Research in the area around the Chembe Bird Sanctuary

We’ve been looking at different types of conflicts that may arise between wildlife and humans at the boundaries of protected areas, such as national parks and animal sanctuaries. I’d like to illustrate this by telling you about some research that I’ve been involved in recently in the Central African country of Zambia in the area around the Chembe Bird Sanctuary which contains over 300 of the listed birds of Zambia These include a number of birds of prey such as eagles hawks and owls that live by hunting and killing other birds and animals Now most of the people living in the local communities near to the bird sanctuary are small-scale farmers and these birds of prey provide important social and ecological benefits to them. For example, a lot of damage can be caused to farmers’ crops by rodents, such as rats, which would consume the crops as they grow in the fields, as well as after harvesting if they weren’t hunted and killed by the birds. And the predatory habits of these birds also protect farmers in other ways. For example, a major danger to rural workers is snakes, whose bite may be dangerous or even fatal, and birds of prey have a major role in keeping their populations under control. Local people have always been aware of these benefits and for years, even before the sanctuary was opened in 1973, the birds played a key role in the culture of the region. However, more recently, the sanctuary and its birds have also become increasingly important to the community in economic terms, because at present, after a relatively slow start, tourism has become an important source of revenue for them. However, although these birds of prey are protected by the government, their numbers are falling. Some of these deaths are accidental. Fatalities occur when birds alight on roads to catch and eat their prey, and are hit by fast moving traffic. Drivers in Zambia have to take special care at night, as birds may regard the quieter roads as safe places to sleep. Accidental deaths may also occur if these birds fly close to high power lines as they may be electrocuted This is a particular danger in the heavy rain which can occur in the region in the months from December to April And local farmers also pose a threat to these birds. As well as growing crops, small-scale farmers in the area also rear chickens.

These provide food for the farmers’ families, as well as being an important source of income. But they’re also an easy target for birds of prey, and so farmers may shoot these birds, which is illegal but understandable, or they may poison the birds, which again is illegal and can have negative effects on the ecosystem. So how else can farmers protect their chickens from birds of prey? Some people believe that to prevent the predators from settling near the area where the chickens are kept, it’s best to keep this area free from vegetation. But in fact, this is counterproductive, as it means the chickens have no cover to hide in and they’ll be easier for the birds to see. Another possibility would be to prevent the chickens from going outside at all and to keep them safe from predators inside a building, but this would cost far too much to be a practical solution. Nearly all the farmers reported that they spent a lot of time and effort trying to frighten off the birds of prey without actually harming them. Most of the farmers had at least one dog and said this was a big help at scaring away the predators. Some of the farmers also reported that during the breeding season, when the chickens were particularly vulnerable, they encouraged their children to watch over the chickens and to hit pans with a metal spoon so that the resulting noise would succeed in driving away birds that were trying to seize the young chicks None of these methods was 100 effective so as a result the village people told us that rather than just using one method, they were forced to use a combination for them to have any effect. And even so, these birds of prey remain a major threat to the chickens’ survival and cause considerable economic loss to farmers. So we looked at the possibility of a longer-term solution to…