The Singita Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund was profiled at the 7th TAWIRI (Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute) Conference held in Arusha, Tanzania, presenting papers on pioneering conservation work undertaken over recent years within the 1500 km² Singita Grumeti Reserves on the Western corridor of the Serengeti.

Themed ‘Wildlife Conservation in a changing world’, the bi-annual TAWIRI conference held in December (2009), saw the gathering of East Africa’s leading scientists and conservationists to explore the significant challenges facing the country in its quest to preserve its natural resources.

The Singita Grumeti Fund, which works in close collaboration with both TAWIRI and the Tanzanian Wildlife Division to rehabilitate, protect and maintain the indigenous biodiversity in the area, presented with TAWIRI two major, groundbreaking conservation success stories at the conference.

Since 2002, when the Singita Grumeti Fund was first established, resident wildlife numbers within the Singita Grumeti Reserves have increased by 59% - today offering what has been rated as the ‘best wildlife, safari and ecotourism experience’ in all of East Africa.

Prior to the establishment of the Singita Grumeti Fund, unsustainable illegal poaching and uncontrolled legal hunting resulted in the virtual collapse of resident wildlife populations within this area. This undermined the tourist potential of the reserves,  as well as the capability of neighbouring communities to utilise natural resources in a sustainable manner within the context where there were few alternative economic opportunities to secure livelihoods.

The dramatic increase in wildlife numbers may be attributed directly to the immense success of the Singita Grumeti Fund Law Enforcement Programme conducted in collaboration with the Tanzanian Wildlife Division, as well as securing critical habitat and resident wildlife populations, and improving ecosystem integrity. Scouts employed are mostly former poachers who, after passing an intensive selection course, were recruited and trained to implement law enforcement activities within the reserves. Examples cited include buffalo increasing from 600 in 2003 to over 3500 in 2009, eland from 252 to 1600, warthog from 235 to 2427, and waterbuck from 212 to 841, to name but a few. The recovery in resident game numbers has also resulted in the recovery of predator populations and lion, cheetah and hyena are now commonly sighted, and occasionally, even leopard. The improved security within the area has also paved the way for the reintroduction of black Rhino into the area in 2007.

After poaching, invasive alien plants are considered one of the greatest threats to conservation in East Africa. The Singita Grumeti Fund, together with TAWIRI and the Tanzanian Wildlife Division, has therefore spearheaded a pilot project to control invasive alien species within its reserves. Not only will this assist in securing the indigenous biodiversity, it will also create increased awareness, leading to the expansion of similar projects into other protected areas within Tanzania.

Brian Harris Managing Director of the Singita Grumeti Fund said that the non-profit Singita Grumeti Fund operates four specialist divisions: Wildlife management; Law enforcement; Ecological monitoring; and Community outreach. He said: ‘Our programme is based on the three pillars principle: firstly to secure the wildlife resources, then to develop a tourism industry base on this thriving wildlife resource, and finally to use this industry to support and stimulate the local economy in such a way as to provide people with access to alternative, sustainable livelihoods, where they come to value a thriving wildlife resource through seeing it as inextricably linked to their long term economic security. We are proud to be able make a significant contribution to nature conservation and sustainability in Tanzania.’

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