While we are Cheetah Conservation Botswana, we still endeavour to assist farmers when they suffer from conflict with carnivores – even if they’re not necessarily cheetahs. CCB received a phone call from a farmer in the Ghanzi District recently asking for assistance with problems he and his neighbour were having with lions. Following severe conflict several years ago, the farmer built an electric fence on two sides of his farm where the lions were entering the farm. This intervention substantially reduced lion problems to almost none. However, seasonal heavy rains caused the fence to malfunction and lions entered the farm and killed six cattle. One animal (pictured below) miraculously managed to escape the attack with only minor injuries and is continuing to recover near the homestead.
 
The CCB team discussed several deterrent options with the farmers, which could be used to help repel lions from their livestock. Our field teams are working on a proposal that might include testing novel scent deterrent devices in the area to see if this helps keep lions from their prize-winning cattle. We will keep you updated on the progress of these plans and any carnivore problems in the area. However, we are incredibly impressed by the farmers’ willingness to experiment with non-lethal approaches to promote the coexistence of farmers and carnivores. We hope that we can provide them with additional non-lethal measures which they can use to minimize their livestock loss to carnivores.

Other farmers and community members can learn more about the dangers different carnivores pose to their livestock, ways of telling which carnivore you are dealing with, and preventative measures to take through using our resources (available on the Resource page of our website, and in print at our various offices.)

As a member of the Botswana Council of NGOs (BOCONGO), CCB was invited to participate in an ongoing, pan-African civil society study. The study by Forus International is set to assess the state of civil society organizations and their reach of operation so as to inform its 2021-2025 strategic plan for engagement in Africa. Botswana is one of the countries which Forus operates within and – along with Benin, Chad, DRC, Gambia and Zambia – forms the six countries covered by the study.
 
On the 3rd of March 2020, BOCONGO hosted a full day workshop with its members to share their insights and experiences. The workshop was facilitated by Sarah Thomas of the Centre for International Development and Training (CIDT) which has been contracted to conduct the study. The government of Botswana recognises NGOs through the work of the council, therefore participating in such fact finding exercises allows CCB to lend its voice and the concerns of the communities we work with to national operations. Participants were engaged in a number of group work exercises aimed at giving nuanced analyses of the local climate, providing timelines for optimized operation, evaluating stakeholder engagements, mapping obstacles and defining measures of success.
 
A concern of the CCB team members in attendance was that Botswana’s civil society was not as diversely represented as it could have been – considering the importance of such consultative meetings. However, civil society reports marked success through community engagement across the country. As a result, partnering on projects was highlighted as a potential means of ensuring sustainability and resource optimization. With skill resources being scant within organisations, sharing human resources on projects was recognised as a solution. Furthermore, there was mention of initiation of new entrants into the civil society arena through mentoring and advocacy training so as to create momentum for interventions they will inherit.
 
The final report is to be shared with BOCONGO in June/July 2020 for distribution. The report will consist of all work done in the six countries in a single document – with case studies, references and examples given from all countries involved in the study. Findings of this report should provide valuable insight to what organizations in Botswana are doing well, where they have shortcomings, and what opportunities exist for capitalizing on funding resources. As a community focused organization, CCB is invested in getting the most out of the available resources to make promoting coexistence a sustainable reality in Botswana.