Niassa National Reserve (NNR) is the largest protected area in Mozambique and holds the country’s largest population of animals. It is an area of critical importance for conservation efforts involving large carnivores, in particular African lions and African wild dogs, which reside here. To protect these last critical populations, the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) works in partnership with the Mozambican Government and ANAC (the Mozambique Government’s National Administration for Conservation Areas), 42 local communities and tourism operators inside the NNR. NCP believes in scaling efforts through collaboration and leadership. The specific mission of their 100-strong Mozambican team is to find ways for large carnivores and people to live together so that both can thrive. There are 800-1,000 lions and 60,000 people living here in this immense wilderness area, and so coexistence is essential. NCP is part of the community, and their approach is not “fortress conservation”, but “community conservation”, where local people are intimately involved in all their conservation programs. It is not possible to stop bushmeat hunting, illegal mining and illegal trade in animal parts through anti-poaching without opening a door to alternative livelihoods and alternative protein sources. Dr Colleen Begg, the NCP’s Co-Founder and Director, says, their work would not be possible without funding from donors such as Gemfields. “Gemfields is helping us to do conservation better by specifically supporting our alternative livelihoods programmes, such as Mbamba Village Kushirika craft group, beekeeping and beehive fences to reduce elephant crop raids, conservation tourism through a community conservation agreement, small livestock production and agroforestry. This not only improves the wellbeing of people and supports development while reducing the specific threats to lions, but it also provides a strong incentive for conservation to be the dominant use for land in the area and builds tolerance for wild animals.”

The Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) manages conservation projects across the country of Zambia, including projects in the Luangwa Valley and Greater Kafue ecosystems, which collectively comprise the country’s strongholds for lions, cheetahs and wild dogs. The focus for ZCP is on apex predators, but the impact of conserving iconic carnivores stretches well beyond those species, especially as ZCP integrates all of its conservation work with community education, training and empowerment of local conservation leaders. Gemfields’ funding provides satellite collars for lions, cheetahs and wild dogs, which are essential for ZCP to track their location to identify when a pride may have come into contact with snares or poachers. The team can then follow groups with a single collared animal, and at present, the team monitor nearly 40 lion prides, over 20 dog packs and a dozen cheetah groups, collectively comprising over 600 animals, and a significant proportion of the country-wide population for each species. ZCP sight animals on a regular basis to ensure they’re snare-free, in addition to providing key science-based conservation guidance for these threatened species in Zambia. In the Luangwa Valley and Greater Kafue, Gemfields supports ZCP in working closely with the government to support anti-poaching efforts, combat wildlife crime and support land-use planning, species reintroductions and ways to mitigate the threat of disease, whilst researching the lifestyles of these beautiful creatures. Dr Matt Becker, the ZCP Director, says: “Our long-term funding partnership with Gemfields provides us with perhaps the most important tool for our field-based conservation work: the ability to find, monitor and protect Zambia’s big cats and wild dogs. With GPS/Satellite collar technology, our work is effective across the vast, remote landscapes that these species inhabit in Zambia. With this support, our teams can conduct vital conservation work, provide key scientific data and help to empower the current and future conservation leaders of Zambia to ensure that these important species and ecosystems remain for future generations.”