How DSWF is protecting Elephants

Elephants are one of the most vulnerable mammals on the planet. DSWF is committed to addressing the threats faced by this iconic species by fighting, protecting and engaging on behalf of elephants.

DSWF fights to protect elephant populations by funding law enforcement programmes across Africa and Asia.

By funding park protection and anti-poaching efforts, our ground-based conservation partners provide a blanket of protection in prime elephant habitats.

Our wildlife policy team also engages in international policy forums, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to lobby for a universal and permanent ban on the trade in ivory. 

DSWF strives to protect elephant populations by identifying sustainable solutions to human-wildlife conflict, funding research and monitoring initiatives alongside the rescue, rehabilitation and release of orphaned elephants who are the victims of wildlife crime.

In Zambia, DSWF has funded the Game Rangers International (GRI) Elephant Orphanage Project (EOP) since it was established in 2008, as a founding partner. The project rescues elephants orphaned as a result of human-wildlife conflict and poaching and rehabilitates them with the ultimate aim of releasing them back into the wild.

DSWF is also committed to protecting strategic elephant populations by supporting the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect these iconic species, as seen over the decades of support in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park as just one example.

DSWF believes that education, community engagement, and stakeholder participation are fundamental in ensuring a sustainable future for both people and wildlife.

Across Africa and Asia, DSWF funds education workshops for those living near or next to national parks and protected areas.

The workshops aim to inspire children and communities to protect elephants whilst simultaneously supporting alternative and sustainable livelihood schemes to ensure any participation or engagement in illegal wildlife activity is not tolerated.

With your donations DSWF will continue to support:

• Anti-poaching and anti-trafficking ranger patrols to ensure key elephant habitats are protected from poaching and illegal wildlife activity
• Wildlife Ranger training and welfare programmes supporting the brave men and women on the front line across Africa and Asia
• Emergency elephant orphan rescues, providing lifesaving support to the victims of human-wildlife conflict and poaching in Zambia
• Long-term care for the rehabilitation of orphaned elephants beginning their journey back to the wild
• The construction and ongoing maintenance of ranger posts in key elephant habitats in Uganda
• Patrols to collect snares which pose illegal, dangerous and life-threatening risks to elephants and other wildlife
• Educational workshops and awareness materials encouraging an understanding of elephants and a peaceful co-existence for those communities living close to elephant areas
• Intelligence led operations and undercover investigations to dismantle ivory trafficking and poaching networks
• Demand reduction campaigns around the consumptive use of ivory
• Start-up costs and ongoing support for alternative livelihood schemes aimed at providing vulnerable communities with an income source to discourage illegal poaching
• Monitoring and research into key elephant behaviour
• Human-elephant conflict mitigation solutions to protect both wildlife and people
• Emergency response projects such as covering disused water wells to prevent elephant injury and death or road signs to reduce elephant fatalities on roads and railways across India.