As a science-based organization, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation’s mission in Africa is to conserve all giraffe populations in the wild through innovative and adaptive management approaches. Central to this endeavor is our Twiga Wetu (Swahili for Our Giraffe) Initiative – our holistic, collaborative, and community-driven umbrella initiative that encompasses all our community-based programs.
Key to giraffe conservation’s long-term success is supporting and investing in people and communities who share their living space with giraffe. Twiga Wetu employs a country- or site-specific approach, adapting experience and knowledge gained from our and our partners’ programs throughout Africa. We promote and support innovative community involvement in giraffe conservation at every opportunity.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation collaborates with local and international conservation partners who have a strong track record of community conservation on each Twiga Wetu program. Twiga Wetu encompasses a wide range of programs, from implementation to providing financial and technical support.
In Cameroon, we work collaboratively with BEDD (Biodiversity, Environment & Sustainable Development), a local NGO that engages in giraffe monitoring and community outreach in and around protected areas in the country.
In northern Kenya, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation supports Twiga Walinzi, a community-led conservation program developed by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and local partners. The program, which involves a large community field team, conducts giraffe monitoring, manages camera traps, leads school outreach, and runs giraffe conservation education programs.
In Niger, we partnered with Sahara Conservation and Wild Africa Conservation to implement a long-term community-based conservation program for monitoring the last West African giraffe. The program supports monitoring by AVEN, a local guides’ association that also focuses on diversifying rural livelihoods and generating local income.
In Uganda, our collaborative Twiga Wetu program with the Snares to Wares Initiative employed a holistic approach to reducing poaching impact in Murchison Falls National Park by linking community support, education, and awareness with on-the-ground anti-poaching patrols, snare sweeps, and veterinary treatment of ensnared wildlife.
In Tanzania, we partner with Traditional Ecosystems Survival Tanzania to support communities in understanding giraffe distribution and threats in village lands between Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The TEST field team also implements site-specific conservation education programs across the region.
In Namibia, our Khomas Environmental Education Program (KEEP) also falls under the Twiga Wetu umbrella. This successful program is the largest of its kind in Namibia, which has so far reached over 21,500 primary school students and allowed them an opportunity to reconnect with their environment.
Our vision is to create innovative ways for collaboration between communities, government park officials, and conservation NGOs, where local people and wildlife can mutually benefit. Sustainable, long-term success for giraffe can only be achieved with the support of local communities.
