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Swaziland Savannah Conservation
This is a fun and worthwhile conservation project, set in a national park working alongside some of Africa’s most stunning wildlife, which is in need of your help and support. You will have the fantastic opportunity to work with Rhinos, Elephants, Lions and Leopards and many of Africa’s smaller species learning hands-on wildlife research and conservation techniques. Your volunteer work will help with the understanding of the ecology of African savannahs and their threatened species, by monitoring important indicator species.
Project Age Limit
Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participants health.
Project Requirements
You are required to be relatively fit and healthy to take part in this programme.
The Volunteer Project
It is vital for us to understand the ecology of African savannahs and their threatened species and this is where your help is needed. You will have the unique opportunity to work in a variety of wildlife areas, including a National Park, Nature Reserve, Private Reserve and Community Reserve: All of these areas fall under the ‘umbrella’ of the term ‘Conservancy’.
The Lubombo Conservancy contains beautiful savannah vegetation. This is the most typical and widespread of ecosystems in Africa and is the habitat that supports much of Africa’s wildlife. African savannahs are well represented in conservation areas, however human influence and climate change is resulting in savannahs undergoing many changes and new threats. African savannahs are well known for their large captivating game such as elephant, rhino and lion, but there are also a variety of smaller species that are threatened and an important factor in the functioning of the ecosystem.
Having a better understanding of conservation will result in better management and the effective protection of the area. As the resources available are limited, help from volunteers is essential in the conservation efforts of the African savannah conservation project.
Background of your Project
The project is located in North-Eastern Swaziland, in the 60,000 hectare Lubombo Conservancy. The area hosts a range of big game including lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and giraffes.
You will be working alongside staff and researchers to assist in a variety of research and conservation activities. This area of Swaziland is especially abundant in threatened species and forms part of the Maputaland Centre of Endemism, an area of high conservational value due to the high number of endemic plant and bird species.
The Lubombo Conservancy began in 1999 with the aim of co-operating the management of five adjoining national parks, conservation areas and nature reserves. These areas have been managed by the government, private owners or traditional communities, but the aim now is to have just one large conservation area that is managed as a unit. The process of building new partnerships and knocking down the dividing fences so that wildlife can roam free takes many years.
This is conservation in action and you will play a part in this process by joining the Savannah Conservation Project.
Your Role As A Volunteer
As a volunteer, you will investigate the ecology of savannah species, getting involved in research and hands on conservation in northeastern Swaziland. The wildlife are getting extremely used to seeing volunteers and will therefore allow you to get really close to them to carry out your research and observational work.
Past conservation efforts have focused on reversing the decline of large game, but their habitats and smaller species are also becoming increasingly threatened. For example, the raptors and predators that are at the top of the food chain suffer from the increasing effects of the degrading of savannahs, yet they can roam massive distances and are therefore exposed to a variety of threats. Also, relatively little is know about bats and reptiles, which both play an important role in the ecosystem, and often become overlooked.
The project has uncovered important findings about the conservation of savannah species and without this, some of these species may be lost. As a volunteer you will have an important impact on this project and your support and help with research and conservation will be a rewarding experience.
The project has identified the species that can be used as general indicators of the health of the savannah ecosystem. Therefore the main focuses on the project will be on:
• Monitoring rhinos and elephants in order to identify their activity patterns and changes in social structure.
• Monitoring threatened birds and bats, in particular their movement and reproduction.
• Monitoring of tortoise movements and activity.
• Surveying threatened plants (some of which are not found anywhere else in the world) to monitor reproductive success and survival. While on the project there are a variety of activities that you may take part in, depending on the needs at the time you are there. Some of these include:
• Taking part in night drives to survey the presence and quantity of nocturnal predators.
• Monitoring and looking after the game that are kept in enclosures for eventual reintroduction.
• Help with radio-tracking threatened species to determine home range and spatial patterns.
• Setting up harp-traps and nets to capture birds and bats.
• Recording and analysing field information and data.
• Collating and writing the findings of research, communicating them through articles and scientific publications.
• Helping with the development and implementation of conservation action plans for threatened species.
• Investigating the ecology of threatened species by visiting and observing monitoring sites.
• Help to record habitat and environmental variables, which are associated with the collection of the above information.
• Driving, walking or even cycling through big game areas in search of active nests, roosts and dens of threatened birds (eagles, vultures, storks) bats and predators (hyenas, genets, serval cats) breeding in the area.
• Visiting known dens, nests and roosts to assist with monitoring the reproductive success of selected species.
• Helping to weigh, measure, tag and ring young birds and bats in order to monitor their condition and assist with the study of their survival and dispersal. Project Support
Throughout your stay in Swaziland you will have the support and guidance of your coordinator and team. You will be provided with competent assistance and help with any questions or advice you may need during your stay. In addition you will have access to a 24 hour emergency contact number so you can contact one of our UK staff at any time should you need to.
Project Orientation
Following your arrival, you will receive a detailed orientation to introduce you to Swaziland and the project that you will be taking part in. The orientation will include a presentation that will introduce you to the country, the project, health and safety and the extra activities available to you. You will then be sent on an orientation of the area that you will be living and working in.
The orientation will take you on the public transport into the capital to visit important places, such as Internet café’s, banks and restaurants.
Accommodation and Meals
Your accommodation will vary, depending on the time that you are there and the project needs. You will either be staying in a rustic cottage or camping out in tents in a National Park, where you will experience the excitement of the bush, by getting back-to basics. You will have access to communal bathrooms and kitchen facilities.
Upon arrival, during your orientation and every second weekend, your accommodation will be at a backpacker lodge in the Ezulwini valley. The lodge has a number of large dorm rooms that you will share with 3 other volunteers. You will be sleeping in bunk beds, with access to your own veranda where you can spend your evenings relaxing. There are communal bathrooms and a kitchen where meals are prepared. The lodge also benefits from a TV lounge with board games, a pool table and dartboard.
You will be provided with 3 meals a day that, if camping, will be cooked on an open fire and duties will be shared between volunteers. At the lodge, cooking facilities will be communal and quite basic in a fully operational kitchen. Generally breakfast will consist of cereals and toast, for lunch you will have sandwiches and for dinner you will have a large cooked meal.
For further information or to secure your place on this project, please call the Africa team today on 01892 516164 or email us at Africa@realgap.co.uk
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