UK/ZAMBIA: Zambian campaigner Hammerskjoeld Simwinga , wins Goldman environmental prize

Record ID: 452460

  • Title: UK/ZAMBIA: Zambian campaigner Hammerskjoeld Simwinga , wins Goldman environmental prize
  • Date: 25th April 2007
  • Summary: (AD1) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 17, 2007) (REUTERS) HAMMERSKJOELD SIMWINGA SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) HAMMERSKJOELD SIMWINGA SAYING: "Initially their economy depended much more on the wildlife which was in the park and that was really putting too much pressure on the animals, adding onto the high poaching which was then in the late eighties. So if this park was not protected this time it would be thinking of just an empty wilderness." SIMWINGA'S HANDS
  • Embargoed: 10th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVA1XQVZ1RELZAVQ1OZ86H63TCD9
  • Story Text: Hammerskjoeld Simwinga wins the Goldman environmental prize for his fight against illegal poaching. Simwinga, praises local communities in making this fight possible. Hammerskjoeld Simwinga from Zambia, has been awarded one of the six annual Goldman Environmental Prizes on Monday (April 23) for his fight against illegal poaching in the Northern Luangwa Valley.
    In 1985 Simwinga started working with two American zoologists Dr Delia and Mark Owens who set up the North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP).
    At the time NLCP was set up, illegal poachers killed 1000 elephants every year according to the Owen's foundation website and had killed all the black rhinos in the park.
    The destruction of the Luangwa National park and its wildlife convinced Simwinga to get involved in this struggle.
    The NLCP goal was to end poaching and work with the local communities, who had come to depend on illegal poaching, to develop alternative sources of income and food.
    "Initially their economy depended much more on the wildlife which was in the park and that was really putting too much pressure on the animals, adding onto the high poaching which was then in the late eighties. So if this park was not protected this time it would be thinking of just an empty wilderness," he told Reuters.
    Simwinga went from village to village either by hitching lifts, hiring transport or walking for days at a time to get to the far-flung communities and with the help of the Zambia Wildlife Agency, he persuaded local communities to set up cottage industries like sunflower oil, plant food crops and keep chickens and sheep instead of poaching.
    Simwinga explained he approached the women in the communities to change the way in which the families made their income.
    "So as we continued empowering the women their economies within the households become more visible. And more people started looking at these households, especially the female headed households prospering, sending their children to school, having enough money to go to the hospital, improved status. When they did their analysis they found that people who were more involved in these cottage industries were prospering, were having more income than people going into the poach(ing)," he said.
    Simwinga is proud of the achievements and dedication from the communities involved. The success speaks for itself.
    "A few year ago some communities never had the opportunity to have a market day for their crops. These were villages which literally produced nothing. And especially in Africa if your community is not empowered in terms of food production no outsider will come into the village bringing money. But now one village, which I am very proud of, one village which was just to close to the park, which previously depended on poaching and subsistence farming which would just take them half year. But now its one of the major food baskets of the district. And now the project and the harvest help managed also to help the community to build a shed. Because last year alone they produced so much grain, it was feared it would go to waste if it not covered," he said.
    11 years after the start of this project, 64 villages comprising some 35,000 people are taking part. Prosperity is booming, poaching has dwindled, wildlife is returning and with it the tourists. Simwinga puts the success of this project down to the communities and their commitment. He also stressed that "conservation without taking consideration of the needs of the people is a waste of time, you have to balance up the two," needs of the wildlife and the community.
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