CONSERVING ZAMBIA S GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT ELEPHANT POPULATION IN THE SOUTH LUANGWA VALLEY THROUGH SPECIALIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES AND COLLABORATIVE HUMAN-WILDLIFE COEXISTENCE INTERVENTIONS.

THE SOUTH LUANGWA NATIONAL PARK (SLNP) IS ZAMBIAS PREMIERE WILDLIFE TOURISM DESTINATION, AND THE LUANGWA VALLEY SUPPORTS THE COUNTRYS LARGEST AND MOST STABLE POPULATIONS OF ELEPHANTS (80% - 14,000) AND LIONS (ESTIMATED AT 700, ONE OF 10 REMAINING CONTINENTAL STRONGHOLDS), THE COUNTRYS LARGEST POPULATION OF CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AFRICAN WILD DOGS (ESTIMATED AT 400) AND MOST OF THE COUNTRYS SIGNIFICANT POPULATIONS OF BIG GAME, INCLUDING HIPPOPOTAMUS, BUFFALO AND THE ENDEMIC THORNICROFTS GIRAFFE.

BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE, ABUNDANCE OF WILDLIFE AND GROWING HUMAN POPULATION ADJACENT TO THE PARK, THE SOUTH LUANGWA VALLEY (SLV) IS AN EPICENTRE FOR POACHING AND WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING.

THIS IS EXACERBATED BY ITS GEOGRAPHICAL PROXIMITY TO MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE, AND TANZANIA, MAKING THE SLV A KEY SOURCE AND TRANSIT ROUTE FOR ILLEGAL WILDLIFE PRODUCTS.

THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL WORK TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES BY ENHANCING CSLS CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE (DNPW) TO COMBAT POACHING AND FURTHER DEVELOP CSL HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT (HEC) MITIGATION INTERVENTIONS DESIGNED TO REDUCE RETALIATORY KILLING OF ELEPHANTS AND PROTECT COMMUNITY LIVELIHOODS.THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO SAFEGUARD THE AT-RISK ELEPHANT POPULATION OF THE SOUTH LUANGWA VALLEY.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO 1) REDUCE ELEPHA