Themes

Women's Issues

More than 400 local women in the Niassa National Reserve have received an income from collecting and cleaning local grasses that are used to thatch the buildings in a nearby village. Niassa Lion Project has ensured these women have an ongoing livelihood.

Okapi Conservation Project provides sewing machines and fabric to women, who are able to sell the clothing they make in local markets and secure contracts to sew and deliver children’s uniforms to local schools. They also train and hire female rangers to patrol the Okapi National Reserve. These programs and other organized Women’s Groups instill economic selfreliance for local women.

Education

WCN partners, including Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Ewaso Lions, and Painted Dog Conservation, host environmental education “bush camps” for local primary and secondary aged children. These camps foster long-term conservation values and use outdoor classroom and hands-on learning experiences to cultivate a new generation of wildlife ambassadors.

Grevy’s Zebra Trust provides secondary school scholarships to promising students from local communities.

Health

Andean Cat Alliance breeds, trains, and places livestock guardian dogs with local community members who are experiencing predator threats to their livestock.

Cheetah Conservation Botswana supports a network of over 100 active livestock guard dog owners who receive newsletters, free veterinary care for their dogs, and recent research to help them better protect their livestock from predators.

Operating under their ‘One Health’ approach, the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program vaccinates thousands of stray and domestic dogs every year against rabies and canine distemper. They also tested and piloted the first oral rabies vaccinations among feral dogs.