Through this certification, beef produced by selected farmers in participating villages along the northern Okavango Delta – surrounding Wilderness’ Vumbura Plains and Little Vumbura camps – is now officially recognised as Certified Wildlife Friendly™ by Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN). Through this innovative procurement arrangement, Wilderness acts as the exclusive buyer, purchasing beef from local farmers who follow CLAWS’ lion-friendly interventions – including the use of predator-proof bomas, herding-for-health practices, and the avoidance of retaliatory killings when lions approach their villages and livestock. The initiative would not be possible without key partners such as Beef Boys, a Maun-based, citizen-owned butchery, which provides the link between the remote farmers and Wilderness Operations.
“This partnership represents a truly holistic conservation model – one where protecting lions also means supporting local livelihoods, in line with our Impact strategy”, said Wesley Hartmann, Wilderness Botswana Head of Environmental & Conservation Operations. “By paying a premium price, and paying farmers within 30 days, we’re creating an economic incentive for human-wildlife coexistence”.
Under traditional market conditions, rural farmers often wait up to six months or more to receive payment for their cattle, and at lower commercial rates. Through this arrangement, Wilderness pays faster and at higher prices, directly rewarding farmers who adhere to CLAWS’ Wildlife Friendly™ practices – including sustainable grazing, the use of mobile predator-proof livestock enclosures at night to improve soil health, and responding to real-time Lion Alert System notifications, that warn them via text message or voicemail in English or Setswana, when collared lions near their villages or cattle posts.
The first sale of 14 cattle has already taken place, with the meat from this sale stocked in camp at Wilderness Vumbura Plains and Little Vumbura. A second sale later this year will see approximately 15 more cattle – around three tonnes of beef – purchased under the same agreement.
This achievement also marks the creation of a brand-new supply chain, connecting Ngamiland District’s remote farming communities to Wilderness’ camps in the Okavango Delta – a route that previously did not exist. For several years, Wilderness and CLAWS have worked together to establish the links in this chain, from farmer onboarding, certified production and procurement, low stress livestock husbandry, and ethical transport of cattle, to local freezer storage, and ultimately, distribution to the end market of Wilderness’ camps.
“This first Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef sale in Africa is a milestone for conservation and for communities”, said Christine Lippai, Executive Director of Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network. “What makes this truly remarkable is not only the certification, but Wilderness’s commitment to buy from local farmers who are protecting lions and restoring rangelands. That direct market link transforms coexistence from an idea into a living economy, one that rewards stewardship, strengthens communities, and demonstrates that protecting wildlife can generate both ecological and economic value”.
“In 2013, regional livestock farmers used poison to eradicate half the known lion population in retaliation for livestock losses. They stated that limited market access disincentivised investment in herding and environmental stewardship”, said Dr Andrew Stein, Founder and Director of CLAWS Conservancy. “Through the implementation of Herding-4-Health and compliance with the Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef initiative, farmers have not lost a single head of cattle to lions in three years because of adapted traditional herding practices. Participating farmers have pledged not to kill lions, and by partnering with Wilderness and Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, they have access to a premium market that turns conservation from a cost into a benefit. The more we empower communities to profit from protecting wildlife, the stronger the future for lions and people alike”.
“This milestone is the result of years of working side by side with the communities of the Okavango”, Andrew continued. “Our field teams, lion monitors, and village champions have built the trust and knowledge needed to make coexistence possible, and this certification and sale is the result of that. With this first sale, we have the opportunity to scale-up to new villages as neighbouring communities are now clamouring to join the initiative”.
This initiative builds on a longstanding partnership between Wilderness and CLAWS, focused on reducing human-wildlife conflict in northern Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Over the past two years, Wilderness has provided logistical and financial support to CLAWS’ operations – including funding from the Wilderness Trust for the Lion Response Team (LRT); employing three full-time lion monitors at Vumbura Plains; hosting of CLAWS’ researchers at the camp; and helping raise over USD50,000 from guests for CLAWS’ work.
These collective efforts have already resulted in more than 60,000 automated lion alerts dispersed to nearby communities, a 50% increase in the lion population from a marked reduction in known retaliatory killings, and a significant increase in knowledge and data regarding the area’s lion population. The introduction of Certified Wildlife Friendly™ beef represents the next evolution of this conservation model through the creation of a viable, hyper-local conservation economy.
“Through collaboration, innovation, and trust, we are demonstrating that protecting lions can put food on the table – literally and figuratively”, Wesley concluded. “This is coexistence in action, and a blueprint for what sustainable conservation should look like in Africa’s protected areas”.
