By Dorine Reinstein – Travel Weekly
The Covid pandemic has seen conservation revenue streams and resources dry up in a matter of weeks. Some of the most prominent conservation agencies and protected areas are currently at risk of closing their doors, and the threat of human-wildlife conflict is growing each day.
Safari operators across Africa are investing time, energy and money to help with conservation activities during this difficult time, with some offering quite innovative ideas.
Luxury safari operator Desert & Delta Safaris has launched the Cares Movement to help support an initiative under way in Botswana.
Botswana-based Elephants Without Borders, a nongovernmental organization, has discovered that turning up the volume combined with putting on disco lights is a great way to keep elephants away from farmers’ crops in conservation areas.
The idea is simple: Farmers place colorful solar-powered strobe lights alongside of the field. The lights sense movement and shoot out a colorful pattern along the fence, a sequence that can be changed every week to startle the animals.
To support Elephants Without Borders’ efforts, Desert & Delta Safaris is donating 10% of all the revenue from any new safari booked as an open-dated voucher to the NGO’s effort. It will do so through Aug. 31.
“There has been a lot of unfortunate news about elephant conservation in Botswana over the last few months and more. However, there is some really positive work going into community and conservation initiatives like this, and we want to do what we can to support their work,” said Desert & Delta’s marketing director, James Wilson.
The Cares Movement will enable travelers to decide whenever they wish to travel but support the community now, at a time it is needed the most. For more information about participating, contact marketing@desertdelta.com.