Wilderness Wildlife Trust (“WWT”), an independent non-profit entity associated with the Wilderness Safaris Group, supports a wide variety of projects across Africa. The projects and research WWT supports address the needs of existing wildlife populations, seek solutions to save endangered species and provide education and training for local people and their communities.

The Trust focuses its work in three key areas:

  • Research and Conservation – including species studies, monitoring of populations and understanding human-animal conflicts.
  • Community Empowerment and Education – such as community upliftment and the Children in the Wilderness program.
  • Anti-poaching and Management – including aerial surveys, anti-poaching units and increasing capacity for researchers in general.

The goal of the Trust is to make a difference to Africa, her wildlife and her people.

Find out more at wildernesstrust.com

Empowers Africa has partnered with Wilderness Wildlife Trust in order to provide a cost-effective solution to fundraising in the United States by acting as their fiscal sponsor. Any donations made here will be granted to Wilderness Wildlife Trust.

Empowers Africa uses Stripe to process credit card donations. Stripe has very stringent security rules which may lead to declined credit card transactions. If you are experiencing trouble processing your donation, kindly contact Nadia Derelieva at (917) 328-1611 or via email: nadia@empowersafrica.org

Conservation Heroes: Covid Relief Project

Help Protect Wildlife and Wilderness Areas and Curb Rising Community Food Insecurity

Vital relief aid for wildlife anti-poaching/monitoring and rural communities in need.

The impact of COVID-19 in Africa has been profound – particularly on wildlife conservation and rural communities dependent on tourism.

This has resulted in two urgent needs for the Wilderness Wildlife Trust, namely protecting wildlife and wilderness areas from increased poaching threats and aiding in food security to people in need in our partner communities. The direct correlation between rising food insecurity and poaching levels means they are two sides of the same coin. Addressing both is our best chance of reducing the negative impact of this crisis.

Read more about the Wilderness Safaris Conservation Heroes Project here

Namibia Desert Lion Project

Namibia supports a unique population of desert-adapted lions that survive in the harsh Namib Desert. The “desert” lion is a prominent feature in Namibia and is highly valued, both aesthetically and financially, by the growing tourism industry. Namibia has received international recognition (e.g. CITES) for successful conservation efforts, such as the Communal Conservancy Programme, which has lead to significant increases in wildlife numbers, especially in the arid areas.

Read more about the Namibia Desert Lion Project at wildernesstrust.com

Rwanda Park Expansion and Reforestation Program

One of ​Wilderness Wildlife Trust’s most exciting initiatives is the reforestation of the 43 hectares (103 acres) of Bisate land in a phased approach. This area is set to mimic the volcanoes’ natural vegetation zones with a bamboo forest at the lower level, while further up, hagenia and dombea trees, amongst others, will recreate the atmosphere of indigenous rainforest and will lead to a natural recoloni​z​ation of the reforested land by endemic and indigenous wildlife.

Zambia Busanga Plains Anti-poaching

Prior to ​Wilderness’ presence, Kafue saw significant poaching in the 1980s and game numbers declined before beginning to recover in the 1990s with the growth of ecotourism in Zambia. Wilderness Safaris currently supports the game scouts and anti-poaching units of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (previously ZAWA) logistically and financially year round.

Zimbabwe Hwange Anti-poaching

Hwange National Park has a high mortality rate of lion to accidental snaring, while evidence has shown that many wire snares are set for medium and large animals, including elephant and giraffe. In addition, there has been an increase in the poisoning of elephant by ivory poachers.

The Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) aims to provide the manpower and resources to assist Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) to reduce levels of poaching within the boundary areas of Hwange National Park.

Read more about Zimbabwe Hwange Anti-poaching at wildernesstrust.com

General Programs - Research and Conservation

These include ecological studies of specific species, transboundary movements, migration corridors and human-animal conflicts, interactions between species, and climate change. Such studies are not science for the sake of science, but rather help pave the way for better informed conservation management decisions and thus the sustainability of Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas.

General Programs - Anti-Poaching and Management

Hands-on management contributes to the survival of both individual species and their endangered habitats. The Trust supports a number of anti-poaching entities and assists in further management initiatives, such as aerial surveys.

General Programs - Education

Conservation of animals and plants is only as strong as the people who live in their vicinity. Without the engagement and involvement of such people, conservation is likely to exist only on paper. Therefore, educational and financial empowerment of local communities is the bedrock of the Trust, providing much-needed skills and knowledge to these communities.

General Donations

If you do not have any specific project in mind and wish the organization to use their own discretion, please click here.

Donations can also be made by check or wire transfer:

Checks should be made out to “Empowers Africa” and should be mailed to:

Empowers Africa
2 Beekman Place, Ste. 18B
New York, NY 10022
www.empowersafrica.org
(917) 328-1611

Kindly note in the memo section of the check that funds are for Wilderness Wildlife Trust and indicate a specific program if applicable. Or email us at info@empowersafrica.org.

For wire transfer details or more information, please email us at info@empowersafrica.org.

Empowers Africa has been approved as a U.S. public charity, contributions to which are tax deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 501(c)(3) [EIN: 32-0403737] of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Thank you for your support!