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Notes to broadcasters on poaching:

In many regions of Africa, humans and wildlife live in close proximity. This can lead to conflict, as each species does what comes naturally to survive. Humans kill animals for food, while large animals such as elephants can be a threat to crops and human life. In this story from Zambia, humans are killing wild animals to eat or sell their meat. But if humans kill endangered or protected animals, they can be prosecuted for poaching.

Ensuring that humans and wild animals can survive alongside each other is a complicated task. For more information on COMACO’s work, refer to their website: http://www.itswild.org/ [1].

Recent media items on the topic include:
-A short item on how the population of large mammals in Africa’s game parks has dropped:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66C3LC20100713 [2]

-The UN Food and Agriculture Organization announced that they are testing their Human-Wildlife Conflict Toolkit in southern Africa. The toolkit describes various methods to help resolve, prevent and mitigate the growing problem of conflict between humans and wild animals. For more information, see: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/44027/icode/ [3].

The toolkit can be downloaded in sections or as a whole document here: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1048e/i1048e00.htm [4].

To learn how chilies and bees can be used to protect farmers’ fields, visit the following websites:
-Elephant Pepper Development Trust: http://www.elephantpepper.org/index.html
-Elephants and Bees Research: http://www.elephantsandbees.com/Lucy_King/Welcome.html [5]

Here are some previous Farm Radio Weekly stories on this topic:
– “Chilies are a harmless ’weapon’ against intruding elephants [6]” (FRW #105, March 2010)
-“Kenya: ‘Beehive fence’ can keep elephants away from crops [7]” (FRW #86, November 2009)
-“Africa: Tiny but powerful – bees and chilies can keep elephants away from crops [8]” (FRW #1, December 2007)

Wildlife attracts tourists, who spend money. Yet this money goes to tour companies, governments and hotels, while local communities do not often benefit. Farmers will protect their homes and crops from wildlife in any way they can, especially when they do not benefit from tourism or conservation efforts. You could host a discussion show addressing the issue of conservation, tourism, and potential conflicts with farmers’ interests and priorities.

-What should be the national priority – safeguarding farmers’ interests or developing wildlife tourism?
-Are there local initiatives to address these issues?
-Are there local cases of human/wildlife conflict? How were these managed? How were they reported?
-How do farmers view wildlife and conservation initiatives?