A responsible development approach to conservation

ANNUAL REVIEW 2015

In 2015 the IUCN reviewed the conservation status of lions across Africa, finding that populations have declined a staggering 43% in the past 21 years (1993 – 2014) alone. They estimate that fewer than 20,000 lions remain across the continent. Declines are occurring even in protected areas, suggesting that current solutions are not working, or are insufficiently funded to realise the conservation potential of those solutions. In reality it is likely a bit of both.

Lions also made the headlines this year thanks to the furore surrounding the illegal shooting of the lion known as ‘Cecil’ in Zimbabwe, and the release of the documentary ‘Blood Lions’ that highlighted the blight that is the canned hunting industry in South Africa. These issues have raised much needed awareness of the issues facing lions in today’s Africa. That awareness needs to be converted into action.

We can, and must, act now to ensure a secure future for the African lion. But how must we act? What can be done to stop, and even reverse, the decline?

The primary reasons for the decline in lion populations are given as habitat loss and prey-base depletion, combining to create a conflict with people that results in the retaliatory killing of lions in response to lion predation on livestock. Whilst these threats are indeed key to understanding the reasons for the decline, on their own they do not define the underlying drivers of the threat to the species.

A rapidly increasing human population in Africa, which is living in poverty and subject to food insecurity, is in direct competition with lions, and indeed other species, for the same resources of space, shelter and food. Wherever there is competition there is conflict.

As Nelson Mandela has said, “ultimately, conservation is about people”. Unless our approach to conservation tackles the underlying issues we are simply placing a Band-Aid on a problem that is only going to get worse as human populations grow, until lions, along with other African wildlife, and the ecosystems on which they rely, will be gone forever.

This is why ALERT takes a responsible development approach to lion conservation. Yes, we must continue to create solutions to help humans and lions to live alongside one another, but we can only succeed in the long term if the people of Africa want to live alongside lions. What will create the motivation for such co-existence? If people benefit from the presence of wildlife. This principle is at the core of ALERT’s approach to conservation.

Our vision is broad; the path we must follow to success is long, and has many challenges. Yet, with your help we believe it is possible to ensure that viable populations of African lions are maintained as an integral part of functional ecosystems within Africa.

“Ultimately, conservation is about people”

Nelson Mandela

Our Programmes ALERT favours African solutions to meet African challenges, believing that such solutions are more likely to succeed by gaining acceptance and support amongst relevant stakeholders, and speaking to the needs and aspirations of those stakeholders.

Local solutions

Too often conservation efforts are implemented using a broad brush approach. A particular solution may have been relevant to the location in which it was developed, but elsewhere a seemingly similar challenge can be fundamentally different in origin and require an adapted response. Responsible development promotes the implementation of locally conceived solutions that benefit from the experience of schemes successfully implemented in other locations.

Relevant solutions

Unless conservation solutions are relevant to the needs and aspirations of communities who live on the land they will have little reason to support them, and the solutions will ultimately falter. Programmes are often donor driven and research often only meets the requirements of a PhD thesis. Responsible development promotes community involvement in all aspects of conservation from design and implementation to ongoing reviews of the success of the programme – an element often given little heed.

Systems based & cooperative solutions

In nature each habitat acts as a complex system comprised of many parts. Air, soil, water, plants, animals, and of course, people are all part of an inter-connected system. Using a systems-thinking based decision-making framework allows us to consider the impacts of our actions on the whole system. Such decision-making can only be undertaken through co-operation between all stakeholders with their varied view points, and understanding, of the system.

Long term solutions

Responsible development seeks to promote the appreciation of the need for long-term, sustainable solutions.

Projects

ALERT projects fall under five key programmes; in situ and ex situ lion conservation, education, social development and conserving biodiversity. In selecting which projects to initiate, ALERT seeks to undertake activities that:

• Are relevant to the African communities with which we work;

• Utilise locally conceived African solutions to African challenges;

• Unite stakeholders collaboratively towards a common goal;

• Provide long term benefit;

• Tackle the root causes of the challenges facing Africa’s people and its wildlife;

• Are requested by our stakeholders.

Education Matters

"In the end, we conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." Baba Dioum

Education, in all its forms, is the cornerstone for the success of all ALERT’s programmes. Education not only enables us to appreciate the need to conserve our natural resources, and reduces reliance on those resources, but also helps us to understand how to meet these challenges, and to take advantage of the benefits generated by conservation efforts.

Our education programme aims to empower communities through either support of the formal education sector through School Development Projects, or to compliment formal education through our ALERT Education Centres.

School Development Projects

Our aim is to increase the capacity of the schools with which we work to offer higher learning possibilities for their pupils.

All the schools surrounding our project sites are severely resource limited with classes that are over-crowded and lacking educational materials. Our projects therefore focus on:

• school building and refurbishment to create improved learning environments; • resource provision of educational materials needed to enhance lessons; • teacher assistance to help teachers plan and run lessons more effectively.

All programmes are operated in agreement with the school in question, and with approval from relevant educational boards.

ALERT Education Centres

Our aim is to complement the formal education sector by assisting vulnerable students with access to education, offering extra-curricular activities that enhance student learning, and providing fully funded internship and facilitated research placements.

Current programmes at our ALERT Education Centres in Livingstone (Zambia), and in Victoria Falls and Antelope Park (Zimbabwe) include:

• classes in conservation education, basic life skills, and English literacy. • providing funding to pay the fees of vulnerable students to take part in education from pre-school to university level; • fully funded internship and facilitated research placements for university level students.

Future programmes will incorporate classes in numeracy, health & nutrition, sport and business studies / entrepreneurship, as well as a variety of vocational training programmes.

ALERT’s work in education over the years has involved more than 15 schools, between them serving over 7,000 children, as well as students of more than 15 higher level educational institutions in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Our future plans include extension of programmes to include a greater number of adults.

In Situ Lion Conservation

“You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions” Karen Blixen

400,000 lions were believed to exist in Africa in the 1950’s. In 2013 it was estimated that 32,000 remain with “abundant evidence of widespread declines and local extinctions” even in protected areas. In 2015 the IUCN stated “we have greater confidence in the estimate of fewer than 20,000 lions in Africa than in a number over 30,000”, and estimated a decline of 43% in the 21 years from 1993 to 2014.

The African lion is subject to increasing threats from human activities. The species has evolved social and reproductive behaviours that require space, the greatest threat therefore being an increasing human population and the subsequent conflict with lions as a result of land conversion and prey base depletion to meet the needs of people. Humans however have induced additional threats by introducing disease, unsustainable trophy hunting practices, and the impacts of climate change to lions, whose populations continue to decline.

Analyses of lion population structure, geographical fragmentation, risks from inbreeding depression and subsequent loss of evolutionary potential, and probable/actual disease threats, provide many causes for concern for the long-term viability of this species.

The conservation of wild lions in their natural range must remain at the core of efforts to ensure viable populations of lions are maintained as an integral part of functional ecosystems. To that end, ALERT engages in and supports programmes to:

• protect and restore habitat for lions; • assess and monitor population size and health; • mitigate the conflict between lions and communities; • improve our understanding of lion ecology and behaviour, and; • assist wildlife authorities to develop and implement appropriate policies to conserve lions.

Our responsible development approach also ensures that our lion conservation efforts extend beyond the species itself to incorporate inter-related ecological, social and economic issues.

ALERT’s work has involved primary research within Chirisa Safari Area and Chizarira, Matusadona and Zambezi National Parks. Grants or research equipment have also been awarded to researchers studying lions in Gonarezhou and Kusungu National Parks, in areas located in northern Namibia, and in an area surrounding the Maasai Mara.

Wildlife protection programmes have included active anti-poaching operations and / or resourcing and providing training of anti-poaching units in many locations within Guinea, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ALERT has also worked in varying ways with wildlife authorities in Burundi, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe as regards the conservation of lions within their borders.

Social Development

"Change in the societies at the very bottom must come predominantly from within; we cannot impose it on them." Paul Collier

Lions exist alongside some of the poorest people in the World. Poverty and food insecurity create a reliance on natural resources that places people in direct competition with wildlife. Assisting these communities to develop in a sustainable way is therefore another vital component in our responsible development approach.

Projects seek to directly address the variety of needs of our local communities; especially vulnerable people groups such as orphans, the elderly, and those living with HIV / AIDS.

ALERT has supported established organizations and programmes in the areas of community agriculture, care of orphans and the elderly, and in healthcare facilities that between them serve catchments of 120,000 people.

Conserving Biodiversity

“It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for - the whole thing - rather than just one or two stars.” David Attenborough

Neither humans, nor lions, can survive in isolation; both are reliant on functional ecosystems. As such, we seek to engage in activities that conserve all of Africa’s wild species, and the ecosystems within which they live and on which we rely.

ALERT also recognizes that biodiversity and human well-being are intrinsically linked. Biodiversity contributes to essential aspects of our daily lives; food and energy provision, security, and clean water, as well as providing for recreational and cultural activities. Biodiversity provides resistance to natural disasters and the spread of zoonotic diseases, and may be the source of as yet undiscovered foods and medicines.

ALERT’s work in this field is broad, encompassing conservation of a variety of species including predators, herbivores, birds and insects. ALERT also engages in ecosystem management, and assists wildlife authorities in their role in managing protected areas.

Ex situ Lion Conservation

“The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.” Chanakya

ALERT recognizes that programmes directed towards protecting habitat for the remaining wild lions must continue to be the mainstay of conservation efforts, and that new multi-disciplinary and collaborative approaches are necessary to achieve success. However, given the speed of decline in lion populations, the IUCN’s Red List classification assessment that “… the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible”, and the time it will take to achieve sufficient habitat protection to support viable lion populations on a continent-wide scale, we also recognize that ex situ management can complement those efforts.

IUCN technical guidelines include that ex situ management “may be critical in preventing species extinction when wild population decline is steep and the chance of sufficiently rapid reduction of primary threats is slim or uncertain or has been inadequately successful to date”. Further, the IUCN recommends additional consideration for inclusion of taxa in ex situ reintroduction programmes for “taxa or populations of cultural importance, and significant economic or scientific importance”. ALERT asserts that for the African lion these criteria do apply.

Ex situ management of lions can come in the form of moving wild lions from one population to another (translocation), or by using lions of captive-origin (reintroduction). Both methods have problems associated with their use, and the choice of which management intervention to use will be dictated by the needs of a particular proposed release site. Many areas in Africa have no suitable existing wild population close by from which a translocation programme can source lions. Reasons for their incompatibility can be related to the genetic and disease profiles of the available source population, as well as negative consequences that might arise in the population from which lions are being removed – these could include changes to local social systems, or even induced inbreeding problems. There is also a lack of political will to permit translocation of lions from some areas, which will likely become a greater hindrance to translocation efforts as wild populations continue to decline. In such situations the use of lions of captive origin is a logical course of action.

The IUCN states that “If the decision to bring a taxon under ex situ management is left until extinction is imminent, it is frequently too late to effectively implement, thus risking permanent loss of the taxon”. ALERT believes that the time is now to scientifically research appropriate methods to successfully reintroduce lions of captive-origin to ensure that the method is available to wildlife authorities when it is needed.

Captive breeding of lions is not the answer to saving Africa’s lions, nor is translocation, or indeed any one of the current in situ conservation solutions proposed. A variety of responses is needed to mitigate the current threats to lions, including new approaches that incorporate the needs of people alongside those of lions and other wildlife.

To date ALERT has successfully released two prides of lions into fenced, managed reserves. Research has shown that these lions are displaying all of the characteristics of wild lions; they have bonded and formed a close cohesive and cooperative unit and they are proficient hunters, including showing the cooperative behaviours one would see in wild lions engaged in hunts. As such, the eleven offspring born within these release sites, and that have had no human contact, are being raised as wild lions, and are therefore suitable candidates for release into the wild.

Monde Primary School

Project volunteers have spent over 690 hours in the rural community of Monde outside of Victoria Falls, where the local school caters for more than 300 pupils. Throughout the year we have assisted teachers during term time in delivering lessons, as well as operating a holiday club outside of term time.

The school has recently created a special-needs class, and ALERT Intern Yana van Camp was able to use her experience in this field to assist the school to establish and operate the class during the three months of her placement.

Repairs were also made to the floors of three of the school’s classrooms, and 28 new and refurbished benches were provided to replace broken classroom furniture.

Basic Life Skills… Kids Club

The Basic Life Skills programme aims to give students experience in developing ‘soft skills’ that will support them in their home lives, future education and will make them both more employable and more responsible citizens.

The course shifts the focus from fact or content based learning to personal development. Students are exposed to the skills transparently and have the opportunity to practise them through a large variety of activities and challenges. These super-curricular lessons are intended to be student lead wherever possible, creating an interactive and enjoyable environment in which to learn and build confidence in their own skills and independence, without the demands and restraints of the normal curriculum.

The course has been adapted for use in Zambia from Personal Learning and Thinking Skills courses (PLTS) taught worldwide, and in particular the STRIPE model used in many schools throughout the UK at both primary and secondary level.

STRIPE focuses on 6 key basic skills with lessons focussing on each skill in turn, ensuring pupils have the opportunity to use each skill and also identify situations where they would need to use the skill in their everyday lives:

S – Self Manager (Organisational skills and motivation) T – Team Working (Including leadership, communication, co-operation and compromise) R – Reflection (Reviewing strengths and weaknesses, resilience and target setting) I – Innovation (Working creatively and testing new ideas) P – Participation (Appropriate Behaviour for Learning, active participation and respect for others) E – Enquiry (Asking relevant questions, independent research and analysing, evaluating and summarising ideas)

In 2015 the course operated at two schools in Livingstone every second week, with over 105 kids attending on average. Our staff were assisted by volunteers who dedicated over 230 hours to the project. Given the success of Kids Club in Livingstone in 2015 we are expanding the project to our other two project sites in Zimbabwe in 2016.

Mitigating Human / Lion Conflict

Following on from a pilot project that commenced in 2013, Coventry University have funded an initiative to help rural farmers in the Matestsi area of Zimbabwe protect their livestock against attacks by wild lions and other large predators. Every year, significant numbers of livestock are killed, threatening the livelihoods of these rural communities. As a consequence, large carnivores find themselves persecuted in retaliation for these livestock losses.

To help address this, ALERT, with our local partner Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, has been working with Dr. James Bennett, an expert in livestock husbandry practices from Coventry University, the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority, and affected communities. Night-guard flashing lights have been installed on kraals located within conflict hotspot areas alongside camera traps that will assist in assessing the effectiveness of the lights. This exercise builds upon the original idea by Richard Turere, who invented the flashing light system to guard against lion raids on livestock in Kenya.

In November, our team began installation of the lights and camera-traps, with the permission and help from the Matetsi community. The team comprised of Dr. Jackie Abell (ALERT Director of Research and Reader in Conservation and Social Psychology at Coventry University), Bob Mandinyenya (ALERT Principal Researcher for the area), Simbarashe Gombedza and Rumbidzai Magwiro (undergraduates of University of Zimbabwe currently interning with ALERT), Dr. James Bennett (Senior Lecturer at Coventry University), Alderman Muzamba (Ward Councillor for Matetsi) and Mr Fanuel Nleya (Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority).

Identification of kraals to be tested with the lights, and their subsequent installation, took place over a period of two weeks. 15 homesteads were identified based on records of the attacks they have experienced historically and more recently. Most homesteads selected are located at the periphery of settlements in areas where the community borders protected areas such Matetsi Safari Area, forestry areas and the Zambezi National Park. Prior to installation of the lights each homestead was interviewed to assess the trends of attacks, and to gain information to help decide on the best positioning of the lights and camera-traps.

Lights have been installed within the Masikili, Sikabelo, Kalala, Woodlands, Breakfast and Khaya-lethu areas of the Matetsi Environmental Conservation Area (ECA). This Matetsi ECA is an area being managed under the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme, which encourages communities to sustainably manage wildlife resources found within their areas.

Rainy season is considered to be the worst when it comes to predator attacks within these communities, thus our intervention comes at a good time for monitoring the effectiveness of the lights. However, the camera-traps will monitor the response of predators to the lights over the next 12 months, with staff and volunteers visiting each homestead once a week to download footage from the camera traps, code the images, and take records on the number of attacks that occur.

In 2016 we will also implement a conservation education programme for adults and children in the area to include practical and theoretical workshops in the conservation of local wildlife, the continued mitigation of human-wildlife conflict, and effective husbandry practices.

Zambezi Hyena Project

In 2015, ALERT, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, initiated the Zambezi Hyena Project.

Large mammal carnivores play an important role in maintaining a balance between the ungulate population and the environment. However, when carnivore numbers increase, certain age classes of the ungulate population can be negatively affected. Spotted hyena, contrary to popular thought, do hunt extensively and predate mainly on the juvenile age class, although they will also take down adult animals. Spotted hyena are the most common and abundant large mammal predator in many African ecosystems and their impact on prey species, and other carnivores, can therefore be significant.

In Zimbabwe’s Zambezi National Park, and surrounding areas, it has been hypothesized that the ungulate population shows an imbalance in the population structure, with under-representation in the lower age classes, possibly due to a large spotted hyena population. In addition, reports have been received that hyena are significantly involved in livestock predation in nearby human-populated areas. Further, hyenas in large numbers exert pressure on other large mammal predators, and their kleptoparasitic habit of appropriating kills just made by other carnivores such as wild dog, cheetah and lions, can have an adverse effect on the recruitment and condition of these carnivores.

To date no studies have been carried out on spotted hyena in this location and this study is looking at the population dynamics of the species to obtain data on population size, ecology, behaviour and interaction with livestock. The interaction between lions and hyena will also be studied as these two species are major competitors and are known to limit population growth within their populations. The study is expected to last at least three years and result in management recommendations to the wildlife authority.

Since the enactment of this project in September 2015, hyenas have been seen hunting wildebeest and sable, and observed on a buffalo kill that they had made. Juveniles have been recorded feeding on flying termites. Adult mortality as a result of an attack from a prey animal was also observed when one of the clan members was killed by a sable during a hunt at a watering hole.

Frontline Healthcare

Between them Mkoba 1 and Mkoba 4 Polyclinics have a catchment population of over 82,000 and offer clinics for opportunistic infections (HIV & TB), outpatients departments for adults and children, extended programme of immunization for children 6 weeks – 5 years of age, family planning, antenatal & post-natal care, PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) for HIV affected mothers, voluntary counselling and HIV testing. The staff are overstretched and have very limited resources. Manpower in the form of volunteers are provided to assist with many of the routine tasks, such as counting pills, weighing babies, laundry, and assisting during review days for children with HIV. This frees the clinic’s specialised staff to concentrate on frontline healthcare provision. During 2015 nearly 1,700 hours of assistance was provided.

Supporting the work of AFRICAID volunteers attend HIV review days to bring some fun to a day that would otherwise be a reminder of a negative condition that would make even adults hide away. Simba Munyonho, Africaid Zvandiri Provincial Mentor for Midlands Province has this to say about our involvement with review days:

“The time these volunteers spent with the kids was very important. Apart from the clinical attention these children receive from their respective health facilities, this quality time they spent with volunteers is equally important as it produces some psychosocial outcomes. The days have become attractive to children and they always look forward to the next review day; full of fun and interaction with the volunteers, thereby promoting adherence. We have realized that through these interactions children have become more responsible for their own care as they are now also present for the collection of their medication. In the past caregivers used to collect medication for their children with the children remaining home. But with your volunteers present no kid wants to remain home and this has promoted ownership and meaningful involvement in their own care. We as AFRICAID, Gweru City Health and the children we also greatly appreciate your support.”

Chikamba Primary School

Opened in 2013, Chikamba Primary is a rural school where four teachers hold classes in temporary thatched structures that were built by the community, but that leak when it rains. The school was in need of somewhere secure and free from rain to store its limited resources to keep them from loss or damage. Thanks to donations and fundraising efforts of two former volunteers, Gillian Provan and Gregory Pearson, we have been able to complete building of a library and storeroom block. With the recent building of a toilet block by another local organization, who are also soon to build a permanent classroom block, Chikamba Primary is becoming a great source of education for students in this community, who used to walk 10km to the nearest school.

Building in rural areas is fraught with many challenges, but after months of hard work, the keys to the new building were handed over to the community in a 3-hour long ceremony held on the school’s property. Attended by such notable guests as the area’s councillor, members of the chief’s committee, and all the parents and students of the school, the ceremony included plenty of dancing, singing and speeches. The two-room structure will be used to store the resources, including books, which belong to the school and its teachers.

“Where we are falling short, ALERT and Lion Encounter are filling the gap” said Councillor Sibanda, as he addressed the crowd of more than 200 community members and students.

Matusadona Lion Project

Since its commencement in 2014, the MLP, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), aims to determine the population status and ecology of lions in Zimbabwe’s Matusadona National Park. The last census in 2005 suggested that just 28 individuals remained, down from nearly 90 in 1998, raising concerns over the population’s long-term viability. The MLP is collecting data on individual lions, pride structure and distribution, as well trying to understand the environmental and human-induced pressures facing Matusadona’s lions. This project directly contributes to ZPWMA’s conservation and management plans for this apex predator.

Over 130 sightings of the three known resident prides in the valley floor area of Matusadona National Park were made during the 2015 field season. Additional satellite GPS collars were also fitted, meaning that MLP is now monitoring 6 collared animals (3 male and 3 female) within 3 prides and 1 male cohort.

Minimum Convex Polygons of 95% confidence intervals have been applied to existing data sets from the three collared lionesses, providing an insight into pride territories; ranging from 132km2 to 172km2, with notable overlap.

There have been three known male migrations from resident natal prides in the study area into surrounding consumptive areas of Omay North and Gache Gache. Two of the known males from the Tashinga Pride, M111 and M112, appear to have taken residence in the Bumi Hills State Land area and have been observed mating with resident females of the area.

No unknown lions to the study have been sighted in the area, however camera trap footage obtained in June suggested the presence of three possibly unknown lions in a poorly accessed area along the base of the escarpment. Footage showed two adult females and what appeared to be a sub-adult female. No other footage has been obtained from camera traps deployed in this area of unknown lions, nor has any spoor been noted.

A total of 33 kills and scavenging events have been documented this season (26 kills and 7 scavenging events). Of the 7 scavenging events recorded 6 were of elephant providing a significant edible biomass. All known elephant kills since the onset of the study have been predated by the male cohort of three, the “Jenje Boys”, with no evidence of lionesses partaking in hunts based on known lion presence, satellite GPS collar coordinates and spoor at kill sites. Vegetation visibility is likely to be influencing hunt success and kill locations have corresponded to areas of suspected medium visibility.

Data for other predator presence and density has been very scarce. The resident hyena population continues to be very cryptic and leopards are only sighted through camera trap footage. In absence of sufficient camera trap units the study has been unable to identify individuals with the exception of one adult female in the Changachirere area.

During the last week of the 2015 field season two African wild dogs were located from two deployed camera traps placed along the base escarpment road and in the Dumba Pan area along the center. This is incredibly exciting news for Matusadona NP and the study. There has been no documented sighting of wild dog in the NP since a reintroduction effort in 1998 onto Starvation Island. It is unclear if they are the only two animals present; no spoor has been recorded supporting the notion of a resident pack.

Community Agriculture

For several years ALERT has, with our partner Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, been supporting three agricultural projects in and around Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The principle aim is to reduce reliance on natural resources, enhance nutrition, and create income generating opportunities for vulnerable communities.

Through our efforts at the Chinotimba and Ntabengwe Gardens both are now doing well and are able to support the communities that tend them sustainably. Assistance has been provided through infrastructure developments, provision of seedlings, training in the use of greenhouses, manpower to tend the gardens, and assisting with creating markets for excess produce. ALERT was able to withdraw from these projects during 2015, but will continue to stay in contact with the garden’s carers to provide assistance if needed.

Focus has therefore been at Dako Garden, which is facilitated by a large number of women affected or infected by HIV in the rural village of Monde. Upwards of 30 women participate in this rural garden project. ALERT and Lion Encounter have worked alongside the women watering and cultivating vegetables and fruits in the large plot. Three weeks were spent refurbishing the reservoir and pump at the garden, which was installed by ALERT a number of years ago, and was in need of repair. Not only is the reservoir functioning at its full capacity again, we also provided 550 seedlings of various vegetables to grow.

Wildlife Surveys in Zimbabwe

At the request of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), ALERT and ZPWMA staff have conducted wildlife surveys in Chizarira National Park and Chirisa Safari Area, together covering 3,713km2. The two protected areas share a common boundary, and form an ‘ecological island’ in the west of the country.

An aerial census of wild and domestic herbivores was conducted in Chizarira National Park (9 – 11 September 2015) and Chirisa Safari Area (12 – 13 October 2015). The survey also counted human activities and elephant carcasses. A ground survey of lion and hyena populations was also conducted using standard call-up methodologies in Chizarira National Park (9 – 11 September 2015) and Chirisa Safari Area (20 – 21 September 2015).

Whilst poaching, both commercial and subsistence, is taking place despite ZPWMA’s best efforts to curb this negative use of wildlife, there are core areas in both parks that still support good populations of wildlife including: elephants, buffalo, lion, waterbuck, impala, warthog, leopard, spotted hyena, sable, zebra, kudu and eland, amongst other species. With funds granted by the Marjorie Coote Animal Charity Trust repairs are to be made to a damaged ZPWMA vehicle so that it can again be utilised for anti-poaching efforts.

ALERT would like to thank the two pilots, Brian Horsely and Richard Thornycroft who offered their time and their planes free of charge for the surveys, as well as Antelope Park, Lion Encounter and African Impact who funded the surveys. Special thanks goes to ZPWMA, and especially the staff of Chizaira and Chirisa, for facilitating and taking part in the surveys.

A call-up survey has also been conducted in Zambezi National Park to compliment ongoing occupancy surveys to assess large predator abundance and distribution within the Park. Walked transects in 2015 suggest significant hyena occupancy within the Park, with lower occurrence of wild dog, leopard and lions. No indications of cheetah were observed this year. The call-up survey (25 – 26 August 2015) attracted responses from wild dogs, lions and large numbers of hyenas.

Also within Zambezi National Park, ongoing biodiversity assessments have continued, to produce data on large mammal numbers in the Park. 17 species were counted on this years’ 92 transects, including aardvark, sable, buffalo, bushbuck and eland.

The results of all surveys have been provided to ZPWMA for their use in managing these protected areas.

Victoria Falls Old People’s Home

In Victoria Falls, ALERT, with our partner Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, has been assisting at the Victoria Falls Old People’s Home. In January, with funds generously donated by the Landsburg Foundation, work to replace the roof of many of the Home’s houses was completed.

Repair and refurbishment continued throughout the year at the Home, in addition to helping the caregivers based at the Home with looking after the residents, and helping out in the Home’s garden, which provides a much needed food source for residents.

In partnership with Operation Starfish Africa, we were also able to procure the donation of a 5,000 litre water tank. The tank was at the top of the wish list of the Home’s committee, as the centre often does not have water if power is shut off. Now, the Home has a more reliable source of water for washing, cooking and cleaning.

Forest Management

Rural households are highly reliant on forest products, yet there is substantial scope for the forest sector to alleviate rural poverty. If Zambia’s forests are effectively managed, communities can exploit opportunities in the forest sector to generate more rural jobs and income that would stimulate rural development and compliment agricultural-based poverty reduction strategies. Effective forest management is based on good knowledge of existing forest resources, yet current data on Zambia’s forests is outdated and incomplete.

The Dambwa Forest, located outside of Livingstone in southern Zambia, is under threat from rapid deforestation as a result of both legal and illegal removal of wood for fuel, charcoal production and logging, as well as clearance for sand and gravel extraction, and agricultural and urban expansion. Several key commercial species are under particular threat. Resource extraction is predominantly for subsistence use by rural communities lacking employment and employment prospects, as well as commercial extraction by local, regional and international interests.

In 2002 a forest resource survey concluded that regeneration potential within the Forest was “between medium and low”. A further study conducted in 2009, with an emphasis on commercially valuable species, concluded that the absence of larger stems of commercially valuable species is attributed to selective harvesting, which has negatively impacted regeneration potential.

Information about the current forest resource and carbon dynamics, and therefore the rate of change in tree stocking, needs updating to assist the Forestry Department to develop and implement appropriate management plans. Further, previous studies used different methods and are therefore difficult to compare to assess temporal changes in stocking.

In 2015 ALERT instigated, in partnership with the Forestry Department, the Dambwa Trust and Copperbelt University, and with the assistance of Lion Encounter Zambia, a carbon dynamic monitoring programme, to include assessments of above and below-ground biomass, horizontal and vertical structure, mortality, root turnover, soil carbon, soil respiration, stem expansions and contractions, stem respiration and litter fall, over time.

During the latter half of the year the survey of above ground woody biomass commenced, and to date 29% of established sample plots have been surveyed, with 2,735 trees measured and 1,608 seedlings / regeneration enumerated.

Fully-Funded Internships for African Students

Students of African educational facilities, who otherwise might not have access to the opportunities that we are able to provide, are offered placements at our project sites to gain practical experience in support of their academic learning. The programme seeks to assist in building local capacity for conservation and conservation related tourism, as well as in the field of community development.

The programme is operated in partnership with Lion Encounter Zambia and Zimbabwe, and with Antelope Park.

In 2015, three students joined our conservation research projects in the Zambezi National Park for a combined total of 18 months, whilst a fourth student joined our community projects for a period of three months. The students came to us from Chinhoyi University of Technology, the University of Zimbabwe, and Great Zimbabwe State University.

In Livingstone two month internships in catering were offered to two students of Mukwela Youth Resource Centre, as well as one student and one graduate of Copperbelt University, each on a one month conservation research placement.

At our Antelope Park project site 34 students were given placements from 2 to 12 months in wide variety of conservation and tourism fields, totalling 230 months of placements.

Since this project was initiated, our project sites have provided 909 months of fully-funded intern or facilitated research placements to 126 students in the fields of conservation research, marketing, community development, guiding, and hospitality - amongst others.

Beneficiaries of this project to date have been students of the following institutions:

In Zambia:

- the University of Zambia (Lusaka), - Copperbelt University (Kitwe), - Mukwela Youth Resource Centre (Livingstone).

In Zimbabwe: - University of Zimbabwe (Harare), - Bulawayo Polytechnic (Bulawayo), - National University of Science & Technology

(Bulawayo), - Sizinda Vocational Training Centre (Bulawayo), - BEST College (Gweru), - Educare College (Gweru), - Micronet College (Gweru), - Trust Academy (Gweru), - YWCA Mkoba (Gweru), - Gweru Polytechnic College (Gweru), - Midland’s State University (Gweru), - Great Zimbabwe State University (Masvingo), - Chinhoyi University of Technology (Chinhoyi), - Bindura University of Science Education (Bindura).

Entomological Surveys

Insects are an important natural resource in ecosystems, playing a significant role in pollination, nutrient recycling, and as pest control agents, as well as being indicators in effective ecosystem management. The presence or absence of certain species, or rather of certain corteges, makes it possible to verify whether an ecosystem is functioning properly or not. In this way, insects can be good indicators of ecosystem quality and management impacts. However, knowledge of insect diversity within the Zambezi Basin is not well known, except for a few species.

Within the Zambezi National Park, during 2015 ALERT’s research team surveyed plots representing seven vegetation strata. 15 insect orders, 83 families and at least 180 different species were recorded during the survey.

The study has been extended to the Zambian side of the Zambezi River where ALERT is currently establishing a reference sample of insect species, with the long term aim of linking the entomological survey with the carbon dynamic monitoring programme in the Dambwa Forest. It is hoped that an understanding of insect diversity within the Forest in relation to floral diversity will assist the Forestry Department in monitoring and managing the Forest. To date over 100 species within 9 insect orders have been identified.

Southern African Bird Atlas

The Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) is currently the most important bird conservation project in the southern African region, which calls on ‘citizen scientists’ to collect data on bird species in their area, and submit it to the Animal Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town. ALERT, with partners Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, contribute by identifying birds in and around Zambezi National Park. During the course of 2015, a total of 106 bird species were identified within an area of approximately 125km2 of the Park.

Conservation Education

The aim is to encourage engagement with the natural environment in which participants live, and to help them understand the advantages of living alongside and conserving local wildlife, habitat and ecosystems. The course teaches foundation concepts within ecology so participants can better appreciate the value of the natural world. This, in turn, enables participants to adopt and develop practical approaches to conservation and managing their environment so nature and people co-exist harmoniously for mutual benefit.

One of the main objectives of the course is to help students identify ways humans impact the environment and to encourage them to explore and promote alternatives that reduce or reverse these effects. In order to meet this objective, learners must appreciate that alternative ways of doing things are available and that these options have long-term, tangible socio-economic benefits for the community, as well as producing benefits for the ecosystem.

Many of the learning activities are delivered through participant-led problem-based contexts or scenarios (known as “problem-based learning (PBL)” so lessons are highly interactive and participants are fully engaged throughout. In addition to a deeper understanding of the course content, this pedagogical approach also develops important soft skills such as self-confidence, organisation, team working, leadership, communication and creativity. In combination, these skills strengthen participants’ ability to analyse, evaluate and challenge current practices and to develop more flexible thinking processes so they can propose and support innovative solutions and adapt them for use with their communities. Teachers at schools with whom we operate conservation education all report that students engaged in the programme perform better in all school classes, and most notably in environmental studies, social studies and English language.

The conservation education programme has been written and resourced by a team of qualified teachers and Coventry University psychology and education researchers, and is implemented in partnership with Copperbelt and Midlands State Universities. A programme of research is in place to assess the programme’s effectiveness.

In 2015, over 600 students took part in our conservation education programmes across our three project sites.

Conserving Elephants in a Human-Dominated Landscape

During 2015 ALERT entered discussion with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) with a view to instigating a conservation programme focussed on elephants in and around Livingstone, where significant conflict with communities occurs.

At the end of the year a research permit was granted for a long-term and far-reaching research programme that will commence in 2016. ALERT’s partners in this effort are ZAWA, with Copperbelt, Coventry and Western Kentucky Universities, and Wildlife Encounter.

In fragmented land-use mosaics the home ranges of African elephants feature a combination of protected and unprotected areas. Ranging in human-dominated landscapes inevitably leads to interaction, and therefore conflict, with communities; most notably with farmers as a result of crop-raiding. The Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the outskirts of Livingstone supports a seasonal population of elephants. A fenced section of the Park appears to be the core habitat used by elephants, however, they are also known to utilise the protected Dambwa Local Forest No. 22 to the north, as well as entering surrounding unprotected, human-dominated habitats.

Increasing human populations and agricultural expansion within the Livingstone area threaten to expand the human / elephant interface, likely leading to greater incidence of human-elephant conflict. Whilst elephant presence within the MoT NP is a significant draw for tourism, bringing much needed income to the local economy and funding to ZAWA from national park entrance fees, increasing conflict with local communities creates friction between the needs of those communities and the Authority charged with managing the elephant population and associated human-elephant conflict. Common to many locations across Africa, elephants in this area are becoming increasingly bold, which can create a climate of fear.

The success of human-elephant conflict mitigation strategies is dependent on the ecology and behaviour of elephants in an area, as well as the human socio-political and economic environment. Specific research on elephant populations in the region are sparse, and efforts to mitigate the conflict have largely been undertaken without rigorous planning or evaluation.

Understanding elephants’ use of land, within and outside of protected areas, is important both for elephant conservation and in providing greater livelihood security for local people. This work will develop the first rigorous data set documenting elephant movement, behaviour and population structure in the study area and, importantly, use this to help formulate grounded recommendations for mitigating human-elephant conflict by:

• Assessing seasonal distribution and abundance of elephants in different habitat types to establish key resource areas and movement corridors.

• Determining elephant population structure within these areas including population trends, herd sizes and male/female ratios.

• Determining behavioural ecology of elephants.

• Documenting instances of human-elephant conflict amongst local communities.

• Assessing efficacy of different human-elephant conflict mitigation strategies.

The main outcomes of the project will be: a more informed understanding of elephant movement, behavioural ecology and population structure within the study area, which will form the basis of several scientific papers, and the development of informed management recommendations to mitigate human-elephant conflict. These will have significant benefits for local people both in minimizing potentially dangerous encounters with elephants and improving livelihood outcomes by reducing crop losses.

Whilst discussions regarding the long term monitoring programme were ongoing, permission was granted to undertake a patch-occupancy survey within the area to inform the planning process for the monitoring programme.

152 transects, each replicated 4 times, were undertaken outside of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, up to 20km distant from its border, to assess occupancy. To supplement data collected from transects, additional data sources were utilised to assess habitat occupancy: opportunistic sightings of elephant presence (animals, dung, tracks, or feeding) observed between 2011 and 2012 during a previous monitoring programme by ALERT; opportunistic sightings of elephant presence obtained whilst travelling to and from survey start points; and opportunistic questioning of community members in the region.

The survey has been completed and a report presented to ZAWA. The results are being used to define the scope of planned monitoring programme, and have also been submitted as an article to an academic journal for publication, entitled “Patch - Occupancy Survey of Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Surrounding Livingstone, Zambia”. The article has been co-authored by partners with affiliations to Copperbelt, Coventry, Edinburgh and Western Kentucky Universities, and the Zambia Wildlife Authority.

Chinotimba Pre-school

In 2015 ALERT, through our partner Lion Encounter Zimbabwe, started working at Chinotimba pre-school, located in Victoria Falls’ largest township. The school educates 49 students at present, up to age 6, in two classrooms. Our aim is to assist the pre-school’s two teachers to prepare students to enter the school system with the cognitive and social abilities to succeed in the future. As part of our own monitoring programme to ensure our inputs have a positive impact, and also to assist the pre-school in measuring their students’ progress, the pre-schoolers were given assessments to create a baseline from which progress over the next year can be measured. Project volunteers have devoted over 330 hours to helping teachers plan and give lessons, as well arranging a field trip to see the Victoria Falls, and preparing for the end of year graduation ceremony.

English Literacy… Book Club

Book Club aims to significantly improve English literacy skills among Grade 5-7 (age 11 – 14) children attending rural schools near our project sites through the implementation of a structured reading programme.

The programme uses the ‘Happy Readers’ reading scheme which has been specifically designed for children living in southern African countries (specifically Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia) who are learning English as an additional language. The programme also makes use of literacy and assessment materials offered by Axis Education Limited, and TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa) to optimize proficiency in the English language within these communities. Phonics and other fun activities designed to help children make good progress quickly have also been incorporated into the weekly Book Club lesson plans.

Each week, children begin with a lesson in phonics and then, grouped by approximate reading age, sit with an intern or volunteer and continue to work through the reading scheme from where they left off the previous week. Before they go to Book Club, volunteers are briefed about the activities they need to lead and are asked to report back on progress at the end of the session. This enables continuity to be maintained from week to week. Children progress at their own rate and are never moved on until learning is secure. This is to ensure learning is thorough and children’s confidence in their ability to master English reading is built up.

A mobile library service is also offered to children attending Book Club so that they can continue to read even when not attending the Club.

In 2015 we extended Book Club to three schools in rural communities around Livingstone in Zambia. Book Club attracts over 120 children on average each week, and our staff are therefore assisted by project volunteers, who dedicated over 260 hours to the project. Now successful in Livingstone, the Book Club concept is being rolled out to our other project sites in 2016.

African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild

An academic journal article was submitted in 2015, and subsequently published by Current Zoology, entitled ‘An assessment of African lion Panthera leo sociality via social network analysis: pre-release monitoring for an ex-situ reintroduction program’. The paper is an analysis of the social networks and cohesion of our Dambwa and Ngamo release prides, as compared to a wild lion pride. The paper builds on our previous article in PlosOne on the Ngamo pride, using this novel application of social network analysis to lions.

The lead author, Emma Dunston, is one of our former facilitated research students, who is completing her PhD. The eight co-authors represent ALERT, Charles Sturt University, Coventry University, University of Melbourne, and the Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve.

The study indicated that the two captive-origin prides had formed cohesive social units and possessed relationships and behaviours comparable with the wild pride, for the studied behaviours. Any differences were observed to occur at the individual level, where the social involvement of a particular individual, sex or age group differed slightly between the prides.

The authors conclude that “captivity does not impede upon the ability of a pride to become socially cohesive, nor an individual being able to express normal social behaviour if pre-release training, and environmental conditions facilitate adaptive natural behaviours and experiences.”

About the Ngamo Lion Release Site

The 6 adults (1 male and 5 females) of the ‘Ngamo Pride’ were captive born and released into the ‘Ngamo Lion Release Site’ in 2010, having been walked in the rehabilitation phase of the ex situ conservation project, the African Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild Programme. The pride’s 5 offspring (1 male and 4 females) were born in the site and have had no human contact, display natural behaviours, and are intended for release into the wild in the final phase of the Programme.

About the Dambwa Lion Release Site

The 6 adults (1 male and 5 females) of the ‘Dambwa Pride’ were captive born and released into the ‘Dambwa Lion Release Site’ in 2011, having been walked in the rehabilitation phase of the ex situ conservation project, the African Rehabilitation and Release into the Wild Programme. The pride’s 6 offspring (3 male and 3 females) were born in the site and have had no human contact, display natural behaviours, and are intended for release into the wild in the final phase of the Programme.

School Development in Mkoba

Close to our project site at Antelope Park, lies the township of Mkoba where we currently assist three schools.

Mudavanhu School for the Disabled provides education for children with mild to moderate mental disability and specialises in providing essential life skills in self-care (e.g. toileting, feeding, self-hygiene, name recognition), managing a home (e.g. laundry, cooking, hygiene, safety), literacy, maths, science, computing, sports, and vocational projects (e.g. gardening, sewing, arts & crafts). All lessons are designed to meet the national curriculum where possible, but mainly to facilitate coordination, movement, cognition, and give children the skills and coping mechanisms to integrate into mainstream society. Children are assessed and streamed into levels in accordance with ability rather than chronological age. During 2015 project volunteers assisted the school’s teachers, and donated $1200 worth of groceries to feed the children. The Deputy Head says “Through your support, our children have felt loved and accepted and have a sense of belonging, which in turn has boosted their confidence”.

Mkoba 4 Primary School provides education for approximately 2200 students and offers specialised teaching for children aged 9-14 years with a variety of learning disabilities. These classes aim to provide more individual attention to these children and thereby offering additional help to achieve the standards required for national educational assessment. Project volunteers devoted over 1,100 hours to assisting the special needs teacher in the classroom during 2015. As a result of the extra help the 2015 class of 21 children received, 14 of them are able to re-join mainstream education in 2016.

Our Partners In most cases the challenges facing Africa’s people and its wildlife are too great and too complex, and they require too many resources, for any one organization to address.

By uniting…

• Community;

• Policy makers;

• NGO’s;

• Academics, and;

• Business leaders.

Together, we can propose the best decisions for Africa’s people, its environment and its wildlife that create benefits for stakeholder groups to generate sustainable motivation for sound conservation management.

This union ensures both present and future generations are able to enjoy the benefits of Africa’s environmental services by integrating the protection of natural processes with economic and social development.

We can generate solutions that are…

• Locally conceived;

• Locally relevant;

• Systems based;

• Long term;

• Cost efficient, and;

• Sustainable.

By acting collectively the stakeholders of Africa can combine expertise, knowledge and funding to generate real, long-lasting, cost efficient and responsible solutions that are reflected in policy of national governments all the way through the structure of society to the actions of the individual.

ALERT is proud to have worked and cooperated with a wide range of stakeholders to generate and implement conservation and community development solutions, including:

Academics with MoUs: Copperbelt University, Coventry University, Midlands State University, Sussex University and Western Kentucky University. Academics whose studies have been facilitated in a variety of fields that assist ALERT in its work from: Australian National University, California Polytechnic State University, Charles Sturt University, Denver University, Exeter University, Karolinska Institute and Royal Institute for Technology in Stockholm and Linkoping University in Sweden, Manchester Metropolitan University, Montana University, Oslo University, Oxford University, Princeton University, Utah State University, Utrecht University, Wageningen University, and the University of Zimbabwe, amongst others.

Policy makers in the areas of education, wildlife management, forestry, tourism, and / or health in the governments of Burundi, Guinea, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Business and commercial partners are too numerous to mention here, but huge thanks are given to all as their contribution helps create sustainability for projects, as well as generating funds used for revenue sharing with communities neighbouring conservation areas. Specific mention must however be made of ALERT’s partners Antelope Park, Lion Encounter, Wildlife Encounter and African Impact.

Partners that are NGOs, charities, grant funding, and similar organizations have included: Chengeta Wildlife, UNOPS, the EU, The Woodspring Trust, The Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Estelle Trust, Landsberg Foundation, Idea Wild, ACP Innovation Fund, Donald Family Charitable Trust, Plymouth Zoological Society, amongst others.

Our community partners surrounding all our project locations must receive our very special thanks for their cooperation and support across all aspects of our work.

Our Patron Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE

Epitomising the bravery, leadership and fortitude as exemplified in the symbolism of the lion, ALERT is proud to present our patron Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Ran agreed to become patron in early September 2007 following his attendance at the first stage two release of the African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild Programme.

“I am extremely proud to represent ALERT, not just because of its forward thinking work to help save the African lion, but because they are looking at the wider issues in conservation on the African continent; looking at the whole eco-system within which the lion lives; trying to find ways to develop management plans that will work in the long term and involving and empowering local communities every step of the way.

I am also refreshed by ALERT’s willingness to work alongside other organizations in partnership, to share ideas and draw different people together to try and find the best solutions to face Africa’s challenges.”

Our Trustees – the following people served as trustees during 2015

Andrew Craig Aldridge (ALERT USA - Chairman)

Sandra Berrey (ALERT USA)

Andrew Conolly (ALERT Zambia, ALERT Zimbabwe)

Tamara Matthews (ALERT USA)

Stephen McCormick (ALERT Zambia)

Dr. Charles Msipa (ALERT Zimbabwe - Chairman)

Clive Needham (ALERT UK - Chairman)

Samuel Ralph Pecker (ALERT Zambia)

Paul Quirk (ALERT UK)

David Scott (ALERT Zambia - Chairman, ALERT Zimbabwe)

Mark Veale (ALERT UK)

Lisa Walker (ALERT UK)

Gary Wadey (ALERT Zambia)

Our Executive Committee

Dr. Norman Monks, Chief Executive Officer - Norman holds an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent in Canterbury, a Certificate in Industrial Environmental Management from Rhodes University, as well as a Doctorate in Wildlife Management from the University of the Free State.

Norman’s MSc research study was entitled “The Population Status, Diurnal Activity Patterns, Range and Territory Size, and Habitat Use by the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kyle Recreational Park, Zimbabwe”. His PhD study on lions was entitled “The Demography and Population Status of Lions (Panthera leo) in the Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.”

Norman’s 36 years of experience of working for the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority has included the management of the Authority’s Game Ranching Research Unit, Gonarezhou National Park, and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Mana Pools National Park and Matopos National Park. He has overseen all aspects of management including tourism, law enforcement, conservation, research and administration. Norman is a member of the African Lion Working Group and IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group.

In 2003 Norman was presented with the “Researcher of the Year” award by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and in 2005 he was awarded the “Conservationist of the Year” award by the Conservation division of Safari Club International for his conservation and management contribution during his long career in the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe.

Dr. Jacqueline Abell, Director of Research - Jackie joined ALERT in 2013 having volunteered and interned with ALERT several times during the preceding years. Jackie has graduated with an MA (Hons) from Dundee University, an MSc from Lancaster University, a second MSc in Animal Behaviour from Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as a Doctorate in Philosophy/Psychology from Loughborough University. Jackie brings multi-disciplinary experience to conservation that we believe is vital in ensuring that our programs achieve the greatest likelihood of success. Jackie is currently affiliated with Coventry University and is a member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group.

David Youldon, Director - David joined ALERT in October 2006, at which time nothing more existed of the charity except the name and a broad concept. Since then David has overseen the growth of ALERT year on year in terms of; the breadth and depth of our programs, our funding levels, support within the conservation ‘industry’, and global reach in raising awareness of the need for urgent action to ensure a secure future for Africa’s lions.

In 2009 and 2010 David presented and co-produced two series about our work for ITV in the UK; Lion Country continues to broadcast worldwide to huge audiences. David has also filmed for other TV networks about our work, including the BBC. In 2010 David was awarded the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Personality of the Year Award for conservation and environmental contributions to the industry.

David is a graduate of Ealing and Warnborough Colleges (including achieving an Advanced Cert. in Wildlife Management), has studied with Oxford University, and is currently affiliated with Edinburgh University where he is completing his Masters in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health. He is a member of both the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding & Reintroduction Specialist Groups.

www.lionalert.org info@lionalert.org

African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (UK) c/o LJ Capital Limited

9 Clifford Street London

W1S 2FT United Kingdom

UK Charity Commission Number: 1120572

African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (USA)

c/o William D Evers 1725 Clay Street STE 100

San Francisco CA 94109-8805

501 (c)3 status with EIN: 45-3782687 Public charity status: 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (Zambia)

c/o 3/J/297A Leopards Hill Road P.O. Box 32322

Lusaka Zambia

Zambia Charity Registration Number: ORS/102/35/3583

African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (Zimbabwe)

c/o Shop 8, Bata Building Livingstone Way

Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Protocol No 68: MA82/2008