Nyerere national park NNP and selous game reserve SGR are some of africas oldest and largest protected areas located in the southeastern part of tanzania with a total area close to 50000 KM2

This $746,242 Project Grant award issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the African Elephant Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.620) program will strengthen protection and human-elephant conflict response capacity in Tanzania's Nyerere National Park and Selous Game Reserve. The funding will provide aerial support for anti-poaching patrols, maintain vehicles to enhance ranger mobility, and increase the capacity of rapid response teams to prioritize community safety. Additionally, the project will support monitoring of elephant populations and stakeholder engagement to develop long-term solutions for human-elephant coexistence. The grant recipient, Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt VON 1858 E.V., is a German non-profit organization focused on wildlife conservation, and will execute the project in coordination with its U.S. affiliate. The grant period runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.

SGR and NNP form the core of an even larger network of protected and conservation areas the nyerereselous ecosystem also includes 10 community wildlife management areas and is approximately 110000 KM2. Elephants range across this entire system. The purpose of the project is to strengthen SGR and NNP protection and humanelephant conflict response capacity to ensure the recovery and longterm survival of this continentally important population while prioritizing the safety of the communities coexisting with elephants. Through the provision of aerial support to patrol these vast protected areas and support to rangers mobility through the maintenance of patrol vehicles antipoaching efforts for SGR and NNP will be strengthened. This project prioritizes the safety of communities in the landscape by working closely with tanzanian authorities and communities to increase the number and capacity of response teams. Finally by providing support for the monitoring of elephants and preliminary stakeholder ecosystem planning this project will initiate a process of finding longterm solutions to humanelephant coexistence.