We did it! Computers for Chiefs Initiative Update

Last year, we made an appeal to the public for support in securing refurbished computers that we would use to further assist in pursuing critical conservation efforts in their 16 chiefdoms.

Thanks to USAID Zambia’s generous donation of 16 desktop computers, we are able to make this happen and will be conducting hands-on training in the third week of January to the chiefs in our Chipata Hub office.

As a non-profit, COMACO relies on institutional support to expand and innovate our services to continue to advance conservation in Zambia. Our grantors provide us with necessary funds and collaboration that enable COMACO to pilot new conservation programs and serve new communities.

We’re grateful for these investments and the generous support of our individual investors. We are also appreciative of the substantial technology contributions of all our donor partners such as USAID. We would like to send special thanks to Daniel L. Foote, the American Ambassador in Zambia, for his instrumental role in supporting the computers for chiefs campaign and for USAID’s continued support to COMACO.

The 16 chiefs we selected for this initiative have demonstrated a keen desire to make wildlife conservation a priority agenda and leverage their powers as traditional leaders to prevent further loss of natural resources on their land and wildlife and thus restore what has been lost.

These desktop computers will be loaded with a geographic mapping program which will allow chiefs to view real-time incidence of fires, deforestation, environmental trends and other data gathered within their chiefdoms.

We’re excited to begin two days of training in the use of this computer program for the 16 selected Chiefs in our Chipata Hub. They will be mentored by Japhet Seulu and Angel Mukangu, COMACO’s GIS experts. The data we obtain will be used to assess conservation trends affected by COMACOs initiatives. The Computers-for-Chiefs Initiative will also help us share more accurate mapping information resulting from the management decisions and delegated efforts by members of the community to influence these trends. We’ll be able to track and visualize changes to the physical landscape in these areas and make decisions to mitigate negative trends such as deforestation, or forest fires.

To date, 38 Community Conservation Areas (CCAs) on 954, 455 hectors of forest land have been formed and are under community protection in 34 chiefdoms. This initiative is vital because it will help us continue to scale up climate mitigation and socioeconomic development simultaneously through community engagement and collaboration with government.

Because of continued help from our generous supporters, we are able to continue advocating for conservation by leading efforts to promote sustainable agriculture through our community cooperatives in Zambia. Your support will help COMACO achieve a lasting mark for conservation in Zambia’s most vulnerable chiefdoms.

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You can help!

Together, we can continue to be powerful enablers for social change, and we have developed sustainable, community-driven conservation solutions to meet the most urgent challenges. Your contributions make sure that COMACOs is well-positioned to take on conversation issues and expand our impact by making a donation today. We also invite you to sign up for our email list so that you’ll be able to track our progress and other news.

For more information, queries, and donations, please email mkambinda@itswild.org. or go to www.itswild.org/about