Support an elephant conservation effort in zambia s lower zambezi national park and surrounding game management areas by strengthening elephant protection and biological monitoring and enhancing…

The federal Project Grant award F24AP02949 for $1,618,099.00 was provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service under the African Elephant Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.620) program. The purpose of this 4-year project is to support elephant conservation efforts in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park and surrounding areas. Key activities include: conducting ground, aerial and marine law enforcement and monitoring patrols; deploying 16 elephant satellite collars to track movement and mitigate human-elephant conflict; provisioning equipment, training and support for community-based human-elephant conflict mitigation; facilitating cross-border coordination and training between Zambian and Zimbabwean wildlife authorities; and deploying 5 vulture satellite tags for cross-border cooperation. The grant recipient is the non-profit organization Conservation Lower Zambezi, which specializes in wildlife conservation and ecosystem management in Zambia.

Support an elephant conservation effort in zambia s lower zambezi national park and surrounding game management areas by strengthening elephant protection and biological monitoring and enhancing human-elephant coexistence. As part of the luangwa-zambezi valley savanna elephant stronghold, this ecosystem is home to zambias largest population of elephants, with approximately 20,000 individuals. This project is intended to conserve african savanna elephants and their habitat by addressing the impacts of poaching, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict (HEC). Activities include: (1) conducting ground, aerial, and marine law enforcement and monitoring patrols (2) monitoring wildlife crime related court cases through a dedicated legal assistant (3) deploying 16 elephant satellite collars to understand elephant movement patterns and better respond to HEC incidents (4) provisioning equipment, training and support for community HEC mitigation efforts, conducting HEC sensitization and awareness programming, and deploying elephant rescue and respond programming, including rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned elephant calves (5) facilitating and conducting cross-border coordination and training between zambian and zimbabwean wildlife law enforcement officials and (6) deploying five vulture satellite tags for improved cross-border cooperation and understanding of threats to wildlife.