AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC

Caring for wildlifecaring for wildlife initiatives included monitoring wildlife populations, strengthening protected area management and security, introducing innovative spatial tools for land use planning and threat assessment, and training and otherwise supporting investigators, prosecutors, judiciary members, and wildlife authorities to deter, detect, investigate, and prosecute wildlife crime.monitored wildlife populations. In fy24, awf actively measured 38 populations of priority wildlife species across 14 landscapes, analyzing field and gis data to determine threats. Species specifically monitored were 12 elephant populations, 8 large carnivore populations, 7 great ape populations, 4 giraffe populations, and 6 rhino populations. Populations were chosen for monitoring because their viability provided good indications of overall ecosystem health and wildlife security.strengthened protected area management. Awf supported wildlife authorities in protected area management through training and donation of equipment for rangers and eco-guards in five countries. This included training in the drc, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, and uganda.provided technological tools. Awf's ongoing strategic partnership with esri, the preeminent spatial technology company, generated innovative, accessible tools to facilitate evidence-based decision-making and ease of use by non-technical users. In turn, these tools have scaled efforts with partners throughout africa, including africa civil society biodiversity alliance, africa protected area directors, and wildlife authorities in kenya, cameroon, zimbabwe, and ethiopia. The tools collected data on wildlife movement and population dynamics and helped awf, partners, protected area managers, and local communities make informed conservation decisions. Increased capacity to investigate and prosecute wildlife crime. Awf's counter wildlife trafficking (cwt) division conducted several programs. The judicial and prosecutorial assistance training program trained 665 law enforcement officials in the drc, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, and uganda. Court monitoring in kenya and tanzania led to a 68% conviction rate among cases. The wildlife investigation and emerging crimes program built capacity among 386 officials in the drc, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, and uganda by providing new tools and methodologies to address the changing wildlife crime landscape. In addition, awf developed training manuals and supported special investigative operations in the drc, kenya, and tanzania. Those efforts netted 34 arrests and the recovery of 167 kilograms of ivory. Awf also donated law enforcement equipment to rangers, eco-guards, and scouts in the drc, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, and uganda for a total investment of $133,599. Increased capacity to detect and deter wildlife crime. Awf has trained and provided animal welfare oversight for detection dog units in botswana, cameroon, ethiopia, kenya, mozambique, tanzania, and uganda. In addition to training the dogs, we also trained wildlife authority dog handlers and provided guidance on caring for the dogs. Once trained, the dog teams are managed by the wildlife authorities. In fy24, ten new dogs and five handlers were trained to deploy at bole international airport in ethiopia. A canine facility was built for dog teams in ethiopia, and awf developed tools and guidelines for canine care and supported countries with veterinary care, dog food, and ongoing training. Detection dog teams also began working at nsimalen international airport in cameroon. Their efforts included searches of 41,823 flights, 1,621,924 cargo containers, 3,398,110 pieces of luggage, and 11,232 motor vehicles in cameroon, kenya, mozambique, tanzania, and uganda. Increased habitat for wildlife. 3,600,000 hectares were put under conservation management in the democratic republic of the congo. In addition, restoration was completed of 27 hectares of former farmland previously donated to rwanda's volcanoes national park by awf, and the land opened up for use as a protected habitat for mountain gorillas and other species.