The Utariri Programme
We are thrilled to announce that Bushlife Safaris have been chosen as a local consortium partner for the Utariri Programme. This programme is supported by the Swedish Government Agency for Development Cooperation, the Danish International Development Agency, the Global Environment Facility, and private Danish Donors.
The Utariri Programme, (Utariri meaning Stewardship in the Shona Language) seeks to encourage ownership and contribution, towards sustainable utilisation and management of natural resources, whilst working towards the goal of restoring biodiversity, climate action, and building community resilience.
What are the Objectives?
Shrinking biodiversity habitats amid increasingly dry conditions owing to climate change, illicit poaching, and prevailing macroeconomic challenges, have exacerbated biodiversity losses in important biosphere reserves such as the mid-lower Zambezi valley. This is one of Africa’s last remaining protected areas. The valley is extensive enough to support many communities, large populations of mammals and includes a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The objectives of the Utariri Programme are admirable – they seek to restore dignity to communities, enhance food security, promote inclusive participation in ecosystems, protect wildlife while mitigating human-wildlife conflict, build climate-adaptive resilient communities and increase species diversity in this area. The arrangement involving consortium partners, takes an expansive landscape approach, where fostering skills, cross learning, and knowledge transfer envisages livelihood transformation.
As one of the local partners, Bushlife Safaris will primarily support the objectives of reducing human-wildlife conflict through education, helping with sustainable business ventures that uplift communities, and relocating wild animals if required.
