Connecting People to Nature

Last week two of our partners marked this year’s World Environment Day’ theme, ‘Connecting People to Nature,’ in unique and impactful ways.

Ruaha Carnivore Project works in Ruaha National Park, the largest park in Tanzania. RCP connects people to nature every day as they work in close partnership with local villagers to reduce people-wildlife conflicts and create a greater understanding of wildlife.

Two ways Ruaha Carnivore Project has done this is through Park Trips and DVD Nights. These provide an opportunity for villagers who live near Ruaha National Park to experience wildlife, particularly carnivores, in a positive manner. These outreach programs are wildly popular with more than 30,000 attendees at DVD Nights and more than 1,000 people participating in Ruaha National Park trips!

Niassa Carnivore Project works to protect lions in Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique. This year, they celebrated World Environment Day by signing a two-year partnership agreement with Mbamba Village. This remote village used to be in the top three poaching villages in Niassa Reserve. Signing this agreement has taken the entire Niassa Lion Project team, the village association, elders and traditional chiefs hundreds of hours of negotiations and meetings with a lot of frustration and endless listening.

All this cooperation is creating tangible results. In the small area that Niassa Lion Project manages with Mbamba village, elephant poaching has reduced from 22 a year to less than 5. Animal numbers in this area, including lions, are up. With the support of Niassa Lion Project, the number of households involved in alternative livelihoods is increasing. As the director of Niassa Lion Project says in the Facebook post announcing this agreement, “Honoring people and wildlife and meeting the actual needs of people who live in this special place is in our opinion the only long lasting solution. A major step forward.”

While World Environment Day has passed, every day can be world environment day! We have amazing wildlife here in Houston, so take a stroll through a park, or come visit us here at the Houston Zoo!

To learn more about these projects and their activities on World Environment Day, like the Niassa Lion Project and Ruaha Carnivore Project on Facebook!

Every time you visit the Houston Zoo you are saving lions in the wild as a portion of every ticket and membership goes toward saving animals in the wild.