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Camera Trapping for Conservation in the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project
By Jane Okoth Our best chance at protecting the world’s natural resources to prevent catastrophic climate change effects is by safeguarding and restoring wildlife habitats. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15 “life on land” is all about protecting any living creature that depends on the earth for survival. One of its targets is to take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt biodiversity loss, protect of threatened species and prevent their extinction. Thanks to a team of nearly 100 Wildlife Works rangers, the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project of 500,000 acres of dryland forest is one of the protected zones in the vast Tsavo ecosystem,…
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POACHERS-Caught on camera on Wildlife Works Rukinga Sanctuary
By: CARA BRAUND- Conservation Intern- 17th October 2011 As part of their efforts to track biodiversity levels on Rukinga and the rest of the project area, the Biodiversity Division have been testing out camera traps to photograph unsuspecting wildlife in their natural habitat. The first six test cameras are on day and night and the first trials have been going well, with elephants, lesser kudu, giraffe, kongoni civets and even aardwolf being captured. The team got a bit of a surprise, however, when checking the recent results of their work. Mixed among the shots of buffalo and kudu was the image of several men walking through the bush several hours…
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De la Forêt: Meet Mathieu Bolaa, Wildlife Works Head of Biodiversity for the DRC
By Jerry Nguwa, DRC Communications Lead From a societal point of view, Wildlife Works has worked with local communities to build schools, hospitals, and clean water wells, among many other achievements. It is on the ecosystem level that Wildlife Works has marked the province of Mai Ndombe, if not the whole world. Wildlife Works has given the world what no one thought was possible: the restoration of long extirpated species from the project area such as forest elephants and bonobos. The architect behind this grandiose fit is none other than Mathieu Bolaa, also known as “De la Forêt” (from the forest). An alumnus of the University of Kinshasa, Mathieu “De…
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Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project Sees an Elephant Population Increase
In the western region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the forest adjacent to Lake Mai Ndombe, an ecologically rich and diverse area, which is part of the second biggest rainforest in the world, the Congo Basin. The forest is home to a vast array of species including bonobos, forest elephants, and includes some of the most important and endangered wetlands of the world. The forest has been facing degradation for the past 20 years, with industrial logging being one of the biggest drivers. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was home to about 400,000 forest elephants in the mid-90s and the forest was largely intact. Today,…
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Kasaine Fences; A Solution to Human-Wildlife Conflict?
By Jane Okoth They may be the most fascinating and intelligent mammals, but in some areas of rural Kenya, elephants pose a major threat to farmers because of their crop-raiding behavior. Human-wildlife conflict occurs frequently in dryland areas with a large wildlife population and the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project in Kenya is no exception. Joseph Mutua, a small-scale farmer residing in Ngambenyi, which is part of the project area, has been a victim of seasonal crop-raiding for many years. Three days prior to our visit, an adult male elephant had visited his farm and ravaged his pawpaw trees. “It was around 1 am but lucky enough my dog raised an…
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A Day in the Life of a Research Scientist at Wildlife Works
By Jane Okoth At Wildlife Works, the Biodiversity and Social Monitoring department plays a huge role in monitoring and reporting on the impact of the REDD+ project on biodiversity and communities living in the project area. Benard Amakobe, a Research Scientist at Wildlife Works gives us an insight into his typical working day at the department. Amakobe specializes in monitoring biodiversity impacts through conducting research and recording data. “My work procedure is a bit unusual. It would be a big bore if i were to do the usual 8:00 am to 5:00 pm stuff,” he says. Amakobe grew up in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, which has a population of…
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African Wild Dogs in Rukinga
To effectively protect the wildlife in our project area, the Wildlife Works biodiversity monitoring team and rangers employ several strategies to ensure all species present are safely maintained and to record data for referencing purposes. Some ways used to monitor the wildlife include ranger patrols, road transects and camera traps, which are set by the biodiversity team. Wildlife Works rangers, on the other hand, document data of the wildlife they encounter on the ranches whilst on security patrols. Combined, these methods of supervising the wellbeing of our wildlife, has proven effective at uncovering important information on some of the most rare wildlife in the world. Recently, one of the cameras…
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Help Save Recently Discovered Rare Mountain Lions in Ethiopia
For the first time, mountain lions have been discovered in the Ethiopia Kafa project area. Kafa, the birthplace of wild arabica coffee, also harbors exciting wildlife, striking landscapes and vibrant cultures. According to the Kafa Coffee Biosphere Reserve, The German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union provided the first evidence of lions in the Montane rain and cloud forest. Until now, the African lion had only been documented and photographed outside of the rainforest. The discovery of lions in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve took place as part of the wider conservation work by our REDD partners Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, or NABU, in Southwest Ethiopia. The African Mountain Lion is classified as…
