Impact case study database

The research finding that cheetahs and wild dogs require conservation across geographic scales seldom considered in terrestrial ecosystems inspired Durant and Woodroffe to address this challenge by establishing, in 2006, the Range Wide Conservation Programme for Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs (RWCP). This programme works with national governments, non-governmental organisations, and other partners to support and encourage conservation of the two species on the vast geographical scales needed, across protected and unprotected lands, within and across national borders [S1, S2]. Informed by Durant and Woodroffe’s research, between 2013 and 2020 the RWCP:

• Developed national conservation action plans for cheetahs and wild dogs in partnership with seven range state governments (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Chad, Namibia, Niger, and Tanzania) and local non-governmental organisations, together covering 1.6 million km² of known cheetah range and over 500,000 km² of known wild dog range [S1], [S2], [S3], [S4]. In developing and implementing these plans, national wildlife authorities have learned to address the unique conservation challenges posed by these very wide-ranging predator species [S1], [S3], [S4].

• Reviewed and updated the International Union for Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission’s IUCN/SSC regional strategic plan for the conservation of cheetahs and African wild dogs in southern Africa, and reviewed and updated three national conservation action plans for cheetahs and wild dogs in partnership with three range state governments (Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia) [S1], [S2]. This process allowed national wildlife authorities to take stock of progress to date, to incorporate new research, and to revise and update their plans in line with progress and current scientific research [S1], [S2].

• Developed national capacity for cheetah and wild dog conservation by training, mentoring and supporting National Coordinators in 14 range states, to oversee the implementation of new and existing National Action Plans [S1], [S2], [S3], [S4], [S5], [S6]. Each of these Coordinators is embedded within their national wildlife authority, and their training has included sustainable ways to protect these species while also benefiting local people, allowing cheetahs and wild dogs to survive in human-dominated landscapes [S6].

• Supported the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) to establish a new policy initiative (the African Carnivores Initiative) in partnership with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) [S1], [S7]. This joint Initiative, which started work in 2018, provides an international framework to promote cheetah and wild dog conservation on the huge geographic scales needed, including a recommendation to “ establish a national coordination structure based on the Range Wide Conservation Programme for Cheetah and Wild Dog to provide technical support, training and mentoring to coordinators and a platform for regular meetings” [S7].

• In partnership with national governments and local experts, facilitated developing the first conservation plans for the species in two Trans-Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs); the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA in Botswana/Namibia/Angola/Zambia/ Zimbabwe (>500,000km²), and the W-Arly-Pendjari-Oti-Mandouri TFCA in Benin/Burkina Faso/Niger/Togo (23,000km²), promoting cheetah and wild dog conservation across international borders [S2], [S4].

• Established a new conservation initiative in the W-Arly-Pendjari-Oti-Mandouri TFCA (23,000km²) to secure habitat and prey for the last cheetah population in West Africa [S2], [S4].

• Developed a carnivore management plan for the Tsavo ecosystem in Kenya/Tanzania (24,421km², in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenyan NGO Osilalei, and local stakeholders) [S2], [S5], and a management plan for Luando National Park in Angola (8,737km², in partnership with the Angola Ministry of Environment) [S2].

• Discovered two previously unknown populations of African wild dogs covering 13,000km² in the course of surveying protected areas across Angola, a country recovering from decades of conflict [S8].

• Initiated a new on-the-ground project in Zambia, to help local communities to coexist with wild dogs, cheetahs, and other wildlife, hence securing a vital but unprotected wildlife corridor which connects wild dog and cheetah range in Kafue National Park (30,680km²), to range in the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA (558,189km²) [S1], [S2].

In addition, demographic evidence that the illegal pet trade poses a serious extinction risk for cheetahs prompted RWCP to:

• Work through CITES to raise awareness of the illegal trade in cheetahs among range states, transit, and destination countries. This resulted in a formal assessment of the impact of trade on cheetah populations (which lists RWCP as one of the organisations contributing information), and establishment of a cheetah working group within CITES, with Durant as a member [S1].

• Provide the first CITES Illegal Trade Resource Kit, to be used by customs and other enforcement officials across the world to address illegal trade in cheetahs, including identifying cheetahs and cheetah products, and ensuring that any confiscated cheetahs are managed appropriately [S1], [S2].

Moreover, Woodroffe’s evidence that rabies caught from domestic dogs can kill whole packs and devastate wild dog populations prompted her Kenyan PhD student, Dedan Ngatia, to establish the Laikipia Rabies Vaccination Campaign (LRVC), which aims to protect both people and wild dogs by vaccinating domestic dogs [S10]. Although the World Health Organisation aims to eradicate human rabies by 2030, most efforts have targeted urban areas. Drawing tangible links between human and wildlife health has encouraged donors to support rural rabies control [S1], and the LRVC, which is conducted in partnership with Kenya’s national and county governments, and local communities, is estimated have prevented approximately 75 human rabies deaths since its establishment in 2015 [S5]. Under the auspices of the RWCP, Woodroffe’s team is now using evidence from their own research, and the experience of the LRVC, to develop disease management plans for wild dogs in Kenya, which are expected to provide a model for other wild dog conservation projects throughout Africa [S1], [S5].

In a recent independent review after 13 years of operation using the Conservation Excellence Model (CEM), the Range Wide Conservation Programme for Cheetah and African Wild Dogs was assigned a score of greater than 500. The assessors noted, that: “ *For comparison, amongst programmes previously assessed against CEM, only two other programmes achieved assessment scores in excess of 500 points, both of which have been established more than 20 years)*” [S2].