GC Ngorongoro Tanzania Progress Report 2024
Photography by Marcus Westberg
Dubbed the “Queen Bees,” they are women who run bee hives that are part of a program to empower women-run businesses. The honey, candles, and skin care products are popular products of their hard work.
Achieving Goals for Conservation Programs
APW's commitment to developing local leadership includes a new group of African Women in Conservation mentees, who recently began their three-month training with our team. It’s been particularly exciting to see them learning from the Queen Bees in our beekeeping program, a beautiful continuation of our work to empower young women. Some of our team members who started as mentees at Noloholo are now integral parts of our Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Adaptation (MELA) and education teams. Watching them grow has been one of the most inspiring examples of what can happen when communities are given the tools and opportunities to shape their futures.
APW’s human-wildlife coexistence programs have also made outstanding strides recently. Their Community Game Scouts have once again won the Wildlife Ranger Challenge. It’s a proud moment for these dedicated scouts, who train hard all year to protect the wildlife and natural resources of the Tarangire ecosystem.
Photo courtesy of APW.
A New Vehicle to Support Conservation Patrols
This fall, with additional support from Conservation Nation, APW added a new vehicle to rapid response efforts in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The vehicle is already making a difference by enabling local teams to respond swiftly to human-elephant conflicts in community lands and villages near the protected area landscapes. Amazingly, we can track all the efforts making a difference in a short time. By working hard, APW-supported human-elephant coexistence officers have made it so that there have been 52% fewer crop-raiding incidents reported during peak conflict months in 2024 compared to 2023.
Photo courtesy of APW.
APW recently launched an elephant conservation project in the Greater Mkomazi landscape, marking another exciting expansion of our work. Thanks to the African Elephant Conservation Fund of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the initiative will enable us to monitor elephant movements and enhance conservation strategies in this transboundary region where wildlife traverse between Tanzania and Kenya. By leveraging our partnerships and increasing the capacity of local leaders, this work around Mkomazi National Park is an exciting opportunity to build on our successes and extend our impact in new and meaningful ways.
Much like the expansion from big cats to elephant coexistence in recent years, our holistic approach to conservation continues to evolve—now with a community health lens. By integrating health programming for girls and women into our environmental education activities, we’re helping strengthen the links between conservation and well-being. Health and life lessons are now part of our wildlife clubs and the Women’s Beekeeping Initiative, reinforcing the bonds between environmental stewardship and healthier, more empowered communities.
Two elephants cross the road from one farmland into another as they’re being chased by the APW Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Officers towards the protected Ngorongoro Crater area.
With pressures mounting on wildlife and wild spaces, African People & Wildlife offers vital tools to help communities and nature thrive, thanks to Global Conservation.
In September, two elephants unexpectedly wandered into a village bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, crossing through a busy area and heading toward a school. The timing was dangerous—midday, when few people expected wildlife nearby.
With students and teachers on alert, the situation could have quickly escalated.
Early in the morning, Wildlife-Conflict Officers from APW are on the watch for elephants that recently made their way into a farm.
But thanks to their Warriors for Wildlife and the training provided to a local conflict mitigation group, a swift and safe response followed. Non-lethal tools like chili firecrackers and noisemakers successfully guided the elephants back to the forest.
This incident, one of more than 1,200 wildlife conflicts in the region since 2022, is a powerful example of our approach in action—engaging communities, building trust, and empowering local people to protect both wildlife and their well-being. And just as the villagers are thankful for their coexistence officers, we deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment to this vital work.
Three “Queen Bees” take notes and look after their bee hives.
BREAKING BARRIERS TOGETHER
Diversifying the conservation field is essential for strong environmental decision-making. This year, APW’s education programs made progress in breaking down barriers and cultivating a new, inclusive generation of advocates. Scholarships expanded to include more students from partner schools, and more scholars are now pursuing university studies. In fact, two of APW’s female scholars graduated this year with degrees in Rangeland Management and Environmental Science.
APW made similar strides in girls’ education by working to remove obstacles to school attendance and incorporating life lessons on well-being into our wildlife club curriculum—now reaching more than 2,700 youth. By helping to address gender disparities and encouraging young women to pursue careers in environmental fields, you’re part of the movement for healthier communities and a more sustainable future.
BEEKEEPERS FLYING HIGH
With training and support from our team, local Queen Bees are now driving essential parts of the Women’s Beekeeping Initiative, empowering nearly 2,000 rural and Indigenous women with eco-friendly businesses. Mama Asali’s honey, candles, and skin care products are not only in high demand but have also been honored by the Tanzanian government! Thanks to your generosity, we’re advancing rapidly on a second Women’s Enterprise Center, set to revolutionize the program’s honey processing, product development, and retail opportunities in the year ahead.
“My life has really changed for the better. I have been able to send my child to university, learn more about beekeeping as a Queen Bee, save money in the bank, and now I have my own place to live.”
Neovitus Sianga (right), Director of Community Conservation, drives Wildlife-Conflict Officers through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the search for elephants, buffalo, baboons, and more who are raiding farmers’ crops.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
A Special Excerpt by Neovitus Sianga: Director of Community Conservation
“If I chose a word to describe our rangeland conservation activities this year, it would be uunganishaji—connectivity. Communities have come together to conserve grasslands on a scale we haven’t seen before. In 2024, we established joint grazing plans in Babati, connecting five villages, and in Longido, where four villages united to oversee their rangelands. These grass banks are managed to benefit livestock and wildlife while ensuring equitable access to pasture—reducing human conflict and shielding against unpredictable rainfall due to climate change.
But connectivity also means more than the land. It requires building relationships and trust for the long term. As more communities are equipped with the knowledge and tools for self-governance, including data from local rangeland monitors, I know we are fulfilling our promise to protect wildlife, invest in people, and restore balance. Your support makes this possible.”
