With support of the European Union, African Wildlife Foundation led a project to address this problem, working with fishing and wildlife authorities in Zambia and Zimbabwe to enlist fishers on the Zambezi into the fight against illegal wildlife trade.
“Conservation is all about preserving wildlife and making sure that we don’t end up with no wildlife at all,” said Alafai. “As fishermen, we report poaching activities to the authorities. We help to monitor activity in this river and keep an eye out for people transporting ivory and other wildlife products.”
With this intelligence, local authorities were able to identify and pursue offenders. The system was so effective that the very presence of fishermen in the river proved a deterrent to poachers. Hotlines set up to report wildlife crimes led to 58 arrests and recovery of illegal wildlife products, including 524 kg of wild meat, 126 kg of illegal raw ivory, 23 animal skins and trophies, 129 live animals including pangolins, eight firearms and 13 rounds of live ammunition.
In exchange for their monitoring, AWF supported fishers to deal with their own challenges. It provided training and support which led to improved management and governance of the fishery, and the adoption of local by-laws aimed at improved administration of fish resources at community level. Fishers were mentored in financial and business management, project feasibility assessment and leadership. One group of fishers now sets aside 20 % of its monthly income for business growth, to contribute towards the construction of new fishing boats.
