Elephant and Rhino Protection in Tanzania

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) was established in 1959 as a multiple land-use area, with wildlife coexisting alongside semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists who practice traditional livestock grazing. NCA is of global importance for biodiversity conservation due to the presence of globally threatened species, the density of wildlife inhabiting the area, and the annual migration of wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and other animals into the northern plains.

NCA is one of the last remaining strongholds for critically endangered black rhinos. It also supports a healthy population of elephants, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining large tuskers.

Key wildlife corridors link NCA with Lake Manyara National Park, Marang Forest and Lake Eyasi. These corridors are particularly important for elephant movement. However, these corridors are under severe threat due to human habitation and agriculture, and as a result migration may soon be impossible. In addition, elephants opportunistically raid crops, presenting a huge threat to farmers’ livelihoods and well-being. Consequently, the area is a high conflict zone between elephants and farmers, which can result in the death of people and of elephants.

The project aims to help safeguard wildlife in the greater Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), in particular with regards to rhino and elephant.

The project will be achieved by:

• Ensuring the presence and maintenance of a good informer network in order to gather good intelligence for NCA law enforcement action
• Maintaining the vehicles used by law enforcement to be able to operate in a timely manner.
• Ensuring the integrity of a critical wildlife migratory corridor linking NCA with Lake Manyara National Park
• Promoting human-elephant coexistence along the corridor and boundaries of the park

•  Funding 35 trackers to keep an eye out for rhino and elephant and their tracks, and report their presence to NCA law enforcement.
• Maintining  vehicle fleet operational by providing proper maintenance and spare parts
•  Monitoring  wildlife and human-wildlife conflict in and around the corridor areas
•  Building chili fences and providing capacity building training to farmers to improve coexistence between humans and wildlife

• A stable or increasing elephant and rhino population
• Rhino and elephant protection teams able to proactively react before an incident
• Rhino and elephant protection teams are operational
• Rhino and elephant protection vehicles are maintained and operational
• Decresing number of poaching incidents in the corridor
• Decreasing number of  farms and human settlements builtdown in the corridor
• Decresing number of human and wildlife conflicts incident in the corridor
• Decreasing number of elephants killed as a result of conflict/revenge
• Decreasing number of humans killed or injured as a result of conflict