Host Organization Details
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust (TUWICOT) is a charitable wildlife conservation trust established on the 20th of December 2012 by deed for the promotion of wildlife and environmental conservation in the Simanjiro ecosystem area.
It is widely accepted that protected areas alone are not sufficient to conserve wildlife populations particularly for migratory or wide-ranging species. Simanjiro Plains is used as a dispersal area by wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and zebra (Equus burchellii). It is important and necessary to involve local communities in monitoring programs across landscapes that incorporate communal lands as well as protected areas.
It is no secret that Tanzania’s wildlife is in trouble. Between the growing human population and current wildlife and land policies, Tanzania is losing 20% of its wildlife per year. Please read www.wildlifetanapa.com for the real facts on why wildlife in Tanzania is depleted.
TUWICOT believes that the only way to conserve and protect wildlife and wilderness is to give it true and real value. Often times, in conservation efforts, outsiders push their own ideas and beliefs on the local people, who never directly benefit. It has become a bad habit with Eco-tourism that less than 5 % of the profit gets to the people on the ground though lions kill livestock and elephants and zebras eat crops; money is taken away from these invaluable products but almost never given back to the people the process affects. Wildlife needs to directly improve the quality of life for the man living with it. Unless wildlife has real value and pays, there will not be room for it in the developing world. "Wildlife is Life", without it around us in abundance, human life is at risk. TUWICOT was established to create a mutually beneficial relationships between wildlife and local communities.
Environmental Conservation:
If you love animals and care about protecting their natural habitats, wildlife conservation organizations would welcome your help. Protecting endangered species and restoring their living environment to healthy conditions is a big job. But it gets smaller if people, young and old, pitch in and show their commitment to protecting wildlife for future generations by participating in wildlife conservation projects. By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration. Tuwicot is there to help conserve the environment through reforestation, habitat restoration and litter cleanup.
Human Wildlife Conflicts:
Conflicts between wildlife and people, particularly those who share the immediate boundaries of protected areas, are common phenomenon’s all over the world. Dwindling of wildlife resources has been linked to human actions through over exploitation, habitat destruction, pollution and introduction of non-native species. On the other hand, local people look at wildlife as a liability to them. This view is provoked by the bitter experience they have had due to costs inflicted by wildlife conservation. Such costs include; loss of access to legitimate and traditional rights, damage to crops and other properties, livestock depredation, and risk posed to people’s lives through disease transmission and attacks by wild animals. However, besides these conflicts, it is indisputable that wildlife can contribute significantly to the economy of the country and the welfare of the local communities, who, in fact are the ones bearing the costs of conservation. The contribution of wildlife resources to development of local communities will change the popular notion that has made people label wildlife as a liability. Research and extension are meaningful tools to this end. It's further recommended that research and extension can be used as effective tools in resolving the prevailing human- wildlife conflicts with a view of lobbying for social acceptability and making wildlife an economic viable activity to local communities.
Anti-Poaching Activities
While the elephant population dwindles as the demand for ivory grows, zebra for skins, grand gazelles and others for meat the Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust team is working tirelessly to tackle illegal poaching and save animals lives. They support conservation and anti-poaching activities to provide a safe future for its remaining endangered wildlife population and habitat.
Tukuta Wildlife Conservation Trust was initiated on December 20th, 2012 by Kilakoy Yohana, managing director and his partner Mr Kalanga. They were both born and raised in Simanjiro where the organization is located. They both expressed interest in doing wildlife conservation projects in this area, since it was rich in a wide range of wildlife. They wrote their proposal applying for funding to operate the organization from a Swiss organization and they were able to get funding to start and operate it.
The organization is funded by a Swiss organization called Friend of the Serengeti. The organization helps them out with all the operational costs The organization funds themselves for other small operational costs.
GPS, Binoculars and Range Finders.