Drawing on decades of field research and experience, Connected Conservation innovates methods to resolve the conflict between humans and wildlife in southern Africa. We employ multidisciplinary scientific research, combined with community-based strategies to understand wildlife conflict situations and provide practical solutions.
Connected Conservation brings together a team of highly skilled professionals, with decades of collective skills and experience in policy development and review, natural resource management, vegetation analysis and land use planning, environmental impact assessment, social science, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, as well as tourism and small business development.
Connected Conservation offers technical advice and training, and conducts extensive research in southern Africa, contributing to the creation of multi-country conservation areas. We develop management plans, conduct wildlife studies, and implement conflict mitigation measures. We are also experts in landscape planning and management, crop protection, and develop innovative methods to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Our initiatives include:
Pioneering community-based conflict mitigation methods including the use of chilli as a wildlife deterrent.
Monitoring elephant populations using satellite tracking.
Providing technical advice and training for managing human-wildlife conflict in Africa and Asia.
Contributing to the development of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
Conducting human-wildlife conflict studies and designing practical manuals.
Running long-term multi-country monitoring programs.
Participating in IUCN’s African Elephant Specialist Group & Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force.
Participating in Kaza Elephant Working Group.
The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust was created by a group of passionate, like-minded people who believed more needed to be done to conserve wildlife in the region surrounding Victoria Falls. Their Board of Trustees are based all across the world, and each member volunteers their time to ensure that The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust achieves what they set out to do.
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Ecoexist Trust is a Botswana registered NGO that has been carrying out conservation and community development projects since 2013. Our overall goal is to create an enabling environment for policies and on-the-ground activities to reduce Human Wildlife Conflict and foster coexistence between elephants and people. We connect science with policy, supporting informed decision-making through research and field-based interventions. We seek to strengthen the existing work of government agencies, local communities, regional stakeholders, and the private sector by facilitating collaboration, communication, capacity building, and information exchange.
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The African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) is a network of experts focused on conserving Africa’s elephants. Comprising specialists worldwide, the group provides scientifically sound guidance for elephant management. Members volunteer their time and expertise to protect African elephants and help them thrive in their natural habitats.
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Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) identifies and supports the most effective projects and partners in Africa to secure a future for elephants. The ECF exists to fuel their efforts, encourage collaboration, and deliver rapid impact on the ground.
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Researchers at the Center for Geospatial Research (CGR) in the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia, USA work closely with Connected Conservation to analyze tracking data and remotely sensed images from satellite, airborne and drone platforms. Faculty, students and NASA DEVELOP interns relate the movements of wildlife to habitat conditions and mitigation efforts in the Zambezi Basin.
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Esri’s Conservation Programme is driving impactful change through Connected Conservation (CC) in Victoria Falls, empowering CC with cutting-edge GIS technology to enhance data collection, management, and visualization. By integrating tools from ArcGIS Online and associated mobile apps, close to real-time insights are garenered into wildlife movement, habitat health, conflict zones and threats. These enable faster, data-driven decisions. This transformative approach to spatial data has strengthened conservation efforts, fostering a more connected and sustainable future for the iconic Victoria Falls ecosystem.
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