Introduction
The South Luangwa National park is one of the biggest national parks in Zambia. Conservation South Luangwa is the main organisation which focuses on protecting wildlife in the Luangwa valley. South Luangwa is one of the most targeted spots for poaching because of the landmass of the park; this is why conservation was a big struggle during 2014. The CSL organisation has two main teams their main unit is an anti poaching team which consists of 65 scouts which also follow along their second unit the de snaring team who help animals who are caught in traps. CSL have focused on growing their team to protect the wildlife so there isn't another spike in poaching.
The Affect of Covid 19The effect of Covid 19 has had an impact on the protection of the elephant and wildlife. I spoke to Jona Banda who is a guide in the national park and who is the chairman of the guides association. He thinks that poaching will increase as Covid 19 progresses because of the lack of jobs that will be available. Jona continues saying that people who are unemployed will have to turn to poaching for food but also to make money. CSL has found a solution to this problem. They have started a small program which helps tour guides and others to make some money.
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Background of South LuangwaThe luangwa valley is one of the biggest national parks and in the 1980s there was a spike in poaching. During this time in the 1980s there were about 250,000 elephants which roamed the luangwa valley, since the spike it was calculated after nine years that only 18,000 elephants were left in the luangwa valley. One of the main reasons why the elephant population dropped was the lack of protection at that time because the country was still growing and not enough resources were dedicated to the national parks.
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