About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge: 

COVID-19 has brought tourism revenue to a halt across Africa, threatening the important work and livelihoods of the rangers who protect iconic African wildlife such as elephants, pangolins, rhinos, lions, and more. Ranger teams are now uniting around the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a running race with one goal: to raise money to support thousands of their fellow rangers. Now is the time to go the extra mile—it’s time to race to support our rangers. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Scheinberg Relief Fund, doubling your generous contribution.

Your contribution will help support 28 rangers and an estimated 40 livelihoods in and around Vamizi Marine Sanctuary.

The role of rangers:

The Vamizi Island ranger team consists of several groups who work together to protect the island’s marine and terrestrial biodiversity and natural resources while promoting sustainable livelihoods for local communities. The OWB team has overall oversight of the program working in collaboration with local Lurio University. This includes coordinating research and monitoring activities and working towards expanding marine protected areas in the region. 

The Community & Conservation team, recruited from local communities, conduct much of the day-to-day ecological monitoring including forest and turtle nesting patrols on Vamizi and Rongui Islands, and with the Marine Operations team conduct sanctuary patrols for illegal fishing and activities, which also extend to adjacent islands and reefs. The Conselho Comunitario Pesca team are unpaid, volunteer community fisheries council members responsible for sanctuary patrols and fisheries regulations enforcement.

How your donation will help

The organisation is currently facing capacity issues with regards to ranger activities, while at the same time experiencing increased poaching pressures. Funding for salaries will fill the gap created by senior staff that are not currently active on site, (due to translocation from the island under COVID-19 lockdown), and reduction and loss of salaries for other rangers.

Additional funding will allow for the re-employment of a research dive technician, a marine operations officer and six community and conservation monitors on a part-time, temporary basis.These positions will enable an increase in night time patrol efforts, which are particularly important given observed recent escalation of nocturnal poaching, as well as resumption of important research and marine monitoring activities that had been scaled back. Additional funding is also requested to assist with logistics and transport options to the site that have been impacted in recent months.

Effects of the pandemic:

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing issues hindering the capacity of the organisation and ranger team in the Vamizi Marine Sanctuary and surrounding areas. In March 2019, Cyclone Kenneth hit northern Mozambique, affecting inshore areas and local communities. Since October 2017, political instability and the rise of an Islamic insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province has gained momentum and contributed to the temporary suspension of high-end tourism operations on Vamizi Island in late 2019.  While the subsequent onset of COVID-19 shortly after would have shut down operations regardless (as it has at other tourism sites across Africa), its onset has multiplied effects and prevented any chance of tourism operations in spite of the political situation. 

These impacts have led directly to job losses, wage reductions, and loss of income to the community through tourism and sportsfishing levies, as well as loss of alternative livelihood options from tourism (e.g. women’s craft groups). Effects of the pandemic have also increased pressure on marine and forest resources due to an intensification of food insecurity issues and the influx of more people to the islands of the Quirimbas escaping the insurgency and COVID-19 threat. 

Additionally, the mandatory two-week quarantining of staff returning to the island from leave, the inability of senior staff from the Oceans Without Borders team to return from leave in South Africa due to lockdown restrictions, and the reduction of options for transporting staff and maintenance personnel to service marine infrastructure, have all contributed to the reduction of essential field logistics support and operations.

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Tusk is registered with JustGiving in the UK (or GoFundMe.com in the USA). Our online fundraising sites allow you to create a sponsorship form with easy access for your supporters, knowing their money is going directly to Tusk. UK tax-paying donors can enhance their contribution by agreeing to Gift Aid their sponsorship (for every £10 you raise, Tusk will receive another £2.50 from the Government provided you are a UK taxpayer). US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation can do so via GoFundMe.com.