Chem Chem restores ancient wildlife corridor.

The Chem Chem Association is a registered non-profit organisation located within the Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in northern Tanzania. Here, we are uniquely positioned to secure and protect the Kwakuchinja corridor — an important ancient migratory route connecting the Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks.

Our mission is to work in partnership with key stakeholders to conserve the Tarangire and Manyara ecosystems while simultaneously empowering local communities.

We are committed to protecting the region’s endangered wildlife and working to make a life-changing difference in the lives of the people living in the ten villages surrounding the corridor. It is here that we are able to directly foster sustainable development by building lasting relationships that support conservation, education, and community engagement projects

Conservation initiatives - Protecting wildlife for future generations

The Chem Chem Association has worked tirelessly to restore and preserve the Kwakuchinja Corridor. Discover the impact of our ongoing conservation and research initiatives.

A vital link between the Lake Manyara and Tarangire national parks, the Kwakuchinja corridor forms part of an ancient wildlife migratory path through the region. Named ‘the place of slaughter’ in Swahili, Kwakuchinja Corridor acts as a natural funnel for migrating wildlife, making them an easy target for hunters and poachers — who all but wiped the land clean. By 2009, the Kwakuchinja Corridor had been declared extinct.

The restoration of this crucial corridor became our key focus. And, through our tireless efforts over the past 15 years to patrol the corridor in collaboration with the Tanzanian government, the area’s once-abundant wildlife has come home. In 2021, the ‘lost’ elephants made a triumphant return to bathe in the lake.Yet, despite this success, illegal activities continue to threaten the Kwakuchinja Corridor.

Wildlife poaching, logging for charcoal, overgrazing, and roadkill all pose major threats to the ecology of the corridor. Working with the local national park authorities, our long-term conservation objective is to strengthen and protect the corridor to ensure this essential migratory route remains a haven for the region’s wildlife.

We support a joint anti-poaching team of rangers and set up mobile anti-poaching camps that move through the concession area on foot and by vehicle to patrol and protect wildlife. The patrols are coordinated in conjunction with Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), police forces, and BWMA law enforcement officers.

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Through joint anti-poaching efforts, monitoring, and science-led research (which is shared with the Tanzanian government), we aim to raise awareness of the importance of this crucial wildlife migratory route.

Wildlife monitoring and research - Conserving natural resources

To conserve and protect the region’s natural resources, the Chem Chem Association provides funding to an anti-poaching patrol team of 36 rangers, who operate as our “boots on the ground”.

Through the SMART data collection system, our patrol team records accurate and reliable data on all movements and incidents to curb illegal activities in the Kwakuchinja Corridor.

Over the next three years, and as part of our partnership with USAID, the SMART data collection system will continue to help us to analyse data and maps and simplify the process of monitoring the joint patrol team. The system is efficient in recording incidents, leading to the effective recording and logging of illegal activities.

For more information, please contact :

marketing@chemchemsafari.com

Nick Wilson via nw@perowneinternational.com

Bryna Martin via bm@perowneinternational.com