Attachment_8,_Program_Description__WWF_South_Africa.pdf

Attachment B - Program Description

Program Description

1. Technical Approach Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar illicit business that is decimating Africa’s iconic animal populations. Many iconic species such as the African elephants and rhinoceroses face the risk of significant decline or even extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) African Elephant Status Report (2016)1, the African elephant population has declined by an estimated 111,000 animals in the past decade primarily due to poaching and 5,940 African rhinos have been killed since 2008 out of an estimated population of 25,000.2 South Africa currently conserves 79% of Africa’s rhinos and suffered 85% of the crime with 5,048 rhinos killed between 2008 and 2015. 3 A number of significant and important populations of elephants remain in southern Africa, including approximately 35,000 within the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. Efforts are being made to reverse the trends through a range of international platforms including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which is the relevant platform for addressing international wildlife crime through monitoring, regulations or banning of international trade in species under threat.

International momentum against wildlife crime has increased, with a number of actions and commitments from governments to combat wildlife trafficking. For instance, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2015 committing countries to step up their collective efforts to address wildlife crime and put an end to the global poaching crisis.

At the heart of this international momentum and efforts to combat wildlife crimes is the threat that wildlife trafficking poses to realizing sustainable development across the globe. It is a serious crime that undermines the economic prosperity of many countries, threatening their natural capital and undermining sustainable economic development including development benefits derived from legal nature based enterprises like tourism. Wildlife crime is enabled under conditions of poor governance where it further erodes social stability and cohesion and impoverishes citizens as their cultural and natural heritage is robbed. Natural resource dependent communities are exposed to security threats and destruction of their livelihoods.

Furthermore, between 40% and 85% of the SADC citizens live in rural areas where they depend on natural resources for survival.4 The region has a rich natural heritage of global significance, including some of the planet’s largest intact populations of rhinos and elephants. Natural resources are vitally important to the economy of the region and its growth. Approximately US$3.2 billion was generated from nature-based tourism by 10 of the 14 SADC countries in 2000/2001.5 Wildlife tourism is an increasingly important and growing industry that brings benefits to national

1 Thouless CR, Dublin HT, Blanc JJ, Skinner DP. Daniel TE, Taylor RD, Maisels F, Frederick HL and Bouche P (2016) African Elephant Status Report: An update from the African Elephant database. Occasional Paper Series of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, No. 60 IUCN/ SSC Africa Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN Gland, Switzerland 2 Department of Environmental Affairs (2016) Rhino poaching statistics update. Pretoria, South Africa.

https://www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/rhinodialogues/poaching_statistics 3 SADC (2015) SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 – 2021. Gaborone, Botswana 4 SADC (2015) SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 – 2021. Gaborone, Botswana 5 Vernon R. Booth (2010): The contribution of hunting tourism: How significant is this to national economies in contribution of wildlife to national economies. Joint publication of FAO and CIC. Budapest.

https://www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/rhinodialogues/poaching_statistics economies of the region and local people alike. Decimating wildlife species and destroying natural ecosystems threatens this prosperous development sector and livelihood security. Organized criminal networks also threaten the peace and security of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Addressing wildlife trafficking in the region is necessary and relevant for generating prosperity and expanding development efforts within the SADC region and therefore there is a recognized need to strengthen enforcement in the region to combat wildlife crime. In particular, efforts to support regional coordination among enforcement agencies and to prioritize wildlife trafficking across enforcement, regulatory and intelligence agencies are needed.

The reduction of corruption and improvement of transparency and accountability through the wildlife enforcement chain is also necessary. In addition, there is a need to support appropriate institutional capacities to be able to detect, deter and apprehend would-be poachers and dismantle criminal networks and strengthen capacities to prosecute and adjudicate crimes relating to wildlife trafficking. It has also become evident that the success of wildlife crime prevention lies with effective local governance, management and engagement of communities. Expanded support is necessary to shift the incentives so that communities can legally and sustainably benefit from wildlife and to expand their role as effective conservation stewards.

Background The SADC region is facing an unprecedented increase in the poaching of elephants and rhinos and other wildlife for illegal financial gains. The increased trend in poaching of elephants and rhinos is largely due to the high value of ivory and rhino horn on the international black market. For instance, the market value of rhino horn is estimated to have become more lucrative than gold and platinum.6.Illegal harvesting of other important species such as pangolins, lions, marine mammals, cycads, and turtles is also a serious and growing concern in the region. Illegally harvested wildlife is traded on the black market as skins, leather goods or souvenirs, as food or traditional medicines, as pets and in many other forms.

Southern Africa is endowed with exceptional natural landscapes and wildlife, containing a rich diversity of species. The region supports the largest number of African elephants and rhinos in the world, with the largest elephant population found in Botswana, and South Africa boasting the highest number of rhinos. Other notable species include lions, leopards, buffalo, and antelopes occurring in large numbers. Wildlife is an important economic asset in the region contributing significantly to gross domestic product. The tragedy is that poverty remains one of the greatest challenges in the SADC region with approximately half of the population living on less than $1 a day7, of which 40% and 85% live in rural areas where they depend on natural resources for survival.8 If wildlife crimes continue unabated, the region will not only lose critical species and experience associated ecological erosion, but the impacts will severely affect poor communities who are heavily reliant on nature-based economies.

Limited access to employment, other opportunities and income plus high levels of human wildlife conflict have been identified as some of the reasons for community members to become involved in illegal wildlife trafficking and / or protect others involved in these activities.

6 CITES (2012) Annual Report. London 7 SADC (2016) Poverty Reduction and Policy Dialogue.

http://www.sadc.int/themes/poverty-eradication-policy-dialogue/ 8 SADC (2015) SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 – 2021. Gaborone, Botswana http://www.sadc.int/themes/poverty-eradication-policy-dialogue/

Food insecurity, poor service delivery and even lack of access to water sources, heightened by the recent prolonged drought period, have exacerbated the challenge. Furthermore in this landscape, the long-term relationship between communities and adjacent protected areas and conservation agencies is complex due to historical, social and political factors (including the displacement of communities from protected areas) which remain largely unacknowledged9.

Addressing the illegal wildlife trade To respond to this unprecedented poaching trend, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) states recently adopted a region-wide SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy to tackle wildlife crime, where Section 4: Regional Response detailed some of the key regional responses by the SADC community to address wildlife crime.

Approaches to address the illegal trade in wildlife span the enforcement continuum, from prevention and apprehension to prosecution and adjudication. Combating the illegal wildlife trade requires a holistic approach that combines stronger law enforcement, including crime prevention, with improved wildlife management. Furthermore, to achieve success, these efforts must include actors from across government, civil society, and the private sector and must be coordinated within countries and across geopolitical boundaries. Recent research has found that transnational policing effort aimed at dismantling criminal networks engaged in rhino horn trafficking coupled with increases in legal economic opportunities for people living next to protected areas where rhinos live is predicted to be the most powerful policy for ensuring rhino persistence 10. As such, improved enforcement alone, while necessary, will not slow the illegal wildlife trade in time to save many critically endangered species. Addressing the current crisis requires harmonized efforts incorporating on-the-ground cross-border cooperation with a focus on wildlife trafficking networks and a high-level enabling environment that prioritizes conserving wildlife for economic development and local, national, and regional stability.

In addition, communities living near protected areas and other biodiversity hotspots who bear the costs of living with wildlife have not always shared in the benefits or participated in decision-making around wildlife management. The entry of transnational criminal syndicates into wildlife trafficking and the endemic poverty facing people living close to protected areas are widely recognised as the interlinked drivers behind the poaching of rhino. However, recent research from communities living near the Kruger National Park found that socio-political, historical context and continued marginalization of local people under the “fortress conservation” approach are also significant factors facilitating poaching decisions11. Issues relating to the relationship between conservation areas and surrounding communities, including resentment, must be addressed within long-term strategies to address wildlife trafficking.

Collaboration with communities is widely recognized as being critical to preventing poaching but the conditions for effective community engagement to fight high value illegal wildlife trafficking (IWT) in different contexts remain poorly understood hampering the implementation of effective

9 Hübschle, A M (2016) The social economy of rhino poaching: Of economic freedom fighters, professional Hunters and marginalized local people. Current Sociology 1-21 10 Hass, T C and Ferreira, S M (2016) Combating Rhino Horn Trafficking: The Need to Disrupt Criminal Networks PLoS ONE 11(11): e0167040.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167040 11 Hübschle, A M (2016) The social economy of rhino poaching: Of economic freedom fighters, professional hunters and marginalized local people. Current Sociology 1-21 strategies. Without understanding and addressing the socio-political drivers and key causal pathways that are motivating wildlife crime at the local level, strengthening law enforcement alone will be less successful. Partnerships and building trust between communities, civil society, business, and law enforcement is also critical to help develop community-oriented crime prevention approaches and support intelligence gathering, information sharing, and investigation of wildlife crimes. Such an approach additionally increases support for project activities and builds upon local knowledge and needs. However, prevention approaches can only succeed when there is also effective and credible deterrence to continued illegal use of wildlife being implemented by government agencies supported by relevant partners. This means capable, effective apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication combined with appropriate penalties for violators.

Hand-in-hand with strengthening incentives and opportunities to promote wildlife conservation is strengthening the disincentives to participate in wildlife crime. The reduction of corruption and improvement of transparency and accountability through the wildlife enforcement chain is also necessary. In addition, there is a need to support appropriate institutional capacities to be able to detect, deter and apprehend would-be poachers and dismantle criminal networks. The success of criminal investigations and prosecutions must be enhanced by provision of necessary language skills, for example skilled Vietnamese, Chinese and African-language interpreters and translators available to police and prosecutors12. At the same time, the human toll of the “poaching war” continues to escalate including the levels of conflict and stress experienced by the rangers employed to protect wildlife within protected areas 13 . Whilst the primary mandate and responsibility for addressing crime lies with government agencies, there are a number of alternatives in which civil society can collaborate to strength and support the response, such as through provision of research, tools and skills training.

Geographic scope United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to combat wildlife crime in the transboundary area of South Africa and Mozambique, located within the borders of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA). This includes the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces (including Kruger National Park - KNP) and the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa. In Mozambique, this includes provinces of Gaza and Maputo including Limpopo National Park, the emergent Greater Lebombo Conservancy (GLC) and the proposed Maungwe Conservancy (MC) adjacent to Gonarezhou National Park in neighboring Zimbabwe.

Challenges in this landscape, which includes a number of rhino poaching hotspots and is facing the emergence of elephant poaching include pervasive poverty, community-conservation disconnect, corruption, poor governance and limited cross border law enforcement capacity (see Figure 2).

Although the preliminary program design is focused around the geographic scope of the GLTFCA, our approach will also allow for future geographic and programmatic flexibility in the face of unanticipated dynamic political and economic changes in the region. Furthermore the Program team, in conjunction with USAID, will assess opportunities to expand lessons into other key rhino

12 Rademeyer, J (2016) Tipping Point: Transnational organised crime and the ‘war’ on poaching. The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime 13 Rademeyer, J (2016) Tipping Point: Transnational organised crime and the ‘war’ on poaching. The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime and elephant poaching hotspots within the landscape.

Regional response South Africa and Mozambique are Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 1975 and 1981, respectively, and they are bound by the provision of this Convention in its wildlife trade with other countries. One of South Africa’s iconic species, the African elephant has been included in Appendix II of CITES since 1997; however live sale to appropriate and acceptable destinations is allowed.14 However, the situation in Mozambique is of great concern with their elephants now included in Appendix I due to an alarming decline in the elephant population as a result of poaching.15 Elephant poaching also became a problem in Kruger National Park (KNP) this year with 36 animals lost in August 2016. In particular poaching remains an alarming threat to the survival of the black and white rhinoceros species, particularly in the KNP where populations are declining as the region has become a rhino poaching hotspot.

South Africa and Mozambique play an important role in the regional efforts to curb poaching and protect wildlife. The two countries adopted the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement in 1999 as part of its efforts towards regionally-agreed approaches to conservation, management and the enforcement of illegal uses of wildlife. The SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement is a region-wide effort aimed at fostering regional cooperation, protecting wildlife, promoting national and regional capacity building and the facilitation of community-based wildlife management.16

Recognizing the trans-regional and transnational nature of wildlife populations, SADC also supports the establishment of Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) as a positive contribution to wildlife conservation. The TFCAs are founded with the aim of collaboratively managing shared natural and cultural resources across international boundaries for improved biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development. In the SADC region, there are 18 TFCAs in both terrestrial and marine environment in various stages of development covering over 700 000 km2.17 The GLTFCA was established in 2002 through the signing of an international treaty by the presidents of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Notable successes of the GLTFCA include the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between South Africa and Mozambique in 2014 on biodiversity conservation and management that led to strategic anti-poaching activities including improved cross-border collaboration and operations, joint training activities and the development of joint communication systems. The TFCAs are embedded under the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement.

Another regional response emanating from the Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement is the development of a 5-year regional SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy (2016 – 2021). The strategy provides a framework for country and regional cooperation, together with international engagement on natural resource management and wildlife-related law enforcement and anti-poaching issues. Mozambique and South Africa adopted the strategy in 2015 and efforts on combatting wildlife crime in this region will be aligned to this strategy. In addition, 14 SADC (2015) Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 - 2021. Gaborone, Botswana 15 SADC (2015) Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy 2016 - 2021. Gaborone, Botswana 16 SADC (1999) Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement. Gaborone, Botswana 17 SADC (2016) SADC Transfrontier Conservation Area. Gaborone, Botswana. www.tfcaportal.org http://www.tfcaportal.org/ activities from this project will contribute to the vision of the GLTFCA and project partners are expected to participate in GLTFCA networking forums for sharing knowledge and experiences and use the network as their primary communication platform in the region. In South Africa, a new National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking has been developed for police and proposes a centralised structure to co-ordinate investigations and responses 18 . In Mozambique, activities will fall under the recently revised Conservation Areas law in Mozambique, Mozambique National Program for Protection of Natural Resources and will be informed by outputs from the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICWCC) assessment developed by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The engagement of communities in natural resource management is important in this landscape as identified in the USAID Conservation Alternative Livelihood Analysis (CALA) report assessing Sustainable Income-Generating Opportunities in Mozambique’s Lubombo Conservancy Area19 and the GLTFCA Integrated Livelihood Diversification Strategy which both provide guidance on how to identify the most prudent ways in which to sustainably intervene in local livelihoods.20 The strategy is very relevant for improvement of livelihood of communities living within and near the protected areas. The adoption of the strategy is an important landscape response towards increasing community empowerment and improving livelihood security to communities living in the GLTFCA.

Program Purpose The overall goal of the project is to halt wildlife trafficking impacts on flagship species in key populations of the landscape in South Africa and Mozambique. More specifically by 2021, the program will contribute to achieving positive growth rates in black and white rhino populations and maintain positive growth rates for elephants in the focal area. This will be achieved through a two-pronged approach: (1) by demonstrating that communities can play a role in addressing illegal wildlife trade while strengthening the social, financial and governance structures and (2) addressing gaps in implementing policy frameworks for wildlife trafficking, both approaches will embody crime preventions principles.

The Program will support the SADC Law Enforcement and Anti-Poaching Strategy objectives to significantly reduce the level of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife, enhance law enforcement capacity and promote appropriate sustainable utilization in the next five years. The project will also be implemented under the guiding framework of the Protocol for Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement by facilitating the exchange of information concerning wildlife management and utilization and the enforcement of wildlife laws throughout the GLTFCA, assist in the building of capacity for wildlife management, conservation and enforcement of wildlife laws and community-based natural resources management practices and incentives models. The program will be funded with resources earmarked by the U.S. Congress for Biodiversity Conservation, and more specifically a sub-earmark for combatting wildlife crime. As such, the program and all

18 Rademeyer, J (2016) Tipping Point: Transnational organised crime and the ‘war’ on poaching. The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime 19 O’Donnell, M. (2016) CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOOD ANALYSIS (CALA) Sustainable Income-Generating Opportunities In Mozambique’s Lubombo Conservancy Area And Gorongosa Park. USAID 59 pp.

20 GLTFCA (2016) Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area: Integrated Livelihoods Diversification Strategy 2016 – 2030.

activities will meet the necessary Biodiversity earmark requirements as defined by USAID21.

Strategic approach The strategic approach of the Program is to work with partners to test and prove a community based and wildlife crime prevention approach to addressing some of the longer-term and underlying challenges and drivers behind wildlife trafficking in this landscape. At the same time, it is recognized that ongoing deterrents and disincentives to illegal behavior are required in the shorter-term. Hence, the Program has also been designed to meet targeted information needs and law enforcement support for relevant government law enforcement agencies with a particular focus on the links from site level challenges to transnational trafficking networks. The strategic framework for this approach is depicted in Figure 1.

“Khetha” is an African native word associated with the Nguni languages in southern Africa, meaning “choose” or “choice”. Nguni tribes including Zulu and Shangaan people are commonly located in eastern and northeastern South Africa and western Mozambique. The meaning of Khetha is synonymous in both languages including other shared dialects in both countries. The word “Khetha” fits our project objectives as a symbol of a consensus between two countries, South Africa and Mozambique, choosing to work together towards a common goal to protect wildlife and benefit communities. In addition, our project also offers communities surrounding protected areas an opportunity to choose to conserve wildlife whilst making informed choices to improve their livelihoods.

The overall GOAL of the project is to halt wildlife trafficking impacts on flagship species in key populations of the GL-TFCA landscape in South Africa and Mozambique.

• More specifically by 2021, the program will contribute to an increase in growth rates of black and white rhino and maintain positive growth rates for elephants in the focal area.

WWF, the primary partner will ensure that all activities are tailored directly towards promoting cross-border cooperation, improving wildlife related policy frameworks, improving benefits for rural communities, building capacity, developing and applying innovative crime prevention models and understanding of wildlife trafficking dynamics routes.

Program Objectives This overall goal of the project will be achieved through the following objectives:

• Objective 1, Community-based approach: Develop and apply innovative partnerships among civil society, communities, private sector and government and novel wildlife crime prevention approaches in at least four nodes located in the GL-TFCA rhino and elephant trafficking hotspots resulting in improved attitudes about wildlife and protected areas..

• Objective 2: Reduce the impact of illegal wildlife trade on elephants and rhinos by supporting the implementation of critical wildlife trafficking policy frameworks for both South Africa and Mozambique resulting in increased crime prevention, crime detection, prosecution and penalties as well as reduced corruption at identified target points.

The program will be implemented through a single coordinating mechanism over a five-year

21 http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdacy300.pdf http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdacy300.pdf period, namely the Cooperative Agreement, the subject of this Project Description. The Cooperative Agreement will support the specific objectives described above and will support regional efforts to combat the illegal trade in wildlife. The project objectives will contribute to the implementation of the United States National Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking and complement current regional and bilateral programs managed by USAID and other United States Government (USG) agencies in Southern Africa and ongoing responses by donors, governments, private sector and other organizations.

Figure 1: Overarching strategic approach of the Khetha program to combat wildlife trafficking in the South Africa / Mozambique GL-TFCA landscape.

Objective 1: Community-based approach This project will develop initiatives to help alleviate some of the most pressing challenges for communities within and adjacent to protected areas to reduce hostility and create a positive bond with protected areas, increase economic participation for adjacent communities in conservation-friendly activities and create partnerships in conservation. State and private conservation areas have initiated a range of projects to gain community support and provide benefits to communities, however, there is growing recognition of the need to bring community members in as design and decision makers in these activities, to co-design projects and initiatives that will have a direct impact on their lives and livelihoods. In some instances, existing policies and traditional structures prevent transparent channels of communication and benefit flow to all community members. Khetha aims to understand and unlock leverage points that would engage communities in legal rather than illegal economies and render local people guardians willing to protect wildlife and protected areas. Our approach will be founded on efforts to directly engage with those communities affected by displacement, land rights, resettlement, beneficiation and socio-economic development initiatives and involve acknowledgement wrongs of the past.

In addition to the lack of economic and other tangible benefits associated with wildlife, many communities are experiencing increased levels of crime and social decay from lawlessness associated with wildlife trafficking networks. The emerging discipline of conservation criminology provides a platform to test the use of crime prevention approaches or restorative justice processes to combat wildlife trafficking caused by environmental injustice around social, economic and geographic conditions. It has been found that depending on the geographic locale and other contexts, rhino poachers may originate in communities living close to or in protected areas or may be outsiders who receive protection, services or assistance from people living close to protected areas 22 . Furthermore, illegal income from wildlife trafficking into some communities has also led to increased alcohol consumption, drug use and prostitution23. Under these circumstances opportunity is also created to engage local communities as partners and protectors, as opposed to poachers of wildlife. The project will develop and apply a set of innovative tools and methodologies building on an existing Theory of Change for Communities as First Line of Defense (ToC FloD)24 to help enhance this understanding, and will use the results to help improve existing and planned strategies to combat IWT in high value species and generate lessons that will be shared across the broader landscape and other TFCAs.

Community engagement will focus on a combination of enhancing governance and access to conservation friendly economic opportunities. In Mozambique, where human population density and infrastructure is much lower, a more traditional Community-Based Natural Resource Management approach will be implemented, building on the work initiated with private sector around the Sabie Game Park and being expanded currently into the Greater Lebombo Conservancy. In South Africa, the relative human population densities are more peri-urban and the traditional CBNRM approaches may not be applicable, and innovative means to tackle community empowerment may be necessary. Khetha will rigorously test the efficacy of these new approaches in the four diverse areas identified as priority “nodes” for community projects in the section above on “geographic scope.” (Figure 2).

A recent review of the socio-economic status of communities adjacent to KNP, Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Limpopo National Park (LNP) in Mozambique found a gradient of reliance on natural resources which was highest around LNP where alternative opportunities are very limited and fairly low in densely settled areas around KNP25. Communities identified needs for improved delivery from government on basic infrastructure (roads, clinics, schools, youth centers, sports fields and housing) and services, with water featuring prominently as a result of the current drought and a need for help with bursaries and schooling. With regards relationships with protected areas, access to permanent and temporary jobs as well as natural resources like meat were noted but comments were primarily negative and related to issues of

22 Hübschle, A M (2016) The social economy of rhino poaching: Of economic freedom fighters, professional hunters and marginalized local people. Current Sociology 1-21 23 Hübschle, A M (2016) The social economy of rhino poaching: Of economic freedom fighters, professional hunters and marginalized local people. Current Sociology 1-21 24 Biggs D, Cooney R, Roe D, Dublin H, Allan J R, Challender D and Skinner D (2016) Developing a theory of change for a community-based response to illegal wildlife trade. Conservation Biology. doi:10.1111/cobi.12796 25 EWT (2015) Assessment of the socio-economic status of rural communities neighbouring protected areas; the impacts of rhino poaching; and opportunities for development of wildlife-based economies. Final Report compiled for the Department of Environmental Affairs: Q-058-15/16.

access to certain natural resources, problem animals and fence maintenance. In Mozambique, access to basic services is even lower and it has been reported that these needs are being met using resources from illegal wildlife trade in some instances 26 . Effective structures which link participation from community members with conservation agencies and other local government departments to address some of these frustrations could have positive impacts on attitudes of people to wildlife. In South Africa, the People and Parks Program offers a potential model through which to achieve these impacts which will be assessed in more detail during the six month mobilization phase. Other models, including those that emerged from the South Africa rhino lab will also be considered. For Mozambique, the USAID CALA Report and GLTFCA Livelihoods Strategy offer a structure and baseline from which to further develop community-based projects.

Khetha will start at a small scale using clear criteria refined by the Project team and key stakeholders during the mobilization phase to identify the communities within the different “nodes” which the project should be initiated in. Details on the exact number and location of community project sites, sub-partners operating in each, number of community liaison officers and reporting structures will be a key output of the mobilisation phase. Consortium partners and USAID representatives will assess the likely sites and perform a decisions analysis approach to determine which sites to take forward and with whom.

Figure 2: Geographical scope of the project showing location of four “community nodes” 1. Maungwe Conservancy, 2. Greater Lebombo Conservancy, 3. Zululand, Kwa-Zulu Natal and 4. Western boundary of

26 Hübschle, A M (2016) The social economy of rhino poaching: Of economic freedom fighters, professional hunters and marginalized local people. Current Sociology 1-21

Kruger National Park. Proposed preliminary focal sites for assessment in mobilization phase are marked with yellow circles.

Proposed criteria for the decision making process include; proximity to protected areas and level of known participation in wildlife crime activities; willingness of the community to participate;

presence of an implementing partner or logistical feasibility of ongoing access; support from partner private or state conservation agencies and municipalities. Potential pilot sites under these criteria include; the Tembe-Ndumo complex in KZN, the communities in the region of Manyeleti Game Reserve and Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger and the Nkomati Conservancy neighboring Sabie Game Park in the GLC as well as others from elsewhere in Africa. The scale of community involvement and number of beneficiaries involved in each will in part be determined by the definition of the community itself, however, the intent is for the models to prove themselves and be open to rapid replication to additional communities at small scale within the nodes based on proven design principles. In Mozambique, it is possible to work at village level, generally comprising of between 50 and 100 households. The plan for scaling is to start small and expand outwards from village to village; in this manner it is possible to ultimately cover a large geographical area and number of households. In South Africa, people are living at higher densities in peri-urban environments and it is much easier to access and engage 1000s and ultimately 10,000s people in the landscape. It is fundamentally recognized that the socio-economic and political challenges to be addressed are context-specific and will be different within each node and even within different villages and community groups within each node. Hence, rigorous monitoring and evaluation of impacts are critical and the IUCN partnership provides a structure and mechanism under which to achieve this through assessing both incentives and disincentives for community engagement in fighting IWT and also aims to generate lessons for positive behavior change.

The project will apply a set of innovative tools and methodologies to help enhance broader understanding of the conditions under which community engagement against IWT does and does not work in different contexts. It builds on an existing Theory of Change for Communities as First Line of Defense (ToC FloD) developed by IUCN and partners27. This ToC outlines four main pathways that are believed to be important in engaging local communities: 1) strengthening disincentives (social and legal) for illegal behavior; 2) increasing incentives for stewardship; 3) decreasing costs of living with wildlife; and 4) supporting non-wildlife related livelihoods. The lessons learned and the recommendations emerging from the research will be used to adapt the site-level interventions to better achieve the collective objective of reduced pressure on key species through more effective engagement with communities.

Given the focus of our Program on preventative methods to combat wildlife crime, particular attention will be paid to identifying approaches to leverage the influence of women and youth, who can act as important change agents in communities especially in areas where men migrate out to pursue work opportunities. Traditional influences on gender divisions are recognized within the communities in the focal areas and mechanisms to overcome these challenges in a culturally sensitive manner will be embedded within Program design. During the primary phase of

27 Biggs D, Cooney R, Roe D, Dublin H T, Allan J R, Challender D W S and Skinner D (2016) Developing a theory of change for a community-based response to illegal wildlife trade. Conservation Biology 00:1-8 engagement, we will undertake work to understand local community governance institutions and focus on identifying opportunities to allow women’s democratic rights. When implementing community-based approaches we will enable equal representation of women in leadership through democratic elections to form new governance structures and build capacity to enable all community members to play a critical role during meetings or information gathering activities. We will ensure that the rights of marginalized members of society, including women, are recognized through participatory methodologies as this creates a foundation for women to have equal opportunities to participate in Program planning and decision-making.

Furthermore, the program recognizes the potential of engaging youth in wildlife crime prevention activities, as has been instigated under the learner’s conservation awareness program being implemented under the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) Joint Management Board and by Mozambique (ANAC in Mozambique and SANParks in South Africa. The existing program highlights how actions have direct consequences for the environment, as well as for communities which can also be exploited as victims of organized wildlife crime. In developing community-based activities, including restorative justice and other wildlife crime prevention approaches, Khetha will prioritize opportunities to develop young people as champions in combatting wildlife crime. In all activities, Khetha will ensure that all members of the community have equal access to information, by translating outputs and documents into local languages and ensuring distribution.

Figure 3: Strategic Approach for Objective 1 – Community-based approaches

Program activities under Objective 1, Community-based Approach;

The strategic approach of activities under Objective 1 is depicted in Figure 3 showing how practical experiences of implementation activities at a site level in pilot sites (i.e.

innovation nodes) will lead towards the outcome of a mindset shift towards the community based approach.

Under Objective 1 illustrative activities include;

1. Community-based approach

1.1. Pilot / Demonstration sites to prove approach

1.1.1. Governance - Co-management is in place and supporting wildlife management and livelihoods

1.1.1.1. Spur long-term spatial planning / and development of/ land use plans on the part of municipalities and promote and community representation in management structures in

SA

1.1.1.2. Establish good governance systems within selected communities at village level in

MZ

1.1.1.3. Develop, implement and support improved governance structures within communities and linkages with government - private / conservation agency structures in SA

1.1.2. Benefits – People’s lives are improved

1.1.2.1. Identify and establish sources of income / economic development for communities in MC and GLC from wildlife / other based on GLTFCA Livelihoods Strategy

1.1.2.2. Identify innovative economic development opportunities in SA through partnerships with government / private sector ; provide training and mentoring to develop skills related to service delivery

1.1.3. Wildlife Crime Prevention- Community are empowered to protect wildlife

1.1.3.1. Expand Village Police network in GLC and expand to MC, review roles and formalize job development plans

1.1.3.2. Potential expansion and formalizing of wildlife guardian models in SA – for example rhino ambassador, black mamba, environmental monitors - with permanent posts and career development plans

1.1.3.3. Support community-based wildlife prevention workshops to enhance understanding and jointly identify barriers to governance and wildlife crime prevention / restorative justice approaches

1.1.3.4. Develop and implement a restorative justice plan with the view of building relationships among the communities and law enforcement agencies

1.1.3.5. Undertake behavior change / awareness campaign about wildlife trafficking laws and penalties in communities

1.2 Learning - Community based approach tested for the landscape

1.2.1 Create a Community Conservation Practitioners network / Hub for the landscape with linkages to Technical committee

1.2.2 Support primary research to understand drivers behind wildlife crime in the landscape

1.2.3 Conduct stakeholder interviews and community consultations at site level

1.2.4 Analyze site-level data and test it against the overarching IUCN FloD ToC framework

1.2.5 Develop site-specific theories of change and improve overarching IUCN FloD ToC

1.3 Policy - Critical policy barriers unlocked

1.3.1. Independent review of relevant legislation and structures in South Africa and Mozambique and recommendations for amendments

1.3.2 Develop guidance documents to help local communities, project designers, implementers, policy-makers and donors (including USAID) to strengthen interventions and policies to combat IWT

1.3.3. Organize a workshop and other channels to disseminate and share lessons learned between sites and across TFCAs

1.4 Shift in mindset, strategy and resource allocation

1.4.1 Engage decision makers in key conservation agencies and departments to help them see the value of a community based approached

1.4.2 Provide guidance around structures and resources required to mobilize and support this approach

As noted above, a community-based approach to combatting wildlife trafficking is broader than providing financial benefits from wildlife or conservation activities. It is believed that there are a range of measures that can be undertaken to discourage illegal wildlife trade which are not based on direct economic gains.

The intent is for Khetha to move beyond traditional CBNRM approaches and use innovation to change attitudes and behaviour of communities towards wildlife and conservation more broadly in both the Mozambique and South African landscapes. The current high prices and sophistication of networks involved in the trafficking of high value wildlife products like rhino horn and ivory necessitate a reflexive and adaptive response. For this reason we will investigate moving beyond traditional CBNRM to include additional activities defined with communities themselves, such as wildlife crime prevention and identification of broader opportunities for beneficiation, which is fundamental to the Khetha approach. Furthermore, it is recognised that the activities identified as solutions will likely vary not only for the different countries, but for different communities within them.

Some of the challenges identified in undertaking CBNRM and other community projects in Mozambique (as well as South Africa) to date include the impact of the typically short-term funding on project sustainability, the lack of technical capacity at all levels to implement such projects, the lack of appropriate policies to ensure benefits from natural resources, the need to diversify identified income generating activities and in particular the need to understand the social drivers and wishes within the communities themselves. We feel that by explicitly recognising these challenges, the Khetha Program has been designed to address the most likely barriers and by adopting an adaptive approach to implementation we are well-placed to overcome them.

Opportunities exist which enable communities to benefit directly from the wildlife and tourism economy. The USAID CALA report and GLTFCA Livelihoods Strategy for GLC present a range of opportunities for community beneficiation and developing public-private partnerships based on cattle, fresh vegetables, marula or medicinal plants and tourism opportunities. For example, some landowners have already initiated the development of community hunting quotas or community owned conservancies within or adjacent to the GLC. Involvement of communities in land-use planning can also identify opportunities for the anticipated growth in the tourism market in the longer-term. Furthermore, the Maungwe Conservancy area adjacent to Gonarezhou National Park and also within the GLTFCA is under development with private sector partnerships, providing an opportunity for a co-management agreement for the area in association with

Gonarezhou National Park though engagement with ANAC to support new models for community beneficiation.

In South Africa, the extant tourism industry creates substantial scope for enhancing local livelihoods through direct community participation in tourism operations, and community ownership or co-ownership represents a key option to achieve this as has been initiated in the Makuleke region. The Khetha Program will undertake a scoping exercise through private sector structures such as the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Forum (GKEPF) and conservation agencies like SANParks as well as co-ordination bodies such as the Lowveld Protected Area Group (LPAG) during the mobilization phase to identify mechanisms for greater community involvement in existing private structures as a way to build relationships. Greater access to the tourist sector (both local and international) has been identified as a beneficial but under-utilized source of income for communities. The Rhino Conservation Lab undertaken by DEA called for use of new alternative micro-economic development opportunities generated or associated with protected areas, particularly those which are broader than tourism or wildlife. Such activities would have to be supported by targeted training in business development and financial management skills and based on community and site-specific market surveys, looking at supply and demand along the possible value chains. Also, communities would need to be surveyed to understand products and skills they feel they have to offer. External guidance would be provided to ensure initiatives are economically viable and based on sound principles. The private sector could play a key role in providing access to these markets, for example by providing opportunities for communities to engage in laundry, car wash and uniforms services.

In addition, it has been proposed that jobs could be developed at a grassroots level whereby community members operate as leverage between communities, protected areas and service delivery from municipalities or are involved in developing innovative grassroots solutions to community needs relating to provision of services such as electricity and water by engaging directly with the private sector, functional municipalities and those closer to the ground to use these relationships to leverage action regarding infrastructure development and maintenance.

Building on activities and successful initiatives with local institutions and building ownership at a community, civil society or private sector level as well as developing embedded relationships with relevant agencies will be vital for sustainability and to take the Program to scale.

It must be noted that the intended scope of Khetha is to bring about a change in attitudes and behavior across the range of sectors involved in addressing the impacts of wildlife trafficking on rhino and elephant populations – including government, private sector and civil society particularly communities around protected areas. It our belief that a grant of this scale, in terms of both resources and timeframe, offers an opportunity to start to bring about real change in both people’s attitudes and behaviour. Specifically, this is related to the need to purpose a policy and practice shift in order to embrace a community-based approach to addressing wildlife trafficking in Mozambique and South Africa. The Khetha project will work with government agencies (conservation, law enforcement and municipal services), private sector including ecotourism, trophy hunting and other operations, as well as communities themselves to identify ways to bring about this shift. We have already identified a number of potential partners and opportunities in different areas where foundations for this kind of approach are being identified, for example with the Lowveld Protected Area Group working with SANParks on buffer communities.

In addition, this project will draw on restorative justice…