Enhancing human-elephant coexistence in Selous-Udzungwa, Tanzania

Ten years ago, Southern Tanzania was home to the second largest elephant population in Africa: more than 100,000 elephants moved between Mikumi and Udzungwa National Parks and the Selous Game Reserve.

Now, they number fewer than 16,000 and the connections between the protected areas are being severed by human settlement, infrastructure development, and agriculture.

This project will identify corridors that are still viable for elephant connectivity between the protected areas by mapping elephant movement and land use and working to get these corridors protected status.

Secondly, the grantee will work to alleviate human-elephant conflict in key villages by deploying various methods to minimize crop raiding and conflict and to improve livelihoods through income-generating coexistence interventions.