This content was originally posted on Forests News, and is the first in a three-part series examining how communities and researchers are tracking biodiversity across Papua New Guinea’s Managalas Plateau.
29 Jun. 2026 — In a forest clearing in the Managalas Conservation Area (MCA) in Papua New Guinea’s Oro Province, a plushie penguin in a toy car rolls slowly across the red dirt. A camera clicks nearby, and a group of people cheer.
The scenario is not some kids’ game, but an experiment that forms part of an important and complex project: mapping the biodiversity of the Managalas Plateau.
On this day, a group of freshly minted Biodiversity Team Leaders — local young people trained to track the Plateau’s flora and fauna — are working with scientists from the Landscape Alliance to set up camera traps and acoustic monitoring devices.
The Sunday-driving penguin is there to help the group work out how large animals need to be to trigger the cameras, and at what angle they should be set up to get the best data.
The gritty practicalities of monitoring biodiversity in Managalas are manifold, involving epic jungle journeys, vast volumes of data and diverse methods ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to eDNA.
Gabriel Leite (right) shows BTLs how to set up camera traps. Photo by Russell Wai / Landscape AllianceBiodiversity Team Leaders set up a sound recorder. Photo by Russell Wai / Landscape Alliance
But first, we need to look at the bigger picture: why bother?
To make a meaningful management plan for the Plateau, clan groups must know as much as possible about what’s living where, whether that’s changing and why and how the community can manage the landscape for multiple benefits. This is the current task of Managalas’ 152 clans, local NGO Managalas Conservation Foundation (MCF) and EU-funded partners Landscape Alliance. Such information is especially crucial as the partners look toward sustainable financing options such as biodiversity credits, which rely on decent sets of baseline data.
“There is a lot of conservation value in the wider landscape,” said Landscape Alliance ecologist Rhett Harrison, who was involved in the 2025 onsite monitoring activities. “We’ve been finding clues that Managalas is really up there in being one of the top diverse rainforests in the world.”
The Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement (IRAD) in Yaoundé, Cameroon hosted a two-and-a-half-day facilitation training organised by the University of Oxford on how to design and run multi-stakeholder workshops.
The training brought together members of two complementary initiatives working at the frontline of sustainable wildlife management in Central Africa: the Central Africa Bushmeat Research Into Policy (CA-BRIP) network and the Operation Pangolin project.
Participants of the facilitator’s training workshop pose for a group picture. Photo provided by Juliet Wright
Why facilitation training — and why now?
Translating research into policy and practice requires more than just good science. It requires inclusive, well-designed processes that bring together researchers, government officials, NGOs, and local communities, moving them from dialogue to decision.
This is particularly true in the Central African context, where wild meat (also known as bushmeat) represents a deeply complex conservation and development challenge: millions of people depend on wild meat for food and livelihoods, while unsustainable hunting threatens dozens of species and the ecological balance of the Congo Basin.
CA-BRIP was created precisely to bridge this science-policy gap. Established with funding from the UK Government through the Darwin Initiative, and building on collaborations established as part of the UKRI GCRF TRADE Hub, the SNAPP Partnership and the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, this expert group brings together an expanding network of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Gabon. It functions as a regional community of practice, providing national decision-makers with robust, context-specific evidence to inform strategies on wild meat use and governance. When governments request, CA-BRIP delivers targeted analyses, synthesizes available data, and supports national workshops aimed at drafting, discussing, and validating wild meat policy instruments.
Operation Pangolin — an initiative led by Florida International University in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and other partners — similarly works to generate data that can inform conservation strategies for pangolins in Central Africa. Their Social-Ecological Systems (SES) team works in partnership with diverse stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples, local communities, NGOs and government agencies, to feed in-depth research into innovative conservation solutions.
Meeting the demand for multi-stakeholder action on wild meat and wildlife trade requires skilled facilitators capable of managing diverse perspectives and co-designing change processes.
Natasha Walker leads an exercise with participants.
The training
The facilitation training was delivered by Natasha Walker, a change and communication consultant with international experience designing participatory processes for companies, governments, and civil society organisations. The training covered the core principles of facilitation and developing a facilitator mindset, and enabled participants to learn by actively practicing their facilitation skills and receiving peer feedback. The CA-BRIP and Operation Pangolin teams then created concrete facilitation plans for their own upcoming workshops.
Sixteen participants from nine non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutes and government departments benefited from the training. Some individuals travelled to Cameroon from DRC, Gabon and the UK. They all left with practical tools for running participatory workshops, a strengthened understanding of how process design shapes outcomes, and individual feedback on their facilitation strengths and areas for growth.
What’s next?
Good science and good evidence are necessary but not sufficient for sustainable wildlife management. They need to be embedded in participatory processes that bring decision-makers, communities, and practitioners into genuine dialogue. The training delivered at IRAD in Yaoundé was a direct investment in that capacity.
With CA-BRIP members and the Operation Pangolin team now equipped with stronger facilitation skills, the coming months will see these capabilities put to work in real stakeholder workshops — advancing the shared goal of securing sustainable, equitable, and culturally respectful wildlife management across Central Africa.
Acknowledgements
The facilitation training workshop in Cameroon was organised by the University of Oxford, IRAD, ZSL and Collective Action to Save our Environment (CASE) in collaboration with other CA-BRIP member organisations. The training was funded by Research England through an International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant for Official Development Assistance (ODA) awarded to the University of Oxford. We also acknowledge the financial support provided to CA-BRIP by the UK Government through the Darwin Initiative and from the European Union through the SWM Programme. The CA-BRIP network is coordinated by IRAD in Cameroon, the Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET) in Gabon, and the Ecole Régionale Post-universitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT) in DRC, with technical support from Landscape Alliance and the University of Oxford. For Operation Pangolin, we acknowledge financial support from Allen Family Philanthropies.
Pig for the feast, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Photo by Aulia Erlangga/Landscape Alliance
By Daniella Silva
13 May 2026 — A new research community calls for more interdisciplinary and systems-informed research
“In the forests of the Congo Basin, a man is checking a wire snare before dawn. What he brings home tonight may be the only animal protein his family eats this week.
[At the same time], in the markets of Kinshasa, a woman is paying a premium for smoked antelope because it is what her mother served and her mother’s mother before her.
And somewhere in a conference room, a conservationist is arguing that both of these people are driving a species to extinction.
All three of them are right,” said Robert Nasi, Director of Science at Landscape Alliance, at the first Wild Meat Dialogues webinar for Asia and the Pacific. Although these examples come from Africa, the discussions showed how they are representative of the complex social and ecological drivers of wild meat use globally.
The Wild Meat Dialogues is an initiative of the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme that aims to build a community in Asia-Pacific around regional wild meat research, closing knowledge gaps and contributing to better informed policies and community-based wildlife management.
The first session asked, “why are we here?” and laid out the rationale for more collaborative research and practice on this topic.
Wild meat sits at the intersection of a plethora of issues including biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, zoonotic disease risks and food security and nutrition.
A global survey found an estimated 150 million households in the global south harvest wild meat for essential daily protein, income and micronutrients such as iron and zinc for rural populations. But overexploitation, driven by increased demand for wild meat, habitat loss and climate change, are contributing to “empty forests” that look healthy from above but are functionally dead, stripped of their vertebrate populations.
Understanding wild meat value chains and trends provides valuable insights to communities and governments about how to sustainably, equitably and safely manage wildlife and monitor changes in the ecosystem.
“[In Asia and the Pacific] we don’t yet have a clear regional picture of how wild meat value chains function, what their impacts are, and what the greatest risks and opportunities are,” said Manon Mispiratceguy, FAO Regional Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, in her opening address.
The knowledge gaps in Asia and the Pacific are particularly important to address because of the region’s high biodiversity, high hunting rates, and extensive wildlife trade networks. There have also been several zoonotic disease outbreaks in the last couple decades linked with wild meat use.
Jasmine Willis, PhD scholar at University of Oxford and researcher at Landscape Alliance, shone some light on these gaps, presenting findings from a systematic mapping exercise she and her colleagues conducted to understand wild meat use in SE Asia between 2000-2023. They found:
A growing body of research: Research on wild meat increased substantially around 2019-20, with publications peaking in 2021.
Research efforts are uneven: A high number of studies focused on Vietnam and Indonesia, while the least researched countries were Singapore, Brunei, Timor Leste with one study each.
A greater focus on “what” rather than “why”: Most studies from the region are descriptive, documenting quantity, hunting frequency and wild meat prices. There is less research available on social drivers, effectiveness of behavioral interventions, zoonotic disease mitigation, and taboos or decision processes that shape wild meat trade and consumption.
Few studies used mixed methods or interdisciplinary approaches
The ongoing gaps in location-specific data and social drivers matter: Policies that move forward without a good understanding of the way that social and ecological systems interact, or which are not grounded in context-appropriate research risk failure. Willis and the other presenters recommended moving beyond descriptive research to interdisciplinary and systems-based research that closes knowledge gaps and improves effective policy interventions.
First session of the Wild Meat Dialogues webinar.
Case studies: Zoonotic risks, flying foxes and subsistence hunting
Following the framing presentations, Kim Sookee, a forest and biodiversity intern at FAO moderated three lightning talks from Vietnam, New Caledonia and Papua and a panel discussion.
In Vietnam, Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Hoang Thuy, described the ongoing challenges in mapping the wild meat value chain and the zoonotic risk involved in these supply chains. While they have tracked wild meat and pet trade via online posts, they have not yet been able to measure the volume of wild meat going straight to restaurants and are planning more community-based research to close this gap. Echoing Willis’s earlier presentation, she noted that they need more data on the socio-ecological drivers of wild meat trade in the country.
Malik Oedin, Chief District Forest Officer and President at Guardiens des Iles, focused his talk on flying foxes in New Caledonia, where their meat is considered both a delicacy and an important part of Indigenous ceremonies. In some cases, communities also use the bones and hair of flying foxes as a form of currency. Hunting has become unsustainable, however, and the population of flying foxes is decreasing. Oedin and his team are training environmental services staff and consulting with communities, poachers, government ministers and other stakeholders to forge sustainable futures for this species.
Meanwhile overexploitation of wild meat has not yet become a problem in Papua, according to Freddy Pattiselanno, Head of the Institute of Research and Community Services at the Universitas Papua, Indonesia. Almost all consumption and trade are for subsistence, and there are strong traditional norms for sustainable use.
Next steps
The first Wild Meat Dialogues session was only an introduction. To continue answering the question of what we do and don’t know about wild meat in Asia and the Pacific, future dialogues will move from understanding the context, to identifying solutions, existing tools, and connecting research to policy.
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland ecosystems. It is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects are being piloted and tested with governments and communities in 16 participating countries. The initiative is coordinated by a dynamic consortium of four partners, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with Landscape Alliance (formely known as the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Field agents receive hands-on training in camera trap installation and biodiversity monitoring during a WildMon workshop in Cameroon’s Mintom landscape. Photo by WildMon.
This content was originally posted on Forests News
8 Jun. 2026 — Southern Cameroon’s Mintom landscape is a stronghold for biodiversity in Central Africa. This vast tropical forest supports a remarkable variety of life, from forest elephants and great apes to pangolins, blue duikers, frogs and countless other species. Yet this ecological richness faces growing pressure from human activities. Unregulated hunting, habitat fragmentation, agricultural encroachment, illegal mining and infrastructure development are accelerating the erosion of wildlife populations and ecosystem health.
In response, the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme is implementing a comprehensive biodiversity assessment across the Mintom landscape. This initiative is designed to do more than record declines; it aims to generate robust, site-specific data that informs conservation priorities, guides sustainable management practices and lays the foundation for new forms of biodiversity financing.
Laying the foundation for biodiversity financing
The SWM Programme team has adopted a three-stage assessment framework that integrates ecological research, community knowledge and spatial analysis. The first stage frames the system, defining what is being monitored, the scale and scope of measurement, and the potential application of results to conservation credit systems. The framing stage also establishes timelines, sets site-based targets, and determines how value might be attributed to different areas or species. For example, tiered credit systems linked to ecological importance can help determine value.
The broader goal of this work is not only to inform conservation strategies in Mintom but to build the methodological foundation for biodiversity crediting — a system in which conservation outcomes can be verified, valued, and potentially financed. As global interest in biodiversity markets continues to grow, the demand for credible, science-based metrics will only increase. The approach being developed in Mintom offers a model that is ecologically rigorous, locally relevant, and adaptable across different ecological and cultural contexts.
The camera trapping and analysis at SWM Programme sites in Cameroon were carried out in partnership with Map of Life and WildMon. Acoustic monitoring, camera trap monitoring, and AI analysis are provided through Wildmon, while Map of Life Solutions facilitates the eDNA sampling, lab processing, and data integration to produce species distribution models that power standardized metrics.
WildMon is a nonprofit organization led by global experts in ecology and conservation technology. By combining biodiversity data from tools such as ecoacoustics and camera traps with AI-powered analysis, WildMon turns ecological information into practical insights for conservation. Its tools and services help reduce technical barriers and support the people and organizations closest to nature, strengthening their ability to autonomously monitor and safeguard biodiversity.
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland ecosystems. It is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects are being piloted and tested with governments and communities in 16 participating countries. The initiative is coordinated by a dynamic consortium of four partners, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with Landscape Alliance (formely known as the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Yellow-spotted river turtle hatchling. Photo by Luke McKenna/FAO
May 2026 — Between 2021 and 2025, community-led conservation efforts in the Rumpununi region, Guyana, rescued and hatched more than 18,000 freshwater turtle eggs.
This accomplishment is thanks to a partnership between the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, the South Rumpununi Conservation Conservation Society, Caiman House and 26 Indigenous communities.
Since launching, the initiative has employed 123 rangers and engaged five local communities across 131 beaches.
Why it matters
The Rumpununi region in Guyana has experienced rapid declines in freshwater turtle populations due to climate impacts (flooding), the pet trade and overharvesting for wild meat. Several of the six turtle species are at increased risk of extinction, including the giant South American river turtle (Podocnemis expansa) and the yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis).
The community-led conservation efforts in Guyana give river turtles a fighting chance, protecting the eggs and caring for them until they hatch and can be released back into the wild. The team is also engaging in environmental education efforts to raise awareness with children and teens.
In 2025, the SWM Programme published The Rupununi Freshwater Turtle Management Plan, which outlines six coordinated management options for local communities and other stakeholders: i) in situ nest protection; ii) next relocation and head-starting; iii) research; iv) environmental education, v) behaviour change and awareness raising; and vi) rules and guidelines.
With the SWM Guyana ending this year, the partners hope that the efforts for turtle conservation will continue long into the future.
Acknowledgements
The SWM Programme in Guyana is implemented by the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission in coordination with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland ecosystems. It is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects are being piloted and tested with governments and communities in 16 participating countries. The initiative is coordinated by a dynamic consortium of four partners, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
A woman in Southern Cameroon prepares dinner with freshly hunted wild meat. Photo: Vivian Anogo/CIFOR-ICRAF
Jun. 2026 — A new case study from southern Cameroon shows how working alongside communities can result in increased awareness of zoonotic diseases and safer wild meat handling practices.
The projects’ One Health approach recognizes that human health is inseparable from the health of animals, plants and the wider ecosystem. By working with hunters and other community members to develop safer practices, scientists and health workers become allies for those who depend on wild meat for food and income.
Proof of concept
Over a two-year period, researchers conducted surveys, interviews and focus groups to understand what communities knew about the risks of becoming sick from handling wild meat and how to avoid zoonotic disease transmission. The results from 2,400 people across 44 villages were alarming: fewer than 15% of households were concerned about catching diseases from infected animals and only 6% reported washing cutting surfaces with soap after cutting meat.
A hunger scans the canopy in southern Cameroon. Photo by Vivian Anogo/CIFOR-ICRAFA hunter poses next to his traditional kinga. Photo by Vivian Anogo / CIFOR-ICRAF
In response, scientists revisited communities to share their findings and organized a “co-creation” workshop with eight villages to develop safer wild-meat handling practices. Community members recommended:
Raising awareness via local radio and community loudspeakers
Creating printed ‘image boxes’ with captions that could visually communicate key messages
Training teachers to educate students on safe practices
Holding a kinga design contest with hunters, focusing on designs that could better protect against contact with animal blood and fluids while improving comfort for long distances. Winning designs are now being tested and refined.
Project partners followed up on communities’ suggestions, helping to raise awareness for safe wild meat handling practices via local radio broadcasts and community loudspeakers. Photo by Vivian Anogo / CIFOR-ICRAFAs part of the project, hunters and food handlers were recommended to wash their hands after any food manipulations. Photo byby Vivian Anogo / CIFOR-ICRAFA hunter in the forest carries his booty on his kinga. Photo by Vivian Anogo / CIFOR-ICRAFPrinted visuals with captions were designed to effectively convey key messages. Photo by Vivian Anogo / CIFOR-ICRAF
These actions had a positive effect: a follow-up survey showed concern about zoonotic disease transmission had increased from 7% to 46%, and handwashing after handling wild meat rose from 41% to 65%.
Researchers attributed this success to the One Health approach, which respected communities’ reliance on hunting, rather than trying to stop it.
The full case study, including group discussion questions, supplementary materials and further reading, is now available in the CABI Digital Library.
The case study in this article comes from the project, Mitigating Risks of Disease Transmission in the Wild Meat Food Chain from Forest to Fork in Cameroon, which was funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation GmbH, Deutsche fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as support to the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade. Additional funding was provided from United States Agency for International Development ‘s Forestry and Biodiversity Office.
This content was originally posted on Forests News
The Philippines is home to one of the world’s largest and most powerful forest raptors: the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). However, over the past decades, the species has been edged closer to extinction. Through one of its newest projects in the Philippines, Landscape Alliance and its partners are reinforcing why biodiversity conservation requires seeing beyond a single species and its habitat and working with the people who live alongside them.
What makes the Philippine eagle valuable?
Endemic to the Philippines, the Philippine eagle is a rare bird species that lives in forests up to 2,000 metres above sea level, often in steep terrain. It usually builds its nests in large, towering native dipterocarp trees, such as white lauan (Shorea contorta). It can also sometimes be seen in secondary growth and riparian forests, though not in open-canopy forests, where the risk of conflict with people may be higher. Its usual prey include monitor lizards, snakes, bats, palm civets and monkeys, which are also commonly found in these forests.
The raptor is also considered an ‘umbrella species’ because of its large habitat needs. Protecting the Philippine eagle also helps protect smaller, less-mobile species that share its habitat. As an apex predator, meaning it sits at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators of its own, it helps prevent some prey species from becoming too abundant, helping maintain balance in forest ecosystems. This makes the Philippine eagle a flagship species for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines.
Conserving the Philippine eagle means protecting its habitat, including by rebuilding forests with native tree species. In return, healthy forests support more stable ecosystems.
Officially declared the Philippines’ national bird under Proclamation No. 615, the Philippine eagle is valued for its ecological role and as part of the country’s cultural and biological heritage.
Nature’s Neighbours is a four-year project (2025–2029) funded by the United Kingdom Biodiversity Conservation Fund through the Darwin Initiative. Implemented by Landscape Alliance (formerly CIFOR-ICRAF) in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Philippine Eagle Foundation, the project supports sustainable coexistence between Indigenous Peoples and the Philippine eagle in San Fernando Municipality, Bukidnon Province, Philippines. For more information, visit https://www.cifor-icraf.org/project/naturesneighbors/.
This content was originally posted on Forests News
22 May 2026 — In the lush, biodiverse forests of southeastern Cameroon, conservation is not just a technical challenge — it is a cultural, ecological and historical negotiation. At the centre of this negotiation is local knowledge, passed down through generations of people whose lives are closely tied to the land and the animals it harbours.
The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme in Cameroon works directly with these communities through a community-rights-based approach that brings together science, traditional knowledge and community rights, resulting in stronger natural resource management. At the heart of the programme’s operations is Robert Okale, the project’s field coordinator and long-time para-ecologist.
“It’s very important to work with local communities because they are both the primary beneficiaries and, equally, the first victims of environmental challenges,” said Okale. “As researchers and technical experts, we bring scientific knowledge, but river communities hold practical and traditional knowledge. That’s why it’s essential to involve them in our work.”
Known affectionately by colleagues and community members as Petit Robert — a nickname that belies both his physical stature and his outsized role in the project — Okale brings decades of field experience. His deep familiarity with the region’s flora and fauna is matched only by his enduring relationships with Bantu and Baka communities across the forest landscape.
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland ecosystems. It is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects are being piloted and tested with governments and communities in 16 participating countries. The initiative is coordinated by a dynamic consortium of four partners, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with Landscape Alliance (formely known as the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Apr. 2026 — A three-day field visit to Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme sites in Zambia offered a World Bank delegation more than presentations and meetings. From the fish ponds in Nyawa that are farmed by the Sianyongo Fish Farming Cooperative (SFFC) to the fresh, sweet honey harvests of the Lushomo Beekeeping Cooperative, participants saw firsthand how community conservation is creating livelihood opportunities in southern Zambia.
The main purpose of the visit was the launch of the World-Bank funded Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD II) Project on 14 April 2026, which has identified Kazungula as a key area for upscaling community driven development initiatives. But beyond the official launch, the visit became an opportunity to showcase the growing work and impact of the SWM Programme.
The journey kicked off at the SFFC in Nyawa Chiefdom where community members shared how fish farming is helping households improve nutrition and earn income. Around the ponds, conversations quickly turned from fish production to the bigger picture involving reducing pressure on wildlife and creating sustainable livelihood options.
“Community-led enterprises are central to the long-term success of conservation,” said Lauren Coad, Principal Investigator for the SWM Programme at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), during the visit. “When communities can generate income from sustainable activities such as fish farming and beekeeping, it reduces pressure on wildlife while strengthening local food systems.”
Tour of the Sianyongo Fish Farming Cooperative site. Photo: CIFOR-ICRAF/Zambia
The delegation later made its way to the Lushomo Beekeeping Cooperative, where members proudly treated guests to freshly harvested honey. The relaxed stop gave the delegation a chance to hear from community members about how beekeeping is supporting household incomes while encouraging communities to protect forests and natural habitats.
The SWM Programme promotes fish farming and beekeeping as alternatives to growing concerns over unsustainable hunting, which continues to threaten wildlife populations globally. For many rural households, these community conservation enterprises are becoming important sources of food, income, and resilience.
“What we are seeing in Nyawa is proof that conservation and development can move together,” said Coad. “Healthy ecosystems support healthy livelihoods.”
Freshly harvested honey from the Lushomo Beekeeping Cooperative. Photo: CIFOR-ICRAF/ZambiaTour of the Sianyongo Fish Farming Cooperative site. Photo: CIFOR-ICRAF/Zambia
The visit also included technical coordination meetings led by SWM Programme Site Coordinator, Griffin Shanungu, Community Liason, Matthew Munsanda, and Social Safeguards Consultant, Daniel Phiri, who monitors ongoing programme activities with local cooperatives. Although limited time prevented the delegation from visiting the community spray race initiative, the team presented CIFOR-ICRAF’s broader work under the SWM Programme and COLANDS initiative in Livingstone at the end of the field visit.
Throughout the three days, the CIFOR-ICRAF team distributed brochures, factsheets, and programme impact materials, ensuring stakeholders gained a deeper understanding of the programme’s footprint in Zambia.
TRALARD II Team Leader Ambroise Brenier (left) and CIFOR-ICRAF Country Coordinator, Maimbo Malesu (right) during SFFC tour. Photo: CIFOR-ICRAF/Zambia
Acknowledgements
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah and wetland ecosystems. It is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Projects are being piloted and tested with governments and communities in 16 participating countries. The initiative is coordinated by a dynamic consortium of four partners, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Two forest areas, both in good condition by standard measures, showed dramatically different results. One had high densities of orangutan nests (the proxy the scientists used to determine population sizes for the notoriously elusive animals). The other had none.
The biologists on the team were befuddled. But their anthropologist colleagues had a hypothesis. “They told us that in the forest with a lot of orangutan nests — in the Iban Dayak [local Indigenous group] area — there was a strong traditional knowledge system applied by the local communities,” says Yuliani.
“They have a number of very well-known folktales that encourage people to protect the animals, and support strong norms and taboos about not disturbing orangutans.”
