Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park is home to over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, including one of the world’s largest populations of elephants and the largest population of African wild dogs left in the world. It’s a magical place for tourists. Unfortunately, the communities living on the communal lands along its southern border are suffering from elephants relentlessly raiding crops and lions and hyena attacking their livestock. On top of that, this year’s rainfall has been among the worst on record and the country is facing its most devastating drought in 40 years. Communities very much need this water and they need food. They live isolated from social services and in times of crisis such as these, their livelihoods are very much at risk. Sustaining the provision of food, water, education and healthcare is challenging and unfortunately, it is often done at the expense of wildlife.
What if we could help communities improve their livelihoods by conserving wildlife?
It's all about using tourism to better protect wild life and wild livelihoods.
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