THE WOMEN CONSERVATION CHAMPIONS OF KATIBUNGA

 

By Annie Zulu

“My husband gave up on poaching and joined my crop farming and livestock business which I set up using my savings,” Maureen Kayula, a 53-year-old a famer and member of the Natwafwane Community Conservation Bank (COCOBA) group established with support of the North Luangwa Conservation Programme, told her group in Katibunga, a small community in Mwila village, Mpika District.

The members applauded Maureen´s announcement, as poaching is one of the major issues that the group strongly advocate against, aside from empowering its members with economic security.

Mwila Village is in Mukungule Game Management Area (GMA) located on the western boundary of the North Luangwa National Park, one of Zambia´s wildlife rich national park.

Members of the Natwafwane COCOBA group, consisting of 30 women meet once every week under a shady mango tree to hand in their savings contributions, get loans and discuss wildlife conservation.

COCOBA group members dancing

According to the group´s Secretary Loveness Mumbi ,55, the group has been in existence since 2015, and like any other savings group has helped its members improve their economic livelihoods.

Loveness said the group has also played a key role stopping poaching and advocating for wildlife conservation in the area.

She acknowledged that this has been made possible with the support from the North Luangwa Conservation Programme, a partnership between the Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife to conserve the North Luangwa National Park and its adjoining GMAs.

“After setting up the group, members were trained on conservation by the North Luangwa Conservation Programme and since then we have been conducting activities aimed at sensitizing the community on the negative effects of poaching, deforestation and the benefits of conservation.

“We do door to door campaigns, organise meetings with community members and sometimes we get invited to speak on conservation at local meetings. Wildlife conservation has more benefits, compared to poaching and cutting down trees,” Loveness said.

Community Liaison Assistant Davis Chanda told this reporter in an interview that the North Luangwa Conservation Programme, together with the Frankfurt Zoological Society has been working with women in GMA communities through initiatives such as COCOBAs to stop poaching.

“The purpose of the COCOBA groups is to help women venture into different sustainable financial pathways and prevent them from engaging in poaching activities. We offer the groups with financial help when setting them up and also equip members with knowledge on conservation,” Mr Chanda said.

He added that women in GMAs tend to interact with wildlife more than men through activities such as fetching water, harvesting crop and collecting firewood, hence the need to engage them in conservation initiatives.

“These experiences make women observe and learn from animal patterns and behaviours and that knowledge is critical when it comes to solving conservation dilemmas. As primary caregivers at home and in their communities, women are also uniquely positioned to share their deep knowledge of local wildlife,” he said.