Our rainforest conservation projects in Mufindi, although run independently of the Children’s Village funding and programmes, are part and parcel of the future wellbeing of this community. Conservation and protection of forests means increased security for water supplies and native species to the long-term benefit of our region and indeed the whole nation climate change, population growth, potentially damaging agricultural practices are all long term challenges which we have to face. Far sighted measures undertaken now can hopefully minimise habitat loss and educate the local population in the benefits of conservation to secure the future for all.

“Mwagusi Safari Camp supports the Foxes’ Community and Wildlife Conservation Trust (FCWCT), a grassroots initiative of the Fox Family. The initiative aims at addressing multifaceted components of poverty and the environment. We have already removed well over 11000 snares and so far, planted 30000 locally indigenous forest trees (as at end of 2019). The project currently focuses on the facilitation of ongoing ecological monitoring by deploying locally trained anti-poaching units into the scarp forests of Mufindi. Venturing into the forests from four forward operating bases, patrol teams are adept at monitoring both human activities/impacts and the presence/absence of native wildlife. A heavy focus lies in the removal of snares and traps used in illegal poaching activities. Spatiotemporal data concerning illegal human activity and occurrence data of several mammal species are collected daily by patrol teams, contributing to a data inventory which may reveal annual trends in forest resource consumption (illegal human activity) and provides insight into the population dynamics of wildlife species. Ongoing monitoring provides a strong baseline for appropriate law enforcement and forest management practices; safeguarding the ecological and economic values that these forests yield to local communities and stakeholders.”

photo credit:Wilderness-Guardian-Project-Book