Conservation is dependent on harmony between local communities and wildlife. For both to thrive, managing and mitigating conflict is vital
Thriving with wildlife The success of conservation initiatives is intrinsically linked to the value they generate for communities. As tensions over land and resources continue to grow, this has become more clear than ever before.
Main image A grey crowned crane in flight Credit: Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association Top right The RWCA team with community rangers at one of their field sites Credit: Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association
Tusk supports innovation at the local level to promote human-wildlife coexistence by shifting perceptions of the wildlife that communities share their landscapes with.
Saving the grey crowned crane Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), Rwanda The RWCA team have bought the grey crowned crane back from the brink of extinction in Rwanda. However in the coming year they hope their work will lead to a further rise in the birds' population. In 2021, 997 cranes were spotted in the annual census, double that of 2017. However, sometimes it takes a challenge to really understand your strengths. If Covid-19 hadn’t been a big enough challenge, last year the RWCA team had to deal with a horrific poisoning event which killed 13 cranes. The community response however was amazing. Their actions were proof of how important it is to work with communities and to give them ownership over the protection of the birds and their habitats. As the cranes started to be affected by the poison, children were the first to raise the alarm, their parents immediately called the nearest RWCA Conservation Champion as well as local leaders who support the champions to enforce the law. Community members chased away other cranes so they wouldn’t eat the poison and managed to save many more birds from the same fate. This incident provided evidence of the importance of the projects' protection work, giving them the impetus needed to ensure their efforts are sustainable. In the current climate, RWCA’s model of community conservation is really valuable as their network of Tusk funded champions are able to respond immediately to any challenges or incidents and continually monitor the local area, as well as educate their fellow community members. This is particularly important when travel is restricted, as well as being a costeffective model.
15
Tusk Talk | 2022 Magazine
