Case Studies
Tusk Trust - Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania
The Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania is a spectacular wilderness close to Mount Kilimanjaro on the northern border with Kenya, where it joins Tsavo National Park.
Together these reserves form one of the most important protected ecosystems on earth.
Mkomazi was established in 1951, but by 1988 the reserve was in steep decline. Heavy poaching had destroyed its rhino and elephant populations. Overgrazing, deliberate burning, and hunting had taken their toll.
In 1989 the Government gave Tony Fitzjohn, a conservationist with The George Adamson Trust a mandate to rehabilitate the 1,300 square miles of wilderness. Since 1993 Mkomazi has been the focus of constant investment by the Tusk Trust.
Tony Fitzjohn’s aim was to re-secure the reserve as a haven for wildlife.
His priority was to rebuild an entire infrastructure with 500 miles of roads and airfields. Water sources had to be sited and pumped, dams constructed and de-silted.
Rangers were recruited, trained, and equipped, and hours were flown on anti-poaching missions. A successful outreach programme was started to ensure the 41 village communities around Mkomazi can benefit from the reserve.
In 1998 Tanzania’s first rhino sanctuary was created at Mkomazi and eight black rhino were airlifted from South Africa to establish a breeding nucleus.
Similarly Fitzjohn has commenced an important breeding initiative for the African wild dog.
The effect of this dramatic rehabilitation has been seen in the elephant numbers. During the 1980s the vast elephant herds were decimated through poaching and reduced to just 11 individuals. A combination of the ivory ban and increased security within Mkomazi means that the elephant count is now peaking at 1,000 in the wet season - a spectacular success.
As a result one of the most fragile, threatened and beautiful parts of Africa has not only been reborn, but in 2005 the Government declared that Mkomazi was to be upgraded to National Park status. This is a major achievement and will help to enhance the long-term economic benefits to the local communities.
Tusk’s ongoing financial and logistical support for Mkomazi is directed at both the wildlife and parallel community development work.
Click here to visit the Tusk Trust website.