WWF and USAID launched Khetha in Mozambique
Khetha
will work with partners to help communities living in and around the Great
Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) to better benefit from
wildlife and conservation-efforts. The program will seek to better understand
the drivers of wildlife trafficking within communities, and to build and
strengthen relationships and trust between communities, civil society, the
private sector and law enforcement.
Spanning South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe,
the GLTFCA is an area of concern with high levels of rhino poaching and ongoing
poaching threats to elephants for their ivory.
Communities in the GLTFCA receive limited benefits
from living next to protected areas. Among the risks they are exposed to, is
the criminal syndicates that threaten social stability and security. With
limited access to employment or any other means of income, along with an often
conflictual relationship with wildlife, young men in particular are at constant
risk of being lured into the illegal wildlife trade.
Khetha will support existing and new initiatives
to promote community engagement and benefits from wildlife and conservation. It
will also work with law enforcement agencies in South Africa and Mozambique to
increase the effectiveness of wildlife crime prevention, detection,
apprehension, prosecution and collaboration through research, tool development
and training.
Partners include WWF-South Africa,
WWF-Mozambique, TRAFFIC, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as the
governments of Mozambique and South Africa, in particular the Department of
Environmental Affairs (DEA), South African National Parks (SANParks), the
National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) and the Attorney General’s
Office in Mozambique (PGR).
Doreen Robinson, Chief of Regional Environment
for USAID/Southern Africa, said: “Our vision for the Khetha program is to
change the relationship between people and nature in the landscape to one where
more people living with wildlife receive real benefits and are equal partners
in long-term conservation. With the right partners and new ways of
thinking and acting this is achievable.”
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