The Lion Pride Initiative
Protection, Research, Implementation, Development, Education

PROTECTION Protection of large areas of suitable habitat is fundamental to the long-term survival of lions in Africa. But few protected areas are large enough to protect big game, which moves beyond park boundaries. These large conservation landscapes of suitable habitat must include not only national park and game reserves, but also safari areas, and private and community lands. Governments desperately need help in providing better protection for wildlife outside of parks. Wide scale killing in defense of livestock must be urgently addressed. Bush meat poaching has decimated wildlife populations; game departments need help in developing the capacity to police the snaring and sale of game meat.


RESEARCH Research is the cornerstone to developing better methods of preventing predators from becoming livestock raiders. In most of Africa, lions are disappearing because local people can no longer tolerate the costs of living with them. If we are to save wild lions for future generations, we must understand the complex dynamics between wildlife needs and ever-growing human needs. Critically, we require sociological work on perceptions of lions in rural Africa, and on how to help people appreciate the value of intact ecosystems that include top predators.

IMPLEMENTATION Implementation of income from hunting and tourism can help solve the problems of rural people, but we need to develop and implement totally transparent and equitable distribution of profits among the human communities that live with wildlife.

Rural communities that could benefit from sport hunting profits need networks of well-trained, well-paid, well-equipped game scouts to control poaching. We need to work with hunters and hunting operators to ensure that wildlife is managed sustainably and hunted ethically. Development of an accreditation system which rates hunting companies on these criteria would drive market-based improvement that would contribute to conservation.

DEVELOPMENT Development of rural communities must be directly linked to protection of wildlife. A significant portion of hunting/tourism income must go to a fund that pays compensation to individuals, supports effective game scouts and benefits rural communities by building and staffing schools, clinics and other essential infrastructure.

EDUCATION Education in rural African communities must show that wildlife can be an economic asset rather than a liability. To avoid needless and counterproductive killing of game, people must learn ways of minimizing wildlife damage to crops and livestock. Game management officials need to continue learning more about principles of sustainable wildlife management. African universities need support in improving wildlife management curricula.