Kent Scouts held the “LionAid Challenge” for the first time in October 2023. This was a series of fun & educational activities culminating in raising funds for this small charity based in Dover, Kent. The plan is to run this challenge badge again in October 2027.
LionAid and Sustainability
The “insurance herd” programme concept was borne out of discussions that LionAid held with several Maasai Elders in Kenya over a couple of years.
Rural African communities live uncomfortably with predators. Pastoralists often invest considerable resources in livestock herding, guarding and predator control, adding significantly to cycles of poverty among rural communities. In many African pastoralist societies, livestock also has a cultural value exceeding economic worth as cattle are valued for social, political, cultural and religious reasons. Livestock assets are the primary form of wealth acquisition and storage in these communities, and such assets are particularly vulnerable to coexistence with predators.
Chris and Pieter from LionAid were privileged to spend time among the Maasai communities in Kenya, in Kitengela and Olepolos, two of the conflict hotspots that have seen lions and other predators killed in retaliation for raids on livestock. The following year, they visited a community in Muereshi next to Amboseli where again they discussed this concept with the village Maasai Elders, where livestock predation is 60% lions and 40% hyena and leopard.
The Elders in these communities welcomed us warmly and were very pleased to be consulted as to their ideas for new ways forward. In all visits, the Elders told us that they had never been asked to put forward their solutions to reduce human/wildlife conflict. As a result, we deepened our understanding of these conflict issues and we were guided by them as to fresh approaches to resolve the difficulties they face.
Based on these meetings we jointly decided that a pilot programme was needed to determine best methodologies before wider application across Africa.
This scheme is unique in that there is unlikely to be further need for expensive programmes to support compensation, the programme will quickly be self-sustaining, will provide additional revenue directly linked to predators, and will significantly reduce cycles of poverty caused by wildlife conflict. The compensation schemes would need to be directly linked to deterrent measures, including the need to construct predator resistant bomas (night time cattle enclosures) equipped with proper fencing, night lights, motion sensors, solar panels etc (The boma upgrade kit)
(Source: https://lionaid.org/news/2021/11/an-innovative-predatorlivestock-conflict-mitigation-programme.htm)
