By Staff Reporter
The Elephant Toolbox, set to be launched tomorrow by the Government and Wild Africa, will provide sustainable strategies and solutions for mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
Developed by Save the Elephants, the toolbox offers essential tools and knowledge for communities grappling with these conflicts.
Save the Elephants, headquartered in Nairobi, plays a crucial role in raising funds internationally to support community initiatives focused on coexistence.
Speaking ahead of the launch on Wednesday, Save the Elephants Coexistence Director Dr Lucy King emphasized that the toolbox will be digitized into a WhatsApp platform, providing farmers with effective coexistence strategies.
“In Kenya, maize is a primary crop, and elephants are particularly fond of it. If you live in an area with elephants and grow maize, you will encounter them.
“We are encouraging farmers to rethink their crop choices. Even if they want to continue growing maize, we suggest implementing a buffer zone of 50 meters with other crops, such as chilies and sunflowers, which elephants do not eat,” Dr King explained.
Guy Jennings, Southern Africa Director of Wildlife Africa Fund, noted that the launch will be attended by the Minister of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife.
He described the event as an opportunity to empower local communities with tools to mitigate wildlife conflict.
“The conference, alongside the launch, will bring together diverse perspectives and serve as a platform to discuss and equip communities with a toolbox of sustainable strategies and coexistence solutions to reduce human-wildlife conflict,” Jennings stated.
