Sudanese Wildlife Protection Project
INCEF is helping Africa's newest country, South Sudan, preserve its gazelle, antelope, giraffe, elephant, hippo, and other vast wildlife populations that may constitute the largest animal migration on earth.
After 21 years of war and recent independence, the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) is working with USAID and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to curtail the hunting of all species and create well run and tourist friendly wildlife preserves. This work is key to the government's focus on reducing poverty. Conservation will create jobs in rural areas and provide a security infrastructure for local residents and tourists.
WCS Country Director, Dr. Paul Elkan asked INCEF's senior staff members Cynthia Moses and Seamus Gallagher to be part of this effort, recognizing our effective outreach model in central Africa. We are training WCS staff to create films that inform government officials, funders, and the general public through INCEF's strategy of village to village education efforts.
There is no time to delay. Early outreach efforts have already reached 10,000 villagers, telling the stories of the animal populations that survived the years of war. Elephant, giraffe, and migrating white eared cob and tiang populations are alive and will flourish with effective protection, as long as bushmeat hunting for commercial sale and local consumption are curtailed.
INCEF trained education teams have been well received in Sudanese villages. In many areas, the portable projection kits provided the first opportunity for community members to see a video, generating significant excitement. Audiences were awed seeing their president talk about conservation and their wildlife from a bird’s eye view. Army commanders, and community leaders became ardent supporters of the message.
Audience members reacted to the videos, requesting more wildlife officials in their region and more discussion sessions to explore sustainable hunting and human-wildlife conflict and coexistence. The INCEF trained education teams will continue to hit the road to meet these needs.
