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The results of our 3 year Conservation Incentive Payments (CIP) trial are out.
KopeLion and the TAWIRI lion research project presented them to stakeholders, including community leaders, NCAA, TANAPA, TAWIRI, MNRT, and tourism operators, in Karatu, and to present them to all the villages that participated.
Largely supported by The Lion Recovery Fund and others, we additionally thank the 6 villages who participated, the NCA Authority, and KopeLion staff, Ingela Jansson, Adam Pekor, William Ole Seki and Ololotu Munka who poured their hearts and time into the project.
95% of respondents reported that they were satisfied with the CIP program, 97% reported that they had a more positive view of lions as a result of the CIP program, and 99% reported that they would like the CIP program to continue in their village.
Human-lion coexistence was greatest where the CIP program was piloted – during the three years of the pilot, there was not a single retaliatory lion killing, hunt, or attempted hunt in the CIP villages, despite 29 such events in KopeLion’s wider area of operations’.
Funding for education elevated the CIP programme, – a conservation intervention can only help promote coexistence if people are aware of the benefits they are earning from wildlife. Here, awareness of the CIP program was extremely high, with over 90% of respondents from CIP villages reporting having heard of the program or the fact that their village was earning money from the lions on their land. Anecdotally, we noticed a substantial uptick in both awareness of and enthusiasm for the program once the participating villages began using their earnings to support students to attend secondary school.
Download the CIP Final Report
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Kope Lion
KopeLion Inc. (short for Korongoro People’s Lion Initiative) is a non-profit NGO registered in USA and in Tanzania. Our mission is to foster human-lion coexistence through participatory research and sustainable community-based conservation.
LK120 also known as Titan Jnr![]()
One of the iconic Lake Quintet males that calls the Ngorongoro Crater home. ![]()
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Once five strong brothers ruled this landscape. Today three remain from the original coalition, a powerful reminder of resilience, endurance and the realities lions face as they grow older in a changing world![]()
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Seen here resting above the crater plains, Titan Jnr embodies quiet strength and legacy. This is why long term monitoring and protection matter. Every individual has a story and every story matters![]()
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Captured beautifully by our founder Ingela Jansson 🦁
Caturday throwback to June 2019. Diana’s cub from Ndutu’s Marsh Pride serving muddy paws and maximum cuteness.![]()
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📷: @bobbyjophotography
Recently, our Lion Monitoring and Conflict Officer Roimen Lelya supported the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority in successfully collaring a male lion inside the Ngorongoro Crater.![]()
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This work is part of NCAA’s efforts to better understand how lions are interacting with rhinos in the Crater. ![]()
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Roimen provided technical support through the Ngorongoro Lion Research Project, a long running initiative that KopeLion proudly partners with and supports through funding.![]()
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Strong collaboration on the ground continues to play an important role in protecting lions across the landscape.
