Living with Lions: Empowering Communities for Coexistence

Team fundraiser

Ashley Roth and 4 others are organizing this fundraiser to benefit Wildlife Conservation Network.

Tax deductible

The Highlights

Your donation will directly impact the Living with Lions initiative — a two-year project dedicated to reducing conflicts between communities and lions in Western Tanzania.

By contributing, you will empower local communities with:

AI-adapted camera traps for real-time early warning systems
Cell phones to collect and report critical data
Educational resources, including an educational storybook to raise awareness about the importance of lion conservation.

Together, we can reduce human-lion conflict, protect livelihoods, and conserve Western Tanzania's vital lion populations.

Our Mission

We are a team of six conservationists participating in Class 10 of Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL); a program aiming to empower early-career conservation professionals through training, mentoring, and networking. Our EWCL team, in close collaboration with Watu Simba na Mazingira (WASIMA), has developed a two-year project to empower local communities to mitigate human-lion conflict by promoting coexistence in Western Tanzania.

WASIMA, a grassroots organization in Western Tanzania, focuses on promoting, supporting, and improving community livelihoods, sustainable environmental practices, wildlife conservation, and development in rural areas surrounding protected areas. Partnering with WASIMA ensures that this initiative directly addresses the needs of the communities most affected by human-lion conflict.

The goal of our EWCL project is to equip local communities with the technology and educational resources needed to live alongside lions safely and sustainably. By combining cutting-edge technology like AI-adapted camera traps and Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) technology with educational resources, like an educational storybook, we are building lasting solutions for both the local communities and the lions they share the land with.

The Wildlife Conservation Network is the fiscal home of EWCL and our project.

Why This Work Matters

Tanzania is home to Africa’s largest lion population—about 15,000 lions—of which 1,500 live in Western Tanzania. As apex predators, lions are vital to maintaining the health of this ecosystem by regulating herbivore populations and preserving vegetation. However, the harmonious coexistence is under threat and has resulted in a devastating impact on both communities and lions.

This project targets the 25 villages experiencing the highest levels of human-lion conflict and those with the largest lion populations outside protected areas.

Lives at stake: From 2018–2020, human-lion conflict events resulted in 11 human deaths, 6 human injuries, 11 lions killed, and the loss of 493+ livestock animals.
Lions in peril: retaliatory killing of lions threatens their population and the balance of this unique ecosystem.

A shared future: Together, we can protect livelihoods, conserve biodiversity, and foster coexistence between communities and wildlife.

Where you come in

Real, lasting change is possible—but we need your support.

Our project depends on funding, which is why we’re reaching out to friends and the broader conservation community to help make this vision a reality. Your donation will help us:

Purchase innovative technology like AI-adapted camera traps for early warning systems that alert communities to approaching lions in real-time.
Equip Lion Conservation Ambassadors with smartphones to enable data collection using SMART technology, improving lion monitoring and conflict management.
Creation of an educational storybook for local schoolchildren to inspire the next generation of conservationists.
Develop educational resources for community members to encourage lion-safe behaviors and practices.

Protect lions today

With your support, we can provide the technology and resources needed to protect both human lives and Western Tanzania’s critical lion populations. Together, we can foster a future where lions thrive alongside the communities they share the land with.

100% of the funds raised will be allocated by the Wildlife Conservation Network directly to our EWCL Lion project. Every dollar you donate brings us one step closer to our goal.

Donate