USAID Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance

Kafue National Park and the surrounding game management areas form one of the largest conservation areas in the world. The Kafue landscape, which has the highest diversity of hoofed animals in the world, is vital to the livelihoods of local communities. However, poverty in these communities, combined with gaps in resource protection and management, have led to poaching, overfishing, unsustainable forest clearing, and destructive, out-of-control fires. Such ecological erosion not only threatens the future prosperity of communities in the area, but the entire ecosystem.

The USAID Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance works closely with government, private market sector actors, and community organizations to improve the protection and management of wildlife, forests, and fisheries in game management areas on the eastern part of the Kafue landscape. The Alliance uses integrated, market-driven approaches to improve the health, livelihood opportunities, and prosperity of approximately 200,000 people in local communities. 

GOALS 

goal one 

Strengthen and expand community-led and community-supported efforts to protect forests, fisheries, and wildlife. 

goal two 

Improve the health, livelihood opportunities, and prosperity of local communities through integrated, market-driven approaches.

goal three 

Support community-led development and implementation of natural resources management and land use plans to counter wildlife trafficking, forest degradation, and wildlife habitat loss.

KEY RESULTS FOR 2023 

• 179 law enforcement personnel were deployed to patrol Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance’s supported game management areas and conservancies. They apprehended 99 poachers, seized 1,253 kg of assorted game meat (hippo and antelopes), and confiscated 633 wire snares, 29 guns and 85 other weapons.
• Private sector partners 260 Brands, Good Nature Agro, Community Markets for Conservation, and Wuchi Wami signed memorandums of understanding to guarantee offtake for an aggregated 6,900 smallholder farming families in game management areas using organic or conservation practices to produce soybeans, cowpeas, groundnuts or honey.
• 50 volunteer community health workers were trained as safe motherhood group members. They improved maternal and child health awareness among the community members leading to 91 facility-based deliveries and 64 newborns receiving post-natal care in the first six days of their lives.