El Nino and Anti Poaching activities
What is El Nino?
El Niño is a climate phenomenon characterized by the warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. This warming can disrupt weather patterns globally, leading to various impacts, including altered rainfall and temperature patterns. In Northern Matabeleland, where we are, El Niño's influence can be profound. Typically, the region experiences reduced rainfall during El Niño events, leading to drought conditions. This season we have recorded 250ml of rainfall, from an expected average of closer to 600!
These droughts severely affect agriculture and subsistance cropping, the mainstay of the local economy, by reducing crop yields and stressing water resources and leading to food insecurity and conflict in this very fragile region.
Reduced rainfall of course exacerbates food scarcity, intensifying pressure on local wildlife as natural food sources dwindle. This scarcity unfortunately drives increased poaching activity, as animals venture closer to human settlements in search of water and food. Poaching not only depletes wildlife populations but also disrupts habitats and skews age and sex structures, disproportionately affecting younger and female animals due to their vulnerability. These shifts hinder population recovery, further destabilizing ecosystems.
Recognizing these challenges, it's imperative for us to bolster anti-poaching efforts during El Niño periods, and we are appealing for some dedicated funding to go toward re-tooling and equipping of our team of Game Scouts to give them the best possible tools we can to mitigate this looming issue as the rain peters out completely and we go into what is going to be an incredibly long, dry and difficult year!
Just a few of the things we are lacking this year to take on the problem head on are things like, firearms, non lethal weapons (pepper spray or alternatives), good boots and PPE (camoflage), documentation tools, hand held radios, bicycles to cover more distance, light camping equipment to enable us to perform night time patrols, torches and head mounted torches, water bottles, first aid kits
If you feel able to congtribute to our Anti Poaching Efforts over the coming months, please leave a note to that effect in your contribution’s comments, and the entire amount will be dedicated to this
Contribute to our Anti Poaching Efforts
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