LATF takes part in ‘Conserving Elephant in the Tanzania-Kenya Borderlands’

The Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) took part in the above workshop that took place in Arusha, Tanzania on 16th and 17th February 2012. The workshop was organized by the African Conservation Centre (ACC- Kenya) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS-Tanzania). Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation funded the workshop. Over sixty participants attended the workshop. The workshop was a great opportunity for effective information sharing, networking and exchange of experiences on the subject.

The issues discussed at the workshop include how to strengthen the capacity of communities to protect elephants, avert and reduce human-wildlife conflict and raise benefits from the use of wildlife. The South Rift Association of Landowners (SARALO) was elected to organize cross-border meetings as soon as possible.

The government agencies in their role of oversight and implementation of elephant conservation plans in the borderlands, agreed that the current cross-border security meetings should be widened to a task force that will deal with   all aspects of borderlands Elephant conservation, in line with the commission to be set up under the East African Community Transboundary Ecosystems Management Act.

The task force will include representatives from Tanzania National Parks, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania Wildlife Division, Kenya Wildlife Service, NGOs, Researchers, Communities and the private sector.

The workshop concluded that collaboration and coordination envisaged by participants lay a solid foundation not only for conserving the borderlands elephant populations and wide-ranging species but also for sustaining the diversity and integrity of ecosystems and landscapes. The ACC –Kenya and WCS- Tanzania were tasked to coordinate the process.