Providing a safe refuge
for elephants and
other wildlife of the
Lower Zambezi National Park
in Zambia

  Background

  What is poaching? 

  Activities & Objectives

  Base & Training Camp

  Education & Training

  Annual Reports

  Recent Newsletters

  In the Pipeline

  How you can help?

  Photo Gallery 

 

In the Pipeline

Safari Guides Training Program
The Royal Danish Embassy have recently committed funds to establish a safari guide training program at CLZ HQ in an effort to empower local community members. There is a shortage of experienced, qualified Zambian safari guides and the intention is to conduct 9 month courses where students will receive intensive theoretical and practical training resulting in their becoming licensed safari guides with ZAWA. CLZ intends to sell spaces on this course priced so that it can offer a limited number of scholarships to people from the surrounding communities and in so doing provide a necessary service to the local community and the safari operators.
 

African Wild Dog Conservation
Kellie Leigh returned briefly to Zambia in June 2005 to announce that she has in principle received support from WWF to extend and expand AWDC’s program for at least three years – all that remains is to conclude consultations with ZAWA. She will be returning in September 2005 for further discussions and CLZ anticipates that it will play a supporting role in this vital project that protects and raises awareness of the Lower Zambezi’s threatened wild dog population.

 

CLZ assist ZAWA and CERU with Elephant Study
CLZ assisted a research team including the Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) from the University of Pretoria, Peace Parks Foundation and the ZAWA ecologist to satellite collar 6 female elephant (2 in Chiawa GMA and 4 in Lower Zambezi National Park) in the Lower Zambezi Valley.

Although the team had already employed the use of a helicopter for the actual darting they also contracted CLZ for the use of the wildlife monitoring aircraft to locate suitable family groups and as ground support for the operation.

The programme's research initiative reaches across the Southern African distributional range of elephants and the research team is conducting projects in the Etosha/ Damaraland cluster (Namibia), the Chobe cluster (Botswana in collaboration with Conservation International), the Kafue cluster (Zambia), the Limpopo cluster (Kruger and Cautada 16 straddling South Africa and Mozambique), and the Maputo cluster (Tembe and Maputo straddling South Africa and Mozambique). 

The first project is directed at the vital attributes of the elephant populations themselves, the second at the interactions between elephants and their environments, and the third at landscape use, dispersal routes, distances and rates. Much of the research in the third category is to be interpreted in terms of spatial analyses based on distance methods such as satellite telemetry and the analyses of satellite imagery. 

The programme centres on the integration of all the relevant information gained through these projects into the development of the mega park concept.
CLZ were proud to be part of this megapark initiative.

 

GIS and Database
Over the years CLZ have recognised the need for a tool to gauge, record, monitor and analyse the effectiveness of the protection and poaching levels and the development in the Lower Zambezi. In 2003 CLZ started working with ZAWA’s Head of Information under the Directorate of Research to design and establish a Geographical Information System (GIS) and Database for the Lower Zambezi National Park and surrounding GMAs.

Andrew Stevenson (Ian’s brother) who has an IT Degree with a major in GIS flew in from Australia with his family and volunteered 3 months of his time to assist CLZ and ZAWA in the formation of the GIS. The GIS grew to be much larger then first anticipated and he has generously carried on with the project from Australia during 2004 and visited base camp again in January 2005. Andrew has put over 1000 hours of work into the impressive system and is due many thanks for his efforts.

It was hoped that selected ZAWA officers would be trained in computers and the GIS, enabling them to input daily data that would be required to fully utilize the system. Unfortunately this does not appear to be a possibility. Although not fully completed, the GIS was delivered to ZAWA Chilanga in January 2005 and we sincerely hope it will be of assistance in managing and protecting the Lower Zambezi Area