SAVÉ VALLEY CONSERVANCY
Rhino Anti-Poaching Program
by Peter Lindsey
Editor’s Note: the following is information sent to our Missions Chair, Kirk Waldron, from Peter Lindsey of the Savé
Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe, outlining their rhino anti-poaching initiatives as well as testimonial letters of support
for the program and other information. After weighing the benefits of the program, your SCI Houston BOD agreed to
support the program in 2012 with a $2000 grant. We look forward to the next report.
I HAVE ATTACHED a brief document (following) outlining Savé Valley Conservancy’s (SVC)
rhino anti-poaching program. In a nutshell, SVC is home to a black rhino population that the
IUCN considers to be of critical importance (see their letter of support), in addition to an
important white rhino population. However, the conservancy’s rhinos are under major pressure
from poachers. While rhino poaching is widespread in southern Africa at the moment,
Zimbabwe has been proportionally worst affected (by far) due to the economic crunch in the
country and lack of resources for conservation. Through the efforts of the hunting community
in SVC, however, a major investment has been made in protecting rhinos in the conservancy,
and as a result, losses have been markedly lower than the catastrophic losses observed in some
Zimbabwean rhino areas, and populations are stable. However, resources are urgently needed
to help maintain and intensify this level of security during this period of exceptional threat.
SVC has raised funds for rhinos through internal levies on hunting operators (many of whom
are SCI members). However, funds have also been raised externally from donors which include
among others: the European Union, The Chicago Zoological Society, Disney, the Lowveld Rhino
Trust, Tusk, Save Australia, etc. SCIF are currently reviewing a proposal from SVC for rhino
protection, and in the meantime they (Matt Eckert - MEckert@safariclub.org) encouraged us to
approach the individual SCI chapters – mentioning that SCIF has a matching grants program
whereby funds raised from the chapters will be matched by SCIF.
Consequently, any support that your chapter could provide could go a long way towards
saving rhinos.
Funding to keep the rhino anti-poaching unit active could literally make the difference
between the population flourishing and being decimated.
In addition to rhinos, SVC has a major general anti-poaching program (involving an
additional 170 scouts and a community outreach program), which serves to protect many other
wildlife species, including threatened species such as African lions, African wild dogs and
cheetahs.
Thank you for your interest. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Peter Lindsey
THE AREA: SAVÉ VALLEY CONSERVANCY, ZIMBABWE
Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC), situated in South East Zimbabwe, is a 3,442 square kilometer
wildlife area formed in 1991 from 18 former cattle ranches. When SVC was created, all internal
fences were removed and a 350 km double perimeter fence was constructed. Approximately
4,000 animals of 14 species were reintroduced, including 553 elephants in the largest
translocation of that species ever undertaken. As a result of the large ecological scale of SVC,
the conservation of the full range of indigenous mammals was possible and the ecological value
of the area is considerably greater than that of most game ranching areas in southern Africa
(most of which are fenced into small compartments which typically lack most
threatened/endangered species). Wildlife populations in SVC increased rapidly, including those
of several threatened and endangered species, and SVC developed into a conservation area of
global significance. For example, SVC now contains 110 critically endangered black
rhinoceroses, at least 80 endangered African wild dogs (comprising up to a quarter of the
national population), a rapidly growing population of 150 African lions (at a time when the
species is declining in many other parts of its range) and significant populations of other
threatened species, such as southern ground hornbills; lappet faced vultures; elephants (~1,400
individuals); cheetahs; and white rhinos (30 individuals).
SVC represents one of the best examples of the conservation benefits arising from trophy
hunting in Africa. The potential for generating income from trophy hunting was one of the
primary reasons for the formation of SVC; indeed trophy hunting has contributed significantly to
the formation of this very large wildlife area, the reintroduction and recovery of a wide range of
wildlife species, and the effective protection of wildlife from poaching. A large number of the
hunting operators in SVC are SCI members, as are a significant proportion of the large pool of
hunting clients that visit the area.
However, during 2000-2001, approximately 33% of SVC was settled by subsistence farmers
and ~80 km of perimeter fencing was removed in the process, during the Government of
Zimbabwe’s fast track land ‘reform’ program. Since then, the government made the decision to
retain conservancies for wildlife production, but the partial settlement of SVC remains, resulting
in a mosaic of human habitation and wildlife habitat. This mosaic creates conditions conducive
to intense human-wildlife conflict, illegal hunting and habitat destruction: essentially, a
microcosm of the conservation threats facing wildlife in Africa. As a result, the conservation
gains in SVC are threatened due to unsustainable hunting of wildlife for bush meat, and
poaching of rhinos for their horn. These threats are exacerbated by the increased cost of
operating which has risen significantly since the dollarization of the country’s currency and by
the loss of income from tourism (an industry which has collapsed due to the political instability
in the country). While income from hunting has helped to sustain current operations, most
properties are currently running at a loss while they try to maintain their own high standards of
management and conservation. Consequently, without intervention, there is a very real risk
that the conservation achievements of trophy hunting in SVC will be lost. Conversely, with
effective support, the conservation benefits in SVC could easily be expanded upon and
increased.
CONSERVATION THREAT TO BLACK RHINOS - POACHING
One of the main drivers of the development of SVC was the translocation of black rhinos
from the Zambezi Valley during the early 1990s to provide a safe haven from the high levels of
poaching prevalent there at the time. Since then, the black rhinoceros population increased
rapidly and the area is considered by the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group to host a ‘Key 1’
population, with their conservation in SVC being a ‘Continental Priority’ project, critical for the
survival of the species.
However, during the last five years, there has been a major resurgence in rhino poaching in
Zimbabwe. SVC lost more than 30% of the breeding stock of female black rhinos during 20052009. In response, a number of urgent interventions were made to address the poaching threat.
Rhinos were translocated out of vulnerable areas, a rhino monitoring system was developed and
strategic dehorning of vulnerable rhinos was undertaken to reduce the potential reward to
poachers. In addition, SVC established an anti-poaching unit (APU) dedicated specifically to
protecting rhinos. These interventions served to avoid the catastrophic losses experienced in
some other rhino areas in Zimbabwe (SVC’s rhino populations are predicted to decline only
slightly in 2011, whereas populations in some other areas have plummeted).
Maduma was shot several times by poachers in 2011 and
had his horn hacked off, only to survive for several days.
Despite veterinary intervention, Maduma died several days
later.
METHODS TO COUNTER POACHING
SVC invests heavily in anti-poaching: 170 scouts are employed across the 10 management
units within the conservancy; and a specialized rhino anti-poaching unit is in place. The 170
general scouts deal primarily with bush-meat poaching (snaring), but also provide important
monitoring information on rhinos and assist with the prevention of rhino poaching. The rhino
APU deals specifically with protecting rhinos, and is comprised of 17 tracker scouts highly
trained in weapons and anti-poaching tactics, and a professional security manager with
extensive experience in rhino protection. Since the inception of the APU in 2009, 20 rhino
poachers have been captured, 10 rhino horns have been recovered and nine firearms with
almost 300 rounds of ammunition have been confiscated.
The Savé Valley Conservancy rhino anti-poaching unit
Funds are urgently required to assist with the running costs of the rhino APU, and to permit
expansion of the team and it's activities. In addition, funds are also requested for a scouttraining program, which will improve the quality of both general anti-poaching scouts in
Due to an intensive anti-poaching effort, SVC still supports a
population of black rhinos of critical global conservation
significance.
SVC is also home to a significant population of white rhinos,
making the conservancy a critically important stronghold for
rhino conservation.
SVC, and that of the rhino APU. The 170 general anti-poaching scouts are under-funded and
not as well trained as the rhino APU, undermining the extent to which they can contribute to
rhino protection. To address this problem, a standardized training program is being introduced
for anti-poaching scouts in SVC as part of an integrated regional move towards standardized
security (involving all major rhino conservancies).
The training program will increase the quality of security on individual management units,
increase the degree of coordination among those units and increase cooperation with the rhino
APU. A security expert has been appointed who will hold two-week training programs once per
year on each of the 10 management units in the conservancy (15 scouts per management unit).
These programs will include learning key elements of the law pertaining to anti-poaching
security, techniques for apprehending poachers safely, patrol formation and techniques,
firearms handling, tracking, self-defense, radio-use, data recording, and intelligence gathering.
During the training courses, individuals with key strengths in certain areas will be identified and
given advanced training. Following such advanced training, those scouts will be incorporated
into a Quick Reaction Force designed to respond immediately to incursions of rhino poachers
and to increase the chances of making successful arrests and to act as further deterrent.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS AND BUDGET
SVC raises funds annually for anti-poaching security from levies on hunting operators and
has so far managed to prevent a population decline in black rhinos. However, maintaining such
levels of security is extremely expensive and additional external support is needed to improve
the anti-poaching security as the threat to the rhinos becomes ever more intense. We are
seeking funds for two aspects of the SVC anti-poaching work: 1) to support the development of
the scout-training program; and 2) to pay assist with the running costs of the dedicated rhino
APU.
Table 1 shows the budget for the proposed scout training (basic and advanced). Just over
$41,000 has been raised through levies and fund raising for Year 1 of that program, while a
further $10,000 is still outstanding. Table 2 shows the annual running costs of the rhino antipoaching unit, indicating that $32,160 is still to be raised for the next 12 months of operation.
Funds already raised have come from the following sources: SVC levies, the Chicago Board
of Trade, the Disney emergency fund, the European Union, TUSK (British NGO), and the Lowveld
Rhino Trust (a Zimbabwean based NGO).
©2012 SCI Houston First for Hunters