|
Fool on the Hill
by Jake da Motta
April 23rd
this year saw Zambia in the international headlines with the Goldman
Environmental Prize ($750,000 shared between 6 winners) being
awarded to
Hammerskjoeld Simwinga, as reported in May’s issue of Lowdown. As a
career cynic, with a couple of decades on the fringes of
conservation I read the news with scepticism having never in my
microcosmic existence even heard of the great works that have
brought Hammer, as he is known, the accolade of Grassroots
Conservation Hero. I didn’t think it would take too much research to
bring to light another tale of misplaced donor funds, unfulfilled
terms of reference and development hype covering up a lack of any
real benefit in the field. Some extravagant claims have been made in
the press
“The
programme also provides 35,000 people with services such as
healthcare and education.”
“Income
has increased one hundred-fold among the villagers and family food
stocks have doubled.
As a result, illegal elephant poaching is now 98 percent controlled
and bush meat poaching is minimal.”
Hammer is claimed as a protégé by Mark and Delia Owens the founders
of the North Luangwa Conservation Project (1986) who simultaneously
waged a full contact anti-poaching war in the Park with a hearts and
minds programme in the Mpika area, encouraging everything from
butcheries to knitting circles in an attempt to minimise illegal
meat harvesting. Their flight from Zambia ten years later is still a
contentious issue with Mark’s own published writing and televised
quotes doing nothing to quell rumours of
"Rambo-style activities" as part of their law enforcement
program. But law enforcement it remains however and most ZAWA
scouts in active service would not deny at some point returning from
a fire-fight with a suspicious absence of both witnesses and
ammunition.
In the post-Owens vacuum, Simwinga and his colleague Albert
Chilambwe both employed by NLCP, carried on the community work
without finance from the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) who were
restructuring the NLCP management. By 1998 however they had formed
an NGO (the North Luangwa Wildlife Conservation and Community
Development Project NLWCCDP) and worked in the area around the North
Park to achieve the aim of “A sustained increase in family food
production” under the Directorship of Moses Nyrenda. By 2001 NLWCCDP
in partnership with the Micro Bankers Trust (Zambia) and Harvest
Help (a UK based poverty alleviation and food security charity) put
together an ambitious proposal for an integrated community
development programme with a 5 year budget of Euros 809,181
which was approved with 75% coming from the European Commission and
the balance from Harvest Help’s own funds. 2006 to 2008 looks no
less rosy from a funding aspect with Harvest Help (this time in
cooperation with Wetland Action approving a further budget of Euros
511,000). With these sort of funds being sought and spent, the Owens
Foundation’s contribution of some $30,000 by 2004 seems somewhat
undeserving of quite so much fanfare and limelight.
The major funding has been allocated on the strength of Livelihood
Improvement promises and the thrust of the NLWCCDP’s programmes have
concentrated on agricultural training and capacity building within
communities. Cash crops, micro-financing, fish farming, bee keeping
and multiple harvests have all apparently resulted in the targeted
2000 families seeing a 30% increase in household income, enjoying
access to loans, and increased food sources and income from cash
crops and processed produce. Turning the area into a land of ...
perhaps not milk but ... cooking oil and honey.
Presumably NLWCCDP have made good on some if not all of the promised
goals to have the second phase of funding approved but claims of a
reduction in poaching of 98% in the North Park pay no credit at all
to the work done by the FZS and ZAWA over the last decade and it
might be more accurate to say that it is they that have made the
North Luangwa a safe enough habitat for rhino reintroduction. FZS
have also fostered community based development and wildlife
management in the areas surrounding the Park with their Ecosystem
Management Project headed up by Moses Nyirenda, the former director
of NLWCCDP.
At the end of the day the Goldman Award recognises individuals and
their dedication to conservation. My cell phone rang a couple of
hours ago as I was about to give this topic up as un-newsworthy and
another paper trail of project proposals, donor hype and NjinGOistic
trumpet blowing. “It’s me, Hammer Simwinga, is that Jake? I’m
returning your call” chimed a disarmingly, melodic voice projecting
a smile over the line. For the next 45 minutes Hammer openly
answered all my questions about funding and the success of the
project. “The fish farms” he admitted “have been a bit
disappointing, with those that rely on underground water having
dried up. The ones which are irrigated and which are supplied with
food from agricultural waste are better but have only produced
yields of 25kg every six months” not enough one might hazard a
guess, to replace bush meat as a protein source. But Hammer’s
transparency and passion are infectious and he was happy to answer
the $125,000 question “What are you going to do with the money?”
“It’s time for me to phase on!” he said “I have identified a new
area that needs help, Lavushi Manda National Park!” Hammer plans to
set up a new NGO, this time with a direct wildlife conservation
mandate and start work in another community. Inspired by
Orri Vigfússon
(the Icelandic co-recipient of the 2007 Goldman Award recognized for
his innovative work in saving North Atlantic salmon stocks by
brokering the buy out of fishing rights, compensating fisherman and
helping them seek alternative incomes) Hammer wants to buy all the
traditional hunters’ muzzle loaders and set them on the righteous
path of sunflower production and bee keeping to foster a sustainable
use of their natural resources. Hammer is a born diplomat and speaks
graciously of all the hands that feed his appetite for curing other
people’s hunger. His recognition may be flown as a fundraising flag
by others but Mr Simwinga is nobody’s mascot and having heard them
from the horse’s mouth I don’t believe his words are rhetorical.
You’ve gotta love the guy, he’s been at it for more than twenty
years and he still believes in what he does. |
June
2007