Realisation of sustainable biodiversity and natural resource management outside of protected areas requires the support of stakeholders. This is especially true of diverse landscapes, such as the Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe, where ecological systems transcend land use and land tenure boundaries. The Matobo Hills, which cover approximately 3000 km2 in southern Zimbabwe, were declared an IUCN World Cultural Heritage Site in 2003. The diversity of land use, ranging from protected areas to heavily altered subsistence agriculture zones, require appropriate management and monitoring if the high diversity of fauna (e.g. >100 species of mammals and 450 species of avifauna) and flora (including several endemic species) are to survive into the future.

Traditionally, ecological monitoring to ensure that systems remain healthy, has been the domain of scientists and managers, with sporadic information flow back to local stakeholders. However, there is the opportunity to involve local people in biodiversity monitoring, which has the dual effect of raising awareness and entrenching the skills required to monitor resources and produce relevant information towards management plans. Such an approach is of great benefit for long-term sustainability of community-driven resource monitoring, beyond the life of donor-funded projects.

This project will develop community-based monitoring through providing training, technical support and materials to teenage learners at rural secondary school conservation clubs in the Matobo Hills. In the project’s first year, five schools will be included, and 25 learners (to be “team leaders”) will be provided with detailed training in biodiversity monitoring techniques, such as transects and quadrat sampling. In addition to training and providing technical support, Dambari Wildlife Trust’s Field Education Officer will develop and distribute themed environmental education and awareness materials to clubs and will encourage learners to share their experiences via a newsletter that will be distributed to stakeholders and interested parties around the globe.

It is anticipated that environmental information received and / or collected by club members will be communicated to the local community, which will greatly enhance local awareness. Data obtained through monitoring will be used towards identifying conservation and community needs, with the aim to establish sustainable utilisation plans for natural resources. We intend to roll out the programme to more schools and a wider area in subsequent years, with the ultimate intention of establishing self-contained, community-driven natural resource management in the Matobo Hills.