Unlocking the value of wildlife through Community Camera Trapping

The innovative Community Camera Trapping (CCT) programme, initiated by Ruaha Carnivore Project, has shown great success in Tanzania. Now Lion Landscapes is piloting the programme in Lower Luangwa, Zambia, and have plans to expand the programme into more of their study areas.

Coexisting with large carnivores is a scary and costly proposition, as they can pose real danger to people and livestock. CCT unlocks the value of having wildlife share the land, and provides the people that coexist with it tangible benefits for doing so.

Villagers are trained and employed to place camera traps on their land. The villages then earn points for the wildlife recorded. More points are received for threatened or conflict-prone species, with carnivores being the most highly valued. Competitions with similar villages each month lead to prizes of varying amounts of money. 

CCT provides a mechanism where aid and conservation organisations are not just directly giving to the community. Rather, the benefits come from the actual wildlife that is on village land. There is a clear link between wildlife presence and tangible community benefits.

The programme has proved successful in Ruaha. There were huge transitions in attitudes of communities toward sharing the land with wildlife. This demonstrates that communities can change quickly if they see a reason to do so.

Ultimately, Lion Landscapes has goals to expand this programme further across Tanzania, the Luangwa and Luano Valleys in Zambia, and in Laikipia, Kenya. Read more about Community Camera Trapping and Lion Landscapes HERE.