Space for Giants and Conservation Justice Join Forces to Tackle Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in Gabon

Gabon forest elephants in Loango National Parc in Ogooué-Maritime province 

Libreville - 02 October 2024 - As part of its ongoing commitment to addressing Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) and conserving Gabon's wildlife and natural resources, Space for Giants (SFG) has signed a strategic fifteen-month partnership with the NGO Conservation Justice (CJ). This collaboration will focus on monitoring and managing mobile electric fences in the provinces of Haut-Ogooué, Ogooué-Lolo, Ngounié, and Ogooué-Ivindo. It underscores Space for Giants' leadership in delivering sustainable solutions to HWC by deploying mobile electric fences to safeguard community subsistence farms across these regions.

This agreement aims to develop sustainable solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) by deploying mobile electric fences to protect community plantations in the provinces above. The partnership will foster seamless collaboration based on each organization's technical expertise, focusing on cooperation methods, communication mechanisms, and implementation strategies.

Leveraging its expertise in installing electric fences in Gabon, Space for Giants will lead in its competency areas, applying its technical know-how to installing mobile electric fences in local communities.

Eric CHEHOSKI, Country Director of Space for Giants Gabon, stated: We recognize that it is now inconceivable to address conservation or wildlife protection in Gabon without confronting the issue of human-elephant conflict. Acknowledging this reality, we embrace this partnership, as it fully considers the needs of local communities in the target areas, where subsistence crops are regularly devastated by elephants. This partnership is marked by a strong commitment to raising awareness, with a particular emphasis on providing communities access to mobile electric fences, a practical and immediate solution to this challenge.

For its part, Conservation Justice will focus on community engagement, identifying potential beneficiaries of the electric fences and encouraging them to submit requests to the relevant authorities, including the Ministries of Water and Forests, Environment, and Agriculture. Within the framework of this collaboration, Conservation Justice will also work on raising awareness among communities and providing ongoing support to the beneficiaries.

Luc MATHOT, Executive Director of Conservation Justice, emphasized that sustainable work cannot be achieved without the participation of local communities, and we are deeply committed to further strengthening this aspect. Human-Wildlife Conflict has continued growing and has become a priority for all organizations involved in wildlife conservation and sustainable development.

Based on priorities and emerging opportunities, the collaboration between SFG and CJ could expand to other provinces in addition to the target provinces.