Facilities in Cape Vulture Environmental Association

WHAT WE DO

• Awareness
• Vulture Monitoring
• Promotion of Culture and Tourism
• Employment creation
• Environment conservation

SUCCESSES

CVEA has over the years managed some projects, and thus has some managerial and technical expertise to enable it to successfully manage its office:

Essay writing competition: In efforts to disseminate its aims and objectives to the populace of Otse, the Association has been conducting annual essay competitions; this has been done since 2008.

Tree planting: In 2010 CVEA with the assistance from Dept of Forestry and Range Resources, embarked on a tree planting mission in Otse.

Celebrating CVEA awareness day: The Association decided in 2008 to annually celebrates CVEA awareness day on 9th August by organizing awareness activities such as litter picking.

Monitoring Cape Vultures: CVEA is the only youth conservation group in South East District not associated with a school. It is responsible for monitoring of the Cape Vultures at Mannyelanong Game Reserve with the help of BirdLife and DWNP. The information is used by BirdLife in compiling its annual status report of Botswana’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs) e.g. 2011 report at http://www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw/doc/protected_iba_2011_status_report_inner.pdf

Monitoring at the Game reserve started in 2008 through BirdLife Botswana’s Important Bird Area project that was specifically for the 12 areas in Botswana that are home to endangered species.

Bird tourism (avi-tourism): In 2008 the Association together with BirdLife Botswana piloted a project on bird tourism; bird tourism is a component of tourism that is focused specifically on birds and bird watching, and aims conserving biodiversity whilst improving livelihoods. It stimulates environmental education and conservation initiatives. The community based birding tourism offers an avenue through which people living in rural areas can improve their way of living through birds.

Kori Bustard research: CVEA assisted BirdLife on this project, implemented in and around CKGR, between 2007 and 2011, with at least five CVEA members participating at various times. During this research the club members were given challenging tasks e.g. registering data on all birds seen, and the habitats in which they were found (forcing them to learning different bird species as well as other animals and plants), as well as involved in the catching of Kori Bustards so as to mount satellite transmitters on them. This experience will prove worthwhile for the bird tourism component at Otse

Regulation of agro-chemicals to avert killing of non-target species: vulture as case study: (1) to lobby for the regulation of, and usage of “safe” pesticides in the country, (2) to raise awareness on vulture conservation/ poisoning and (3) to create a vulture monitoring network whilst improving the livelihoods of the Otse Community as custodians of the Cape Vulture breeding site.