Kavango-Zambezi
Transfrontier Conservation Area
Kavango-Zambezi
The Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) TFCA is one of the largest conservation landscapes in the world, encompassing Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Herding for Health is essential for maintaining this delicate ecosystem while supporting the livelihoods of communities and the dispersal of wildlife across this vast landscape. H4H promotes better livestock management for coexistence between wildlife and people and helps to restore rangelands, reduce conflicts with wildlife, and improve the economic resilience of local communities. These efforts are key to ensuring the long-term conservation of this vast, biodiverse region.
Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Better livestock management, climate adaptation for communities, enterprise development and government integrated approach to implementing H4H, reduced livestock-wildlife conflict, support of community-based trade and improved market access opportunities
Planned grazing and combined herding, veterinary support, strategic kraaling, market access including wildlife-friendly beef, commodity-based trading (mobile quarantines)
3.7 million hectares
41,300 hectares
54 jobs created
2,750 beneficiaries (includes farmers, eco-rangers/herders and enterprises)
Located in Zambia, Simalaha Community Conservancy plays a critical role in supporting the wildlife dispersal area from Botswana to Zambia and Namibia and is one of the first community-led conservation efforts in Zambia. H4H supports better livestock management to improve rangeland health and reduce wildlife, livestock disease transmissions while implementing planned and rotational grazing, combined herding and strategic kraaling to reduce overgrazing, and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. Market access and strengthened community governance empowers economic development for the people living in Simalaha.
Habu and Eretsha in Botswana are H4H demonstration sites within KAZA where livestock farming and wildlife conservation intersect. H4H is important in these areas to foster sustainable grazing practices and regenerate rangelands, while reducing conflicts with wildlife, such as elephants and predators. In Eretsha, H4H implementation partner, CLAWS, focuses on fostering lion-livestock coexistence, while in Habu, Wild Entrust supports elephant-livestock coexistence through H4H implementation. Mobile quarantine efforts, as a case to support commodity-based trade in areas with Foot and Mouth Disease, were pioneered at these sites. Furthermore, Eretsha has a wildlife-friendly beef initiative that facilitates market access for the farmers led by CLAWS. By improving rangeland management, H4H supports both biodiversity conservation and the resilience of farmers, aligning conservation goals with local livelihoods.
As part of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Government of Botswana-funded project, the Ngamiland District in Botswana is a crucial landscape for implementing H4H. This district faces significant challenges related to climate change, land degradation, and wildlife-livestock conflicts. H4H interventions here focus on promoting climate-smart grazing practices, restoring degraded rangelands, and enhancing community resilience to climate variability. By improving livestock health and productivity, H4H contributes to sustainable development while supporting biodiversity conservation in these vulnerable areas.
People, Livestock and Conservation
Herding 4 Health is a community development activity that promotes conservation outcomes while supporting people living in rural areas to find their way out of extreme poverty.
