Southern African Conservation Trust (SACT) has partnered with Cheetah Conservation Project Zimbabwe (CCPZ) in efforts to conserve the rapidly declining cheetah population in Zimbabwe. CCPZ is part of the wider Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme (WildCRU, University of Oxford) and the aim of this project is to help conserve cheetahs through applied research, education, collaboration and capacity building.
Dr Lovemore Sibanda, the project director and principal researcher, expressed gratitude to the SACT board for their generous support and mentioned that the collaboration will go a long way safeguarding a charismatic species increasingly threatened with extinction.
Cheetahs are under great threat across the globe and Zimbabwe is one of the few remaining population strongholds. Habitat loss and negative interactions with humans are major threats to populations in the wild.
Over the last two decades, cheetah populations in Zimbabwe have reduced by almost 90% and latest population estimates conducted in 2015 suggest there are between 150-170 cheetahs remaining across Zimbabwe. The need for action to safeguard them from becoming extinct is urgent.
In order to protect them better, the new partnership with SACT seeks to increase awareness of conservation requirements for cheetahs in Zimbabwe by respectfully engaging local communities (including school children) living alongside the wildlife in promoting cheetah-friendly environments.
Specifically, the funding from SACT will be used to develop a schools and community-based education programme to raise awareness of the current state of cheetah populations in the country. In the very near future, a comic booklet (Vusa the cheetah guardian) aimed at educating young children about the plight of cheetahs in Zimbabwe and beyond will be launched.
SACT’s continued presence and support (financial and product sponsorship) in 2020/2021, on conservation work in and around HWANGE NATIONAL PARK, extends to include animal welfare projects , SOFT FOOT ALLIANCE and DART- the removal wire /cable snares from injured animals, and medical insurance protection for scouts/anti-poaching units deployed by DART /CONSERVATION WILDLIFE FUND /BHEJANE TRUST /and soon to include SCORPIONS ANTI -POACHING UNIT, patrolling in and around HWANGE NATIONAL PARK .
Commenting on this , BRIAN COURTENAY, chairperson of SACT (formerly known as SATIB CONSERVATION TRUST ) said, ”2019 /2020 have seen very challenging times for all NGOs, with drastically reduced donor funding due to economics caused by the pandemic, so I am delighted to announce our slow and limited funding going forward, on specific approved projects as listed above , and as the economic climate recovers, so we will hopefully ramp up our involvement in this area! SACT has a long and successful history of supporting projects in/around HWANGE dating back to early 2000! We are also delighted to renew our long-time association with WILDCRU /OXFORD UNIVERSITY on this new cheetah conservation initiative.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
BRIAN COURTENAY, SACT email: bcourtenay@satibtrust.com
