How Tanzanian Communities Are Reducing Human-Elephant Conflict One Response at a Time
New short film spotlights community-led elephant conservation and coexistence strategies in northern Tanzania.
Human-elephant conflict remains an urgent conservation challenge for rural African communities. In northern Tanzania, elephants frequently roam beyond protected reserves, leading to rapidly escalating crop damage and safety concerns. Community-based solutions are now helping people and elephants discover new ways to coexist.
A new short film, Saving Ngorongoro: A Coexistence Story, captures this approach. Produced by Global Conservation and filmmaker Joshua Asel, the film follows trained Human-Elephant Coexistence Officers, supported by African People & Wildlife (APW), as they prevent conflict and foster peaceful outcomes.
Community-Based Elephant Conservation on the Edge of Ngorongoro
The film is set in villages bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, just outside its boundaries, where people, crops, and wildlife share land. With funding from Global Conservation, Elephant Crisis Fund, Save the Elephants, and Conservation Nation, APW has trained and equipped nine Human-Elephant Coexistence Officers from these communities.
These officers are first responders to elephant conflict: they use non-lethal deterrents, help clear paths for elephants back to safe habitat, and engage with neighbors to de-escalate risk. Their impact is measurable.
In 2024, crop-raiding incidents during peak conflict months dropped by over 50% compared to the year before.
This model is backed by a growing network of partners, including 32 zonal wardens from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), who have received training in community engagement and human-elephant conflict response protocols.
Together, these coordinated efforts have led to faster incident response times, stronger communication, and a growing shared database with more than 1,200 local reports since 2022.
Linking Elephant Conservation with Broader Human-Wildlife Coexistence
While Saving Ngorongoro focuses on elephants, the principles it showcases—early intervention, trust-building, local leadership—are central to all of APW’s human-wildlife coexistence work.
Across northern Tanzania, APW’s Warriors for Wildlife (also called Human-Wildlife Coexistence Officers) help communities reduce conflict with large carnivores such as lions, leopards, and wild dogs. Officers respond to livestock attacks, educate herders on risk prevention, and submit GPS-tagged reports that shape long-term conservation strategies.
Whether responding to elephants in a maize field or predators near a boma, the community-led approach is the same.
From Local Action to Global Recognition
We’re grateful to Global Conservation for helping bring this story to the world, and to the many supporters, partners, and communities who are making coexistence a reality on the ground.
This film also comes on the heels of another major recognition. Earlier this year, APW’s Ngorongoro StoryMap received top honors in the global Esri StoryMap Competition for its interactive, data-rich presentation of the same landscape.
Sharing lessons learned, impacts achieved, and challenges ahead helps expand the reach of this work, and we hope it inspires others across the conservation field.