Support an elephant conservation effort in mozambiques maputo province by strengthening elephant protection and biological monitoring and promoting humanelephant coexistence

This Federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the African Elephant Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.620) provides $749,697 to support an elephant conservation effort in Mozambique's Maputo Province. The key activities funded under this 5-year project, which runs from August 2024 to January 2029, include:

1. Deploying 8 new elephant GPS collars and 140 camera traps to enhance corridor planning and design;
2. Supporting operations of human-elephant conflict rapid response units;
3. Conducting annual social interviews with local communities to better understand human-elephant conflict and corridor perceptions;
4. Mitigating human-elephant conflict through income-generating and non-income-generating soft barriers such as beehive fencing, unpalatable buffer crops, and chili-oil soaked rag fencing.

The project aims to conserve the African savanna elephant population in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which is home to approximately 47,405 elephants. The awardee for this grant is the non-profit organization Elephants Alive, based in Hoedspruit, South Africa.

Located within the greater limpopo trans frontier conservation area tfca savanna elephant stronghold this landscape is home to approximately 47405 elephants. This project is intended to conserve african savanna elephants and their habitat by addressing the impacts of humanelephant conflict HEC habitat loss and poaching. Specific activities INCLUDE1 deploying eight new elephant global positioning system GPS collars and 140 camera traps to support improved corridor planning and design 2 supporting operations of HEC rapid response units 3 conducting annual social interviews with local communities to better understand HEC and elephant corridor perceptions 4 mitigating HEC through incomegenerating and nonincome generating soft barriers e.g. beehive fencing unpalatable buffer crops smelly elephant repellent metal strip fencing flashing lights and chilioil soaked RAG fencing.