Certified Wildlife Friendly® Enterprises that Help Conserve Cheetahs
Cheetah
(Acinonyx jubatus)
Population Trend: Decreasing
IUCN Status:
VULNERABLE
See below to learn how we are helping
Rukinga, Kenya
The Conflict
Lack of Jobs & Poaching
In rural areas where economic opportunities are scarce, families may resort to poaching as a means of survival. At the same time, the high market value of ivory continues to drive demand, incentivizing young Somalis to cross into Kenya, often at great personal risk and with devastating consequences for both human lives and wildlife.
The Solution
Wildlife Works rangers collaborate closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), whose armed and highly trained teams are permanently stationed in the Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary to protect wildlife and apprehend poachers.
Protecting wildlife also means safeguarding their habitat. Wildlife Works is the world’s leading REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) project development and management company, applying innovative, market-based solutions to conserve biodiversity. Originated by the United Nations, REDD+ was designed to help stop the destruction of the world’s forests.
At the heart of Wildlife Works’ REDD+ strategy is job creation. Employment opportunities span conservation rangers, factory workers, horticulturalists, machinists, seamstresses, foresters, carpenters, drivers, mechanics, and administrative staff. Wildlife Works also supports small business development, including an eco-clothing factory and sustainable charcoal production and distribution.
The Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project protects over 500,000 acres of threatened forest, securing the critical wildlife migration corridor between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks while delivering benefits to more than 100,000 people in surrounding communities.
Recognized with Gold-level status by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) for outstanding climate and biodiversity outcomes, the project area is home to remarkable wildlife: more than 50 species of large mammals, 20 species of bats, and over 300 bird species. Among them are significant populations of IUCN Red List species such as Grevy’s zebra, cheetahs, lions, African wild dogs, and more than 2,000 African elephants.
The Conservation Enterprise
At Wildlife Works, the mission is clear: Provide people in wildlife-rich areas with sustainable economic alternatives to poaching and deforestation. When you buy a Wildlife Works product, you become an agent for conservation, and are wearing the brand that says you won’t sit quietly while the last wild things in the last wild places disappear forever.
Shop Wildlife Works products here.
Namibia
The Conflict
The vast majority of wild cheetahs are outside protected areas and spend time on private lands. Saving this magnificent animal from extinction requires attention to the welfare of both cheetah and human populations over large landscapes.
The Solution
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) works with farmers and other rural residents to develop conservation enterprises that help to save the cheetah in the wild. Integrating understanding of applied biology and management with public outreach has helped this global leader to engage a wide variety of Namibian citizens in cheetah conservation.
The Conservation Enterprise
Dancing Goat Creamery
Dancing Goat Creamery is a model goat farm run that demonstrate non-lethal predator deterrent strategies to protect livestock. Through use of livestock guardian dogs, fencing and careful management, the Creamery shows local farmers they can apply similar practices to their livelihoods.
Dancing Goat Creamery’s products use milk from Saanen and French Alpine dairy goats of notable stock. The Creamery offers feta in light salt brine, or as a small cheese wheel, and chevre as a log in vacuum packs or in bulk containers for larger quantities, as well as ice creams and fudge.
Dancing Goat Creamery cheeses, ice creams, and fudge are available for purchase every day at the Cheetah Conservation Fund’s Centre and Café near Otjiwarongo. Visitors can watch the cheesemaking process through large viewing windows.
You can learn more about the Creamery from this video.
For more information or to place an order of Certified Wildlife Friendly dairy products, contact Creamery Manager Hanlie Visser, (067) 306225, tourism@ccfnamibia.org.
Bushblok
Bushblok is a low emission, high efficiency fuel log made from processed thorn bush, a highly invasive species that has displaced grasses in overgrazed areas of Namibia. Rangelands choked with thorn bush reduce the available area for cheetahs, support fewer prey, and are also unusable as farmland. By turning thorn bush into a useful product while improving habitat and providing rural jobs, Bushblock is an example of a triple-bottom line solution that satisfies a range of needs.
Bushblok is useful for cooking fires, braii (grilling), and home and industrial heat applications. Its caloric value approaches that of coal, and it is a smokeless fuel.
For more information on where you can purchase Bushblok, visit https://www.bushblok.com/vendors.php.
CCF Bushblok crew proudly showing off the finished product