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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.
One big male lion was spotted by Silo and Balasi, KopeLion's Barabaig Ilchokuti, who work in the area between Lake Eyasi and the highlands of Ngorongoro. While lions are rarely seen in this area of deep valleys and escarpments, their skills in tracking enable us to better understand the movements of lions across the Ngorongoro landscapes.![]()
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#humanwildlifecoexistence #communityconservation #coexistence #livingwithlions #CreatingConversations #lionconservation #ngorongorolions #corridortoftolerance #ngorongoro #ngorongoroconservationarea #kopelion #ngorongorocrater
With 11 new cubs born to the Twin Hill pride in Ndutu and the dry season approaching, Roimen and Dr. Wambura set out to replace the collar on one of the prominent pride sisters. Her collar had been failing, and while we managed to track her through the group's handsome male, we needed to ensure her visibility over the next few months to prevent conflicts with pastoralists and their livestock.![]()
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The surrounding pride remained undisturbed, showcasing Dr. Wambura's expertise at darting and how well the team manages the collaring process.![]()
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Photos by: Roimen Lelya![]()
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#humanwildlifecoexistence #communityconservation #coexistence #livingwithlions #CreatingConversations #lionconservation #ngorongorolions #corridortoftolerance #ngorongoro #ngorongoroconservationarea #kopelion #ngorongorocrater
We are excited to see the young male lion we collared late last year, along with his coalition buddies, thriving and roaming far and wide like the nomads they are meant to be. This group disappeared into Serengeti National Park for many months, spending time around Naabi Hill during the migration. They have now crossed back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and are currently moving between Ndutu and the highlands. ![]()
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Their movements are a testament to KopeLion's 'Corridor of Tolerance', and we hope they will contribute to our ongoing efforts to increase connectivity between the lions in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem.![]()
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Photos: Roimen Lelya![]()
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#humanwildlifecoexistence #communityconservation #coexistence #livingwithlions #CreatingConversations #lionconservation #ngorongorolions #corridortoftolerance #ngorongoro #ngorongoroconservationarea #kopelion #ngorongorocrater
