Living with giants: Working with communities to reduce conflict between humans and wildlife

Author: Vanessa Wematu Akibate, Communications Officer, UNDP Zambia

Wildlife conservation is crucial for a sustainable future, but it can sometimes threaten the livelihoods of communities that share the same habitat. Climate change, particularly the consequences of drought in the southern Africa region, has further exacerbated this challenge, leaving communities to question: What can we do to preserve both wildlife and human lives? 

Initiatives like the UNDP Crowdfunding Academy provide innovative solutions by empowering local communities to access alternative funding sources. These resources can help address global challenges like wildlife conservation and climate resilience while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those most affected.

It was a day like any other. Virginia Mweemba was returning from a good sales day at the market. She sold fresh onions, leafy greens, tomatoes, and other vegetables harvested from her own garden to customers from across Livingstone and Kazungula. Her focus now was to get home, prepare dinner for her family, and rest up for the next day. But when she got home, her garden had been destroyed, her entire assortment of vegetables had been uprooted, trampled over, and eaten. Unfortunately for her, the culprit stood nearby, slowly making their way through her community in search of more vegetable gardens and homes with water. She stood a few meters away from this frightful sight, frozen in place. “It was an elephant,” she recalled.

Photo: UNDP Zambia. Residents of communities neighboring the Mosi Oa Tunya National Park have encountered elephants venturing out in search of food and water. The results can be tragic.

Many residents in Livingstone and neighboring communities share similar experiences —returning home from work and school to encounter 10 to 20 elephants or waking up in the early morning to the sound of their herds digging through their gardens or breaking into their water tanks. At first, these incidents were rare, but since the drought hit, more and more elephants are venturing out of the Mosi Oa Tunya National Park in search of water and food. This situation has caused seething tensions between the people of Livingstone and the wildlife to rise to the surface. 

For the animals, particularly the elephants, this is a matter of survival. Their water sources have dried up, and their typical food sources are dwindling. The effects of the drought are further compounded by increased elephant populations, as elephants from Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia have migrated into the national park. However, their innocent, desperate search for survival resources often comes at a devastating cost — human lives. 

Jackson Mulemwa narrowly escaped a dangerous brush with an elephant, though he tragically lost a friend. “We were walking home from town when we saw the bull. He was agitated, so we quickly turned and ran. I managed to get away safely, but my friend didn’t make it back with me.” The next morning, he and his neighbors returned to the scene and discovered that his friend had not survived. 

Photo: UNDP Zambia. Climate change is putting Zambian villagers into greater contact with wildlife. As water and food sources dwindle due to drought, elephants venture out of the national park in search for ways to ensure their survival.

In response to the growing threat, some locals are developing creative ways to mitigate these encounters. Virginia, for instance, has planted chilies in her garden to deter the spice-shy elephants from entering. Fabian Siazibola, who works to alleviate human-wildlife conflict in Mukuni Village, noted that several community members are also exploring beekeeping and electric fencing to discourage elephants from venturing onto their land. In Sakubita, a community just outside Livingstone, Stanley Mhlanga-Nana uses a single electric wire, elevated about 150 cm above the ground and covering the perimeter of his farm, to keep the elephants out. He purchased the wire and battery on a rent-to-own schedule from Elephant Connections, an NGO in Livingstone. However, many others cannot afford these preventive measures or are reeling from the damage and loss of livelihoods they have already suffered. 

Meanwhile, water and food sources continue to dwindle in the National Park, leading more elephants out of the park in search for ways to ensure their survival. The community is calling on the public to join them in finding more permanent solutions to this problem and in providing immediate relief to people living in the remote areas that have been hardest hit by the ongoing conflict. 

Photo: UNDP Zambia. After experiencing losses, Virginia Mweemba now plants chilies in her garden to deter the spice-shy elephants from entering.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Zambia met with these community members in mid-2024 after hearing their stories from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). Since then, the UNDP, DNPW, community members, and other partners have co-created strategies to resolve these issues. Incorporating the voices of the people living on the frontline of this conflict, the feedback and suggestions of local actors, as well as data from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, UNDP Zambia launched the Antoomwe Campaign. This crowdfunding campaign raises awareness of human-wildlife conflict in Livingstone and invites the public to support affected communities and wildlife by raising USD 100,000. The funds raised will go towards implementing three key interventions: 

• Providing four water points for wildlife within Mosi Oa Tunya National Park, 
• Enhancing community livelihoods by working with stakeholders to support affected community members with alternative livelihoods suchas  beekeeping, poultry farming, and goat rearing, and 
• Raising awareness on Human-wildlife Coexistence by educating local communities on wildlife behavior and the critical importance of conservation efforts. 

“This initiative is vital in enabling us to work together to create sustainable solutions that not only support communities but also preserve Zambia’s rich biodiversity for generations to come. By collaborating, we can foster harmony between people and nature, ensuring a brighter future for all.”, Zambia’s Resident Representative. 

“We want to return to living peacefully with these animals, but they need to go back to the park,” Fabian underscores. 

Your support can make a huge difference to the people and wildlife living in and outside the National Park. Join the Antoomwe Campaign today. Together, we can protect the lives of humans and wildlife and ensure a future where they can coexist peacefully. 

To be part of the solution and donate, please visit the Antoomwe Campaign page.