ladies and gentlemen ,
i am posting on behalf of Lynne Taylor who works tirelessly on this project , not only sourcing funding , but more importantly making sure that the funding goes where it is supposed to ...

please check out her website and email her direct with questions ...
i can assure you, i have met her and had some long and interesting conversation with her She is the real deal and works tirelessly on the project.

her email is

Lynne Taylor <lynne@cybersatafrica.com>

thanks people ,

The Tashinga Initiative
A Wildlife Conservation and Protection Project
The Area: The Zambezi Valley
• The present extremely depressed socio-economic environment in Zimbabwe has created an URGENT need to improve the effectiveness of the Parks Management Authority, along with the morale and commitment of its rangers on the ground operating at the “coal face”.

• Wildlife populations throughout Zimbabwe’s Zambezi River Valley are severely affected, more especially so in the Safari Areas, well known to many SCI Hunters, and these populations are being lost at an alarming rate to poaching for food and for commercial gain.

• Unless this attrition is brought to a halt as soon as possible, one of the world’s most precious wildlife populations will disappear.

• Lynne Taylor, a Zimbabwean, has proposed the project found at www.thetashingainitiative.org. and is the process of seeking funding. Should this be successfully realized, the Project is in a high state of readiness to implement immediately with every small detail attended to within the extensive Budget, and also enjoys the approval from the Parks Authority through a Memorandum of Understanding.

• Specifically Lynne is also working collaboratively with Bill Bedford of Ingwe Safaris and Andrew Dawson of Chifuti Safaris towards finding support for the setup of 3 x 21-man Wildlife Protection Units in the Dande-Chewore Safari Areas, comprising men from Parks, Safari Industry and Rural District Councils.

• Broad components of the project are:
Infrastructural refurbishment of buildings for improved operational efficiency and ranger welfare
Supplement resources of staff rangers and wildlife protection units to combat unsustainably high levels of poaching and habitat loss
Advanced training of wildlife protection units for greater operational effectiveness.
Performance monitoring to enhance conservation area management.

• Each day that passes brings about further loss of wildlife. The support by the Parks staff on the ground in the Zambezi Valley is unusually strong – they are there to do the work, despite their appallingly low salaries and Lynne looks forward to being able to empower them through The Tashinga Initiative.

• PLEASE TAKE JUST A MOMENT TO CONSIDER THE PLIGHT OF ZIMBABWE’S SAFARI AND PARKS AREAS.

The concept and project looks good on paper but there would need to be a number of checks and balances in place to ensure that the funding is secure and cant be syphoned away towards undesirable benefactors.

The present political climate in Zim,s is very unstable and there does not appear to be an effective government in place at this time, so that is an impediment to move the project forward !!!

I am unsure at this point in time if it will work effectively, but I do hope like hell it can get off the ground, as it seems Lynne and other interested parties have put a lot of their valuable time and effort into setting up the concept blueprint.

I would like to see some (ball park) budget expectation for such a project, as I know in Zambia ZAWA the NGO manages this type of game protection project and they get a fortune from EU doner/backers, but it seems to be they are always budget strapped

Regards, Peter

peter , if you would like to see more or learn more , email lynne , i think you will be surprised at how many checks and balances she has in place , also she is completely 100% independent of government as far as any funds distribution etc goes

here are her email addresses lynne@cybersatafrica.com or lynne@thetashingainitiative.org

I personally met with Lynne this past September and am convinced that her program has tremendous merit.

After seeing first hand just how poorly equipped these patrols are - with just a small commitment from those concerned enough there will be a huge turnaround in the current situation in the bush.

My company will be making a concerted effort to support the program.

JW out.

Way to go Jefff W.!!!

I was reviewing the website information which includes the budget expectation, it is a (LOT of MONEY) and would need some MAJOR funding from interested parties.

I believe to make it happin will ALSO require some serious backing from a number of organissations including the (Safari industry) itself. It cant just be a give me the money operation.

The Parks & Wildlife need to be party to the project in both legal and financial terms, not in moral support only.

Just to (give you some idea) ADMADE in Zambia which does a similar job.

Below is an excert of ideas, it is not totally relavent to the Zimbabwe Project but has some good information to put in the mix of ideas

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Zambia SAFARI INDUSTRY

The safari hunting industry is the private sector partner with the largest role in ADMADE. Within the safari industry, the people that have the most immediate interest in ADMADE's monitoring system are the individual safari hunters, safari operators, and professional hunters. Safari operators are generally individuals who have won a concession agreement from the government to conduct safari hunting in a specific hunting block. They represent the political and business side of safari hunting. Professional hunters, on the other hand, are typically highly-experienced hunters who have been contracted by the safari operator to construct and operate a safari hunting camp in the hunting block, which includes entertaining and guiding clients on hunts.

Most operators and professional hunters in the safari business are motivated as much from a passion for wildlife and hunting as the financial rewards. They have an interest in ensuring that hunting in Zambia is managed profitably and sustainably, and by extension are interested in all data that is used to guide management of wildlife. More specifically, they are interested in any information that can be used for setting hunting quotas, to ensure maximum profit without jeopardizing the success of future hunting seasons. They also don't want to be in the position of advertising wildlife trophies that don't exist, because this can ruin one's reputation in a fairly fickle market. When competing for concessions, safari operators need data upon which to base their bid for the hunting block. This includes measures of wildlife abundance, past hunting success, management capacity, and characteristics of the local communities.

Both safari operators and professional hunters must recruit foreign hunters to hunt in their area. Much of this marketing takes place during the annual Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas. To market their hunting block to wealthy, sophisticated, and demanding clientele, safari operators need to present evidence of the status of wildlife and hunting success in their area. To a lesser but growing extent, safari hunters are also interested in the conservation benefits of hunting, and desire information about the sustainability and ethics of hunting in a certain area. ADMADE's 'Green Bullet' certification program is one of the newer elements of its monitoring program which provides prospective hunters with this type of information.

=====================================

PS: In the final analysis I strongly believe the political situation will need to stabilise first, then people will feel more comfortable putting in money, as at this moment in time there is a financial disaster occuring within the country, and I would like to know specifically (where the BANK ACCOUNT would be domiciled) and in (which currency denomination) in other words can others (whom shall remain nameless) get their sticky fingers into the money at all!

Cheers, Peter

quote:

PS: In the final analysis I strongly believe the political situation will need to stabilise first, then people will feel more comfortable putting in money, as at this moment in time there is a financial disaster occuring within the country, and I would like to know specifically (where the BANK ACCOUNT would be domiciled) and in (which currency denomination) in other words can others (whom shall remain nameless) get their sticky fingers into the money at all!

peter ,
if there was more economic and financial stability there would probably be a lot less need for this ...that is precisely what has ledf to this great need .

did you email lynne? i think you will be surprised at the depth of her "stop losses".

Ivan

I would like to see first how this thread plays out and what other guests have to say.

There are many questions Im sure from other interested parties including our Zimbabwe guests such as Ganyana.

Maybe someone can post a list of all the organisations and or individual outfitters in Zim's whom will formally put their name behind and back the project.

This thread is I believe a good forum to air all the ideas and options as it is a wonderful knowledge base

Good luck with the project

As a businessman and veteran Zim hunter, I fully understand the aprehension and critical views expressed within this thread.

However, when we have a chance to make some forward progress we should step up and give it a go. As with anything in this world - you never know until you try. Sounds naive, but at this point in time the options for a positive effort to save Zim's game are few and far between.

I'll back Lynne and should she succeed - great. If not, there will be a valuable lesson learned - try, try again!

Either way, this is worth supporting - look at the big picture!

JW out

E-mail off to Lynne, asking about being set up for secure processing of small individual contributions and IRS nonprofit status. If she is not, maybe some of our members who are lawyers and or accountants could assist from the US, as time seems to be an enemy.

I have been in contact with Lynne, and she is busy trying to arrange 501(3)(C) status and secure donation processing for the Tashinga Initiative in the US. This should make it easier for financial small fry like me to "walk the walk" on helping preserve Africa's wildlife heritage by getting dollars "on the ground" in Zim, where they are desperately needed.
The donation route is now a bit circuitous.
Best regards to all.

An idea popped into my head to raise a little extra funding for the Tashinga Initiative. Please see this thread in the Classifieds:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...711002101#9711002101

Just want to thank the forum members who pitched in some funding for the Tashinga Initiative in the Classifieds. Looks like at least $300 will soon be on the way to Zimbabwe. It may not sound like much to this crowd, but it means several months' wages for game scouts/rangers/informants working to protect wildlife in the Zambezi Valley.
Very best,
Bill

bill ,
lynne spoke to me the other day and echoed exactly what you said , she GREATLY apreciated the effort and a little goes a long way there ...