Fostering coexistence between people and wildlife during global crises – insights and learnings

On Tuesday 11 June, UK Aid Match grant holder ZSL held an event ‘Fostering coexistence between people and wildlife during global crises’ as part of their Science and Conservation series. They were joined by other UK Aid Match grant holders Ripple Effect, Tusk and WWF, who together shared highlights from their conservation projects and discussed important lessons to help shape future project design and implementation in this area.

Highlights from the projects

Since 2020, UK Aid Match grant holder ZSL has been supporting 4 communities in Kenya and Nepal to coexist with wildlife by increasing livelihood opportunities, building financial resilience and improving relationships with wildlife authorities. 

Climate change can have a devastating effect on people and wildlife living in these areas – drought and erratic rainfall can lead to poor harvests and livestock deaths, and the lack of water can cause animals to venture onto community land, destroying crops and killing people’s cattle, goats and chickens. This can bring communities and wildlife into conflict and worsens relations with protected area authorities.

ZSL trained nearly 300 people in human-wildlife conflict mitigation techniques, such as building predator-proof livestock enclosures. They also established community meetings with protected area and local government authorities, providing a safe space for expressing concerns and suggesting solutions to conflicts. Over 400 people are now active members of a community banking scheme, helping to increase household financial management, and another 400 people have been trained in new enterprises including vegetable farming, beekeeping and shopkeeping.

“I have learnt that the environment including trees are very beneficial to us. Even the way I relate with wildlife has changed. I now know they are of great benefit.”

A woman stood smiling while holding a goat

Photograph: A project participant with her goats

Ripple Effect and Tusk along with their partner Uganda Conservation Foundation, have recently completed a three-year ‘Living with wildlife’ project which supported people and wildlife to live side by side around Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. 

Similar to ZSL’s project, crises such as drought, flooding, and COVID-19 had an affect on project activities. Flooding displaced wildlife, like hippos, from their natural habitats, pushing them onto cultivated lands and increasing human-wildlife conflict. COVID-19 led to market closures, leaving farmers unable to sell their produce, and the disappearance of tourism collapsed the local economy, causing a spike in poaching within the park.

Despite these challenges, by the end of the project, 37,000 farmers had improved food security and livelihood opportunities. A further 260 young people benefited from apprenticeship and vocational courses, which were set up to provide alternative income from illegal activities such as poaching and fishing which can lead to more conflict. Community members and school children were offered trips to the park so they could learn the importance of protecting endangered species and advocate for the protection of wildlife in their respective villages.

“…After the park visit, I came back to my village and encouraged poachers to stop poaching wildlife. Three poachers have since stopped poaching after following my advice”.

WWF’s Land for Life project is improving the livelihoods and wellbeing of Maasai communities in Kenya and Northern Tanzania through sustainable enterprises, whilst protecting and recovering wildlife in critical corridors in the area.

Over the past few years, with the uncertainty of climate change and the rise of COVID-19, people were struggling to make a living with some resorting to unsustainable activities such as wildlife poaching, cutting down trees for firewood, and encroaching on important wildlife corridors. 

WWF and their partners African People & Wildlife and South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) are supporting 27,000 people to thrive with nature through community owned conservation. Maasai households transitioned from traditional corrals (enclosures for livestock) to predator-proof Living Walls which protect their livestock from carnivore attacks at night. These Living Walls involve planting Commiphora trees (or similar) in a circle around the perimeter of a livestock enclosure and secure with chain-link fencing.

Communities have been supported to understand sustainable rangeland management, learning to remove invasive plant species, allowing crucial habitats to regenerate. Further, the introduction of drought-tolerant sunflower cultivation and beekeeping has been successful in creating new economic opportunities.

“Nature has an amazing way of coming back, if you give it time and space”

A man stood infront of his living wall boma (trees and a natural fence)

Photograph: A Maasai community member stood next to his Living Wall

Key lessons and recommendations from UK Aid Match grant holders

Listen to the full event recording.

In May, Gem Clark, Fund Portfolio Manager for UK Aid Match, and Emma Hayward, Performance and Risk Manager for UK Aid Match travelled to Malawi to visit four grant holders: CBM Global, Sightsavers, UNICEF and World Child Cancer.

One term that was used by all grant holders throughout the visits was ‘poly-crisis’. In recent months and years, Malawi has suffered from multiple crises such as ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the global economic crisis, a cholera outbreak, and most recently a devastating cyclone. These issues are in addition to the already challenging Malawi context, where road quality/access, fuel shortages and increased cost of living are real barriers to organisations delivering projects.

During these visits, the team had a chance to see how the grant holders’ projects were progressing, learn more about how the ‘poly-crisis’ is affecting them, and hear from the communities on how the projects are positively impacting them. 

Below is a short write-up for each project the team visited.

Improving access to quality, inclusive and comprehensive eye health services for marginalised rural communities in Central-Eastern Malawi – CBM Global

Through its three-year UK Aid Match project, CBM Global is improving access to eye health services in rural districts in Central and Eastern Malawi. In particular, the project is looking to enable people who are blind from cataracts with sight-restoring surgery. By partnering with the Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organisations (MANEPO), the project is able to focus its efforts on older people, for whom cataracts are a particular problem.

Only 45% of blind people have access to cataract surgery due to reasons such as lack of eye health workers, services and access. Specialist hospitals are often long distances away from people living in rural areas, meaning there is no option for them to receive the care they need. CBM Global is working to change this by providing training and equipment to eye health workers, and running cataract outreach camps where people can attend and receive specialist treatment.

During the visit, the project delivery team explained that fewer people than expected were attending eye health screenings and surgical camps due to fuel shortages and the cholera outbreak, as people were not wanting to attend large gatherings. Despite this, the team is continuing to reach out to remote communities, ensuring that health workers are trained and have access to specialist equipment in order to treat patients who are able to access community hospitals. These workers will remain in their communities and continue to raise awareness of, and identify, eye health issues once the project ends. Through its partnership with Nkhoma Eye Programme, the project is also supporting two trainee ophthalmic surgeons to complete their qualifications, which will give a boost to the eye health system after the project has ended.

A photo of 6 people stood in an operating room, wearing hospital overalls and masks.
Gem and Emma visiting an operating theatre

Improved access to affordable, quality eye care services for people with and without disabilities in South-West region, Malawi – Sightsavers

Sightsavers’ UK Aid Match project aims to improve access to eye care services in Malawi over a three-year project period. As well as providing cataract surgery to avoid blindness, the project has a specific focus on reaching people who traditionally face barriers to accessing much needed eye health care, including people with disabilities.

In addition to providing eye examinations, and offering treatments and operations which will contribute to overall eye health, the project is working with the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA) to improve accessibility of several health facilities for people with disabilities.

During the visit the team learned that Sightsavers was investigating ways to reach more vulnerable people, such as older people and people with disabilities, through running eye health awareness raising activities and screenings at social protection camps. This has worked well in the Uganda part of this multi-country project, and it was good to see an example of shared learning within the project.

It was clear that the project was transforming people’s lives. At one home visit, a patient and his wife explained how their lives were badly affected by his disability (below leg amputation related to diabetes), as well as visual impairment prior to his cataract surgery. Since the surgery their lives have improved dramatically, and the patient is scheduled for further eye surgery on his other eye.

Left-hand photo: Members of different communities attending an eye health talk at a screening camp. Right-hand photo: An Ophthalmic Clinical Officer screening a patient

Building safe, inclusive and resilient communities for women and children in Malawi – UNICEF

Through its UK Aid Match project, UNICEF ensures that women and children are safe, happy and healthy.

In rural communities in Malawi, UNICEF has established Children’s Corners, where children can learn about their rights and play safely. The project is training child protection workers and supporting structures such as Community Victim Support Units to identify and respond appropriately to child protection issues and cases of violence. The project has also brought safe water and sanitation to communities. As well as improving everybody’s health, this reduces the security risks faced by children and women when leaving the relative safety of their homes and villages to use communal facilities or collect water. Families can access sanitation loans to upgrade latrines, in a model that creates economic opportunities for shop owners and pit emptiers.

From the visit, it was clear that displacement and loss of livelihoods caused by the cyclone has increased the urgency of child protection needs. Children face exploitation in return for food and shelter, and malnutrition is rising due to the cholera epidemic. UNICEF has responded directly to these issues by extending psychosocial support and psychological first aid to survivors of the cyclone and ensuring children have access to safe corners within their communities. In addition, through the sanitation loans, families have reduced the impact of the cholera epidemic in their communities.

A woman and a man wearing blue uniform, stood in a sanitation shop and holding a portable toilet
Two children drinking water from a water tap
Left-hand photo: Sanitation workers in a sanitation shop. Right-hand photo: Children drinking from the new safe water tap

Reducing child mortality in Malawi whilst increasing wellbeing and quality of life – World Child Cancer

In Malawi an estimated 1,100 children develop cancer every year. Due to the lack of health care knowledge and training on identifying early warning signs and symptoms (EWSS) of childhood cancer, only a quarter of children diagnosed will survive.

Through its two-year UK Aid Match project, World Child Cancer is delivering training for health workers and supporting families to ensure that cancer can be diagnosed early, and that treatment is completed. The project is working across 14 Districts in South and Eastern Malawi to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of children and their families affected by cancer.

Often when there is detection of cancer in a child, the first point of contact is a community hospital, where staff lack advanced knowledge and means of diagnosis and further treatment. Now that they have been trained in EWSS, community health workers are able to quickly refer families to District or Central hospitals for further tests. In addition, the project is supporting Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) via outsourcing an independent pathology lab, which allows for immediate, free testing for families and significantly speeds up diagnosis and treatment. Although the current ‘poly-crisis’ has increased the cost of transport, immediate travel to QECH is essential to ensure children can get the treatment they need. The project is offering support to families through transport grants and providing welcome packs on being admitted to the hospital. This is perceived as essential psychosocial support to families who commute from long distances without the basic items they need to stay in hospital.

Another important part of the project is the provision of play therapy sessions, designed to reduce the fear and anxiety children often feel when undergoing treatment. Through UK Aid Match, Malawi’s first paediatric oncology Play Therapist is now trained and offering support to children and families on the ward at the QECH.

By removing some of the economic and psychological barriers to seeking treatment, World Child Cancer is making sure that treatment isn’t abandoned, which increases the child’s chance of becoming cancer free and living a healthy and happy life.

A woman and children sat in an area using crayons and paper to draw pictures
Aida, Play Therapist, leading a play therapy session

A thank you

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations and individuals involved with these visits. We really appreciated all your time and continued hard work.

18 months in to the UK Aid Match programme from the British Red Cross entitled ‘It starts with her’, and women in Bangladesh are getting heard.

Women's Squad members join hands in solidarity, with smiles on their faces. British Red Cross image.
Women and girls in Barishal, Bangladesh are being given a greater voice on the issues that directly affect them, through Women’s Squads.

In the slums of Barishal, Bangladesh, where monsoons and flooding are inescapable, life for women is hard. They often miss out on getting an education, and struggle to make a living. They frequently raise families alone and suffer violence – purely for being a woman.

After raising £4,367,508, including £2 million UK Aid Match funding, the Red Cross has supported thousands of empowered women to lift themselves out of poverty, provide for their families and play important roles in their communities.

Funds have been spent on helping the communities stand strong and prepare for whatever challenges the future brings. Most recently, this has included COVID-19 and several climate-related disasters.

The programme has been supporting women’s small businesses to thrive, through vocational training, apprenticeships and small cash grants (to help set up microbusinesses) so that women can earn an income, build savings and help their communities to thrive.

Across communities, they have also brought together groups called Women’s Squads to raise awareness of issues like menstrual health and gender-based violence. In these Squads, women have a platform to stand together and have their voices heard, amplifying their voice in society and reducing isolation. For many, Women’s Squads have changed lives.

“We are working together. It helps empower us and build trust. We have more friends through women squads.”
– Josna, Women’s Squad leader

In Barushul, Women’s Squads played a vital role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The area was hit hard, many had few opportunities to work. Instances of domestic violence also increased as communities were told to remain in their homes.

Find out more about the project, its approach and results achieved to date, by taking a look at the British Red Cross’s project impact update page.