For the past forty years, the East African Wildlife Society has been at the forefront of efforts to protect the region's endangered species and habitats. Thanks to the generous support of our many members in East Africa and throughout the world we have been able to help conserve the region's black rhinos and elephants, contribute to current efforts to save the hirola and the roan antelope and act to preserve East Africa's rapidly disappearing forests.

In 1961 the members of the wildlife societies of Kenya and Tanzania -both founded in 1956- joined with Ugandan conservationists to form the East African Wild Life Society. The Society's mission is to promote the conservation and wise use of East Africa's wildlife and environment through:

• Influencing policy reform through advocacy
• Helping support national park infrastructure, antipoaching measures and wildlife sanctuaries
• Conservation education and research
• Translocating endangered species
• Community conservation initiatives

Throughout the 1980's the East African Wild Life Society's advocacy and publicity was an effective weapon in the fight against the rampant poaching then affecting the region. The Society also provided rangers with vehicles, fuel, radio equipment, firearms, uniforms and accommodation to help them win the battle.
EAWLS also campaigned strongly for an international ban on ivory trading. After the ban was enforced in 1989, ivory prices dropped dramatically and ivory poaching throughout Africa declined. Until we are sure that a continued ivory trade will not cause a resumption of the massive poaching we saw during the 1970's and 1980's, EAWLS will continue to support an ivory trade ban.
EAWLS has always been in the forefront of active conservation in the region. With money donated by the many generous donors who support the Society, it has helped fund new research centres, build firebreaks and fences and establish wildlife sanctuaries. For instance, EAWLS donations helped fund the rhino sanctuaries in the Aberdares, at Lake Nakuru, and at Ngulia in Tsavo West. Safe havens like these have helped rhino numbers in Kenya increase to almost five hundred.

Practical conservation in action

The hirola is Africa's most endangered antelope. EAWLS is at the centre of a web of concerned organisations dedicated to saving it from extinction. In 1996, several hirolas were translocated to Tsavo East National Park to boost that parks existing small population. Current emphasis, led by EAWLS, is to work to preserve the hirola antelope in its home range.

Membership Services

As well as the satisfaction of knowing you are doing something positive for your environment, as an EAWLS member you will receive one year's delivery of Swara, the Society's authoritative, beautifully illustrated bimonthly magazine. Each issue will bring you the latest in-depth news of Africa's conservation issues, inform you about the Society's work and amaze you with the region's best wildlife photographs.

Your membership card entitles you to a 10 percent discount on all purchases at either of our EAWLS shops in Nairobi and to selected discounts with a variety of hotel and tour companies. Members may also use the Society's library and are invited to attend Society forums, lectures and film shows.

Help uscontinue to play an active role in protecting the vital systems which cleanse our water, enrich our soil, and create the air that we breath. Earth is our only home. The survival of all life on our planet is dependent on YOU!

INTRODUCTION

The world over, many animal species are facing imminent extinction each passing day as a result of environmental and/or anthropogenic factors. Their importance as a country's ecological capital is undisputed. For some species, little or no information exists on their ecological diversity and adaptability, population structure, composition and breeding patterns. This renders them highly vulnerable and the threat of their extinction is compounded by their endemic nature.
Hirola (Damaliscus hunteri), commonly known as Hunters Antelope is one such animal. This species plight over the last three decades rings alarm bells. The drastic population plunge viz. 14,000 (1973) to about 300 (1995)** in the entire historical known hirola range - that covers an area of 31720 sq. km. is a major set-back to biodiversity conservation endeavours. Currently, hirola is effectively endemic in Kenya, the Somalia population (reportedly) having been wiped out in war conflict years. The major geographic range of this species in Kenya is restricted to southern, south- eastern and northern parts of Garissa, Tana River and Lamu districts respectively. What is needed is a holistic approach to its conservation by: accepting, believing, and swiftly acting on the formidable challenge we face now.
Hirola Operation : Now or Never! is thus a timely response to this challenge to conserve one of the worlds most rare and unique but currently critically threatened animal species. It entails concerted in situ and ex situ hirola conservation measures. Time is a resource we cannot afford to lose. ACTION is the password. An immediate ex situ conservation measure proposed is the safe translocation of some 100 hirola: 30 to Athi and 70 to Tsavo East National Park - a follow up of the 1963 translocation exercise. This project will be implemented by the Hirola Task Force consisting of: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS), World Conservation Union (IUCN), Department of Resource Surveys & Remote Sensing (DRSRS), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Eden Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Friends of Conservation (FOC) with financial support from well wishers (locally and internationally) who are keen on biodiversity conservation.

METHODOLOGY FOR ARRESTING THE SITUATION:

• Advocacy:
  There is a felt need to galvanize support from all concerned parties by way of awareness creation and/or capacity building.
• Fundraising:
  The Project will be a non-starter without funds. Availability of funds is the lifeline of the project. All initial efforts are towards this goal.
• Pre-translocation counts:
  
  A crucial exercise to ascertain current population (in wet season) that will facilitate future conservation planning.
• Translocation:
  Based on the 1963 exercise (that was rather crude due to technological limitations), safe translocation of animals to a similar habitat is a viable option to unguaranteed in situ Conservation. The proposed ex situ Conservation measure is aimed at salvaging the current precarious situation.
• Post-translocation Monitoring:
  Monitoring the progress of translocates will form a basis for more research and planning for future exercises.
• In Situ Conservation:
  Extant (natural habitat) populations conservation can be bolstered by forging strong partnerships with local communities in the animals natural range. This can be done through education, capacity building and utilization.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

Long Term

• Ensure hirola's sustained survival.
• Increase local communities input in the management and onward monitoring of the animal.

Short Term

• Create Awareness on hirola. Target: Potential donors, local government representatives, and communities.
  
• Establish current population status of hirola through the proposed May/June (wet season) count.
  
• Arrest hirola's imminent extinction through translocation of crop population to Tsavo East where there is a growing population of the 1963 translocates.

The Project's objectives may be achieved through 3 phases.

Phase 1 Objective

• Review all available literature on Hirola
• Rekindle interest in Hirola's conservation
• Network with collaborating organizations.

Project Strategies
Project objectives will be realized by the following strategies:

• Project Staff recruitment
• Work plan preparation and presentation
• Secondary data gathering
• Procuring contact addresses of potential donors
• Drafting and sending letters to potential donors and follow up
• Mass media-publicity

Project Staff Recruitment

The East African Wild Life Society will engage a Project Coordinator to oversee the implementation of the project. He will constantly network with Hirola Task Force (TF) members.

Phase 2 Objective(s)

• Fundraise!
• Build up the Task Force capacity to implement the project

Project Strategies

• Identify sources of funding and provide baseline information to facilitate funding
• Contact committed donors and follow-up

Phase 3 Objective(s)

• Safely translocate crop population to Tsavo East and Athi.

After the project funds have been procured and all the logistics reviewed, a stage will be set for implementation.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The project will be administered by the Hirola Task Force. All project coordination/secretarial services will be provided by the East African Wild Life Society's office (Nairobi). Implementation will assume a 5-pronged strategy.

• Carry out a count to establish current population status
• Set in motion capture arrangements
• Capture and safely translocate crop population to Tsavo East
• Rehabilitation and onward monitoring of translocates
• Adopt a community participation approach in natural habitat range to conserve extant in situ populations. Conserving threatened ungulates without the participation of local population is not only a vexing problem but an unnecessarily expensive venture.
• Start intensive community participation campaigns in natural habitat range to conserve in situ populations. Trying to conserve a threatened species without the participation of local population is not only a vexing problem but an unnessarily expensive venture

Core of the problem?

* Predation

* Poaching

* Encroached livestock grazing )

  in natural range             )    A sure recipe for Hirola's

* Disease and/or pestilence    )    extinction

* Drought                      )

* Genetic/population effects   )

Communities can be educated with a view of empowering them to resist "destructive" change, embrace sustainable change, and in so doing lay foundations for a rich hirola conservation legacy. A firm commitment to conservation goals is needed, combined with flexibility, innovation, and creativity. It is necessary to shift from a one size-fits-all approach to conservation by positively and actively involving those who live with environmental decisions - the local communities. In this way, part of the day to day conservation and monitoring of the hirola can be borne by the communities at little or no cost.

EVALUATION AND FOLLOW UP

Onward monitoring and evaluation systems that will be set up by the Task Force Members will help gauge the success of the project. The project will be evaluated in phases, subject to availability of funds.

Phase 1

Internal (on-going) evaluation to assess project performance as per the laid down objectives.

Phase 2

External

1. Pre-translocation and
2. Post-translocation monitoring of in-Situ and ex-Situ conservation.

REPORTING

The Projects Coordinator will prepare quarterly reports and submit them to the Deputy Director - Programmes who will in turn update donors on the same basis. Also included will be :

* Reports compiled by other collaborating organizations that will be accessed and disseminated accordingly.

Reports will carry the following components:

* Record of Task Force meetings held
* Headways in community participation
* Emerging concerns
* Justification for further funding
* Lessons learnt from project (negative and positive) and recommendations on future line of action.

Copy of final report will be prepared after completion of project.

The East African Wild Life Society
P.O. Box 20110
Nairobi, KENYA
Phone: +2542.574145 or 574171
Fax: +2542.746868