Community-based conservation and wildlife protection in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem just strengthened its ranks and expanded its reach.
On May 2, the leadership of the newly established Randilen Wildlife Management Area officially deployed 15 fresh village game scouts to begin operations in the 315-sqaure-kilometer community conservation area, which borders the northeastern arc of Tarangire National Park.
“We proudly deployed the new scouts and look forward to the partnership with Honeyguide Foundation and others,” said Melembuki Meishurie, the WMA’s secretary. “Randilen has great potential to work with our villages for greater benefits.”
Randilen has partnered with Honeyguide to assist in resource and wildlife protection initiatives. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Big Life Foundation are funding the program, and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is providing salaries for the village game scouts and additional guidance for the WMA.
With an estimated 2,000 or more elephants regularly inhabiting the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, protecting elephants stands as a top priority for Honeyguide-supported strategies. Such focus is sorely needed. On April 25, poachers downed three elephants near Lokisale Village, just south of Randilen. At least four other elephants have been killed in the surrounding area since January.
The area serves as a corridor for elephants and other wildlife moving among Randilen, Tarangire National Park, Manyara Ranch, and other protected areas. Wildebeest also migrate through Randilen heading to and from the Simanjiro Plains.
As Honeyguide operates in the nearby Manyara Ranch and Burunge WMA, the program will aim to improve inter-team cooperation so that conservation and wildlife protection will take on a larger ecosystem approach and efforts will be jointly coordinated, including with the national parks.
Honeyguide 3-Phase Expansion in Tarangire-Manyara & Inter-Team Wildlife Protection Collaboration
“By expanding into Randilen, Honeyguide and our partners will be able to collaborate and to share resources and information with teams throughout the ecosystem,” said Fadhili Madava, Honeyguide’s Tarangire-Manyara Coordinator. “We will now be working with multiple teams covering like 2,000 square kilometers in Tarangire-Manyara.”
To kick off operations in Randilen, the Chairman of the WMA, Daniel Loshaiye, Honeyguide’s Head of Conservation, Ole Kirimbai, and AWF’s country director, John Salehe, kept their speeches concise and focused on motivating the 15 new village game scouts, who will begin preliminary resource protection patrols immediately even while in training.
“We have a long way to go, but these scouts have the determination to be an effective team in Randilen,” said a top trainer and commander for Honeyguide and Big Life, John Magembe, who will spend up to seven weeks with the new team. “Their leaders and communities will be counting on them.”
Randilen WMA Leadership, Partners & Stakeholders
