Скачать или смотреть “TSOVA TSOVA” – Together It’s Possible

In 2012 the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) took on the added responsibility of protecting and developing the L5-South concession (58,000 hectares) inside the Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique through a contract with ANAC (Mozambican Government). This provided NCP with a unique opportunity to partner with the Mbamba Village which lies inside the concession and is home to 2000 Cyao fishermen, farmers and honey gatherers.

In 2013, we developed the first simple conservation agreement between Mbamba and Mariri Investimentos (NCP) that details responsibilities and benefits for both partners based on mutual respect and shared goals of conservation and development. As trust has grown, the agreement has increased in complexity with details of benefit sharing, conflict resolution, and conservation performance payments. In 2019, the community conservation ecolodge, “Mpopo Island Trails” was opened for visitors.

From the very first discussion, it was agreed that our partnership would be based on the local concept of “Tsova-Tsova”, which roughly means “you give, I give” where both Mariri and Mbamba have responsibilities and benefits.

This has been a learning experience for everyone with many hurdles and lessons learned along the way but it is becoming a very successful model with animal numbers, including lions, recovering in the concession as poaching has decreased. The higher wildlife densities have made ecotourism possible and revenue sharing a reality.

In 2018 the Mbamba village Natural Resources Committee was concerned about the lack of understanding of the details of the agreement amongst the broader Mbamba’s residents, many of whom do not speak Portuguese. We explored various ways to increase transparency. They asked if Mariri (NCP) could help them make a film of the agreement in the local Cyao language told in their own words. This film is the result, through the voices of 12 Mbamba residents (with subtitles in Portuguese / English) who explain the basic elements of this unique agreement.

In 2019 due to this conservation agreement the Mbamba community realised
$ 354,504.00 USD in cash payments from conservation funds through payments of salaries, Mbamba conservation fund payments, 531 visitor bed night fees, arts, crafts, honey and thatching grass sales.

Through an innovative series of negotiated performance payments, Mbamba Village receives funds for every month that goes past with no elephants killed and for every child that writes exams at school. Money is lost when an elephant or lion, hyaena or leopard are killed by people or wire snares found by rangers. A combination of community incentives (the fund) and individual benefits (employment of 14,400 workers days in conservation services each dry season) means that conservation directly supports development.

“Animals are our bank” when they are killed by people, money is lost from our bank and our future”. Tsova-Tsova perfectly illustrates the need for the partnership to serve both conservation and development to create a win-win scenario. It has become an important value that guides all our activities as we strive to find ways for people and wildlife to live together and thrive.