The Snares to Wares Initiative
One of the greatest threats to the survival of large mammals in East African National Parks is wire snaring. Wire snares, harvested from the innards of disused vehicle tires, are used to capture bushmeat. The intended targets are medium-sized mammals such as kob, hartebeest, and bushbucks. However, these rudimentary traps are indiscriminate and just as capable of catching species such as elephants, giraffes, and lions. While this may appear to be a wildlife conservation problem, the quest for the root of wire snaring reveals that this is actually a human livelihood issue. Our Snares to Wares Initiative seeks to address the well-being of human communities bordering National Parks in East Africa so that via human livelihood improvement we can simultaneously benefit wildlife conservation.
The ProblemWire snares are illegal wildlife traps built from disused vehicle tires. The structural integrity of radial tires is maintained by an inner skeleton of wire cables. In areas bordering National Parks in East Africa these metal wires support the bushmeat trade. Individuals will gather these wires in the hundreds, move into national parks, and anchor the snares to sturdy trees along game trails. These snares lead to the death of a variety of different large mammal species. Even those animals that survive are often disfigured. This raises the question; What must it be like for a lion to live in a landscape littered with wire snares?
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The Scale The scale of this problem is staggering. The heap of wire featured in the image above represents just one week's worth of effort to remove snares from Murchison National Park, Uganda. These wires were removed by RECaP ecologists in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. But the scale and extent of this problem is not unique to Murchison Falls or Uganda, for that matter. Similar problems exist throughout the East African region and beyond. This stockpiled wire is vulnerable to be stolen and used as traps again. With no available disposal facilities, what can we do with this wire?
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Our SolutionOur solution is to convert this stockpile of wire into art. Via the Snares to Wares Initiative, we are empowering youth - those most vulnerable to being recruited into poaching at an impressionable age – to make an honest living as artisans. We train these youth in the skills necessary to become capable artisans and support their work via national park trips facilitating study of the animal form. The art that we produce represents sculptures of wildlife species. These products are for sale in local markets and will soon be available in gift stores in the west.
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Research Approach
Wire snares must be anchored to sturdy trees capable of holding an animal once it has been caught. Thus, the distribution of wire snares can be predicted. Our snare removal efforts are prioritized by the development of sophisticated quantitative models that are capable of highlighting hotspots in the landscape where snares should be likely to occur. We then work with Uganda Wildlife Authority to survey these areas and remove wire snares. Via these activities we have stockpiles of confiscated wire snares. We bring these wires to our Snares to Wares team who masterfully convert these agents of destruction into art. Our team is working to sculpt the wire into statues of elephants, of giraffes, and of lions – some of the species most affected by poaching in the wild. This is but one example of the ways in which in RECaP we are developing community-based conservation out of a foundation of cutting-edge science.
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Tangible Benefits
The Snares to Wares Initiative benefits human well-being by providing employment, enrichment opportunities including training in skills necessary to become an artisan, participation in the Snares to Wares football club, and National Park visits so that our team can be exposed to the wonders of viewing wild-living lions, elephants, and giraffes in the impressive landscapes of these national parks.
Wildlife conservation is not an issue that only affects people living on the edge of a protected area in Sub-Saharan Africa. No, the conservation of lions, elephants, and giraffes represents an issue that affects all members of society including those living on the edge of a subdivision in middle-class middle-America. In this way, we must all change the way that we think, the way that we conceptualize a problem, and the way that we act to solve that problem. If you have interest in being part of this solution please support our work.
Wildlife conservation is not an issue that only affects people living on the edge of a protected area in Sub-Saharan Africa. No, the conservation of lions, elephants, and giraffes represents an issue that affects all members of society including those living on the edge of a subdivision in middle-class middle-America. In this way, we must all change the way that we think, the way that we conceptualize a problem, and the way that we act to solve that problem. If you have interest in being part of this solution please support our work.
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