operational requirements, such as salaries for staff, uniforms, vehicles and vehicle operating costs, camping equipment and provisions.

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Zimbabwe Scorpions Anti-Poaching

The lions, elephants and giraffe of Hwange National Park often fall prey to snares, while poisoning of elephant by ivory poachers is increasing. Together with the Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) we aim to provide the manpower and resources to assist Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) in reducing these levels of poaching.

It’s a purpose-driven multi-pronged approach that provides practical on-the-ground response, with community education, data collection and guest participation.

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Zambia Protected Area Support

Prior to ​Wilderness’ presence, Kafue saw significant poaching resulting in game numbers declining. With the growth of ecotourism in Zambia, these wildlife numbers are starting to recover. Here we support the game scouts and anti-poaching units of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife logistically and financially year-round.

We’re also working to open up elephant corridors (not just in Zambia, but beyond). For many wildlife species, including elephants, corridors are essential to allow free movement across borders and through rapidly changing lands. Essentially, it boils down to incentivising communities to keep migration corridors free from development or major disturbances so that wildlife has right of way.

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Rwanda Gorilla and Chimpanzee Forest Rehabilitation

When it comes to increasing the mountain gorilla population, the key is ensuring they have somewhere to live. Our forest habitat expansion project aims to increase the amount of suitable habitat for mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Through restoring a more diverse indigenous landscape, in turn we provide employment opportunities for several hundred community members. To date, more than 85,000 indigenous trees have been planted at Wilderness Bisate adjacent to Volcanoes National Park, encouraging an increase in gorilla and buffalo numbers in the park, as well as a burgeoning population of endemic golden monkeys, serval, side-striped jackals and a multitude of forest bird species on the property.

Similarly, the protection of Gishwati Forest has seen chimpanzee numbers grow from a mere 13 individuals to over 30 individuals and their forest habitat almost double. These are numbers that we want to see increasing, through further expansion, reforestation and restoration. With an established indigenous tree nursery, over 20,000 indigenous trees have been planted with more rooting themselves daily.

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Children in the Wilderness (CITW)

It’s no secret that investing in the minds of the future ensures the most sustainable outcome. Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is Wilderness’ flagship community engagement and education impact programme.

If we are to ensure our wild, untamed places continue to exist, the children of Africa should be the ones preaching the importance of conservation and its relevance in their lives. Hence, this environmental and life skills educational programme focusing on the next generation of decision-makers through hosting Eco-Club programmes at local partner schools, running annual camps at Wilderness and other camps, upskilling local teachers and Wilderness camp staff in environmental projects, and mentoring those children with commitment and potential to take on conservation leadership roles.

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School Scholarships

In many of the areas where we operate, primary education is free or has a minimal charge, while secondary schooling is expensive. As a result, many children only ever complete primary schooling. Providing a child with the opportunity to complete their education is life-changing and a gift we are privileged to facilitate. We also assist with paying school fees, buying uniforms, and providing boarding accommodation.

In addition to this, we assist local councils with schooling infrastructure, and assist in building school gardens and implementing nutrition programmes. We believe true, effective learning can only take place when other, more basic needs are met.

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General Conservation

Through human-wildlife co-existence and wildlife security programmes we can effectively protect people from wildlife and wildlife from people.

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General Empowerment

By providing value to wilderness and wildlife, increasing employment opportunities and showing support for small businesses, we can reduce our reliance on natural resources and protect the Earth, one life-changing journey at a time.

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General Education

By improving rural education we increase economic opportunities and family resilience, and build sustainable support for conservation.

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