Sekute Conservation Area

In partnership with the Sekute Chiefdom, located in the Kazungula District with a population of approximately 20,000 people, AWF has established the Sekute Conservation Area, which covers more than 160,000 acres. Located at the point where Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe meet, the Sekute Conservation Area includes 25 miles of Zambezi River frontage in AWF's Kazungula Heartland.

Wildlife historically moved freely through this area, but population growth, agriculture and tourism-related construction have increasingly threatened the wildlife dispersal corridors. Having identified wildlife crossing points on the Zambezi River in danger of becoming blocked, AWF in partnership with the Sekute community has designed measures to protect these routes and enable large wildlife populations in Botswana and Namibia to move north into available habitat in Zambia.

AWF has identified two elephant corridors and has worked with local communities to designate a 50,000-acre section of the Chiefdom as the Sekute Conservation Area. The Sekute Community Development Trust was established to spearhead community development and conservation within the chiefdom, hence protecting the important wildlife corridors therein, including the riverfront.

AWF has also launched an Easements for Education Program that helps families who conserve land send their children to school, and has built a school, Lupani Primary School, that serves the families living near the conservation area and reduces the distance children must walk to attend school. The easement program currently supports over 100 underprivileged children, but there are many more children that could use this support. Remember, you can support conservation by helping to educate a child.

Besides protecting the corridors, the establishment of the Sekute Conservation Area provides community and private sector investment opportunities for its ecotourism and auxiliary enterprises. Currently the Trust has entered into a private/community partnership for the establishment of a four star eco-lodge. The Trust has also recruited and trained 20 community scouts to monitor natural resource use in the conservation area.