Our Approach

The African Wildlife Conservation Fund (AWCF) is a non-profit organization and a Zimbabwean-registered Trust, dedicated to the conservation of the large carnivore guild of southern Africa, with a particular emphasis on the endangered African Wild Dog.

The AWCF formed in 2005, having grown out of the Lowveld Wild Dog Project which started in 1996. We are 100% field-based and with over 2 decades of experience, are well placed to make a genuine, substantial and long lasting contribution to the conservation of Africa’s large carnivores, as well as the prey and habitats on which they depend.

AWCF is a registered non-profit in the US (FIN: 26-0571535, a registered Trust in Zimbabwe (Prot. No.: 0000476/2012) and a registered charity in the UK (Charity # 1186260). We work in partnership with the Zimbabwean Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, under permits from the Research Council of Zimbabwe and with the support of the Ministry of Education.

Adopt a Pack

There are only 650 African Wild Dog packs left in the whole world.
Adopt a pack and help save the species from extinction.

The AWCF directly monitors and protects large carnivores across over 2.2 million acres or 9,000km2 of key habitat (home to about 30 packs of African wild dogs), through a holistic approach to conservation that includes management-driven research, hands-on conservation, education, community engagement, promotion of human-wildlife coexistence and policy dialogue.

AWCF has teams based in and around both the Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC) and the Gonarezhou National Park in south-east Zimbabwe. Populations of wild dogs, lions and hyenas have increased exponentially in both areas since 2008. Currently, the population of endangered African wild dogs in SVC is at one of the highest densities in the world.

Our methods include monitoring, removing snares from injured carnivores, anti-poaching support, rabies vaccinations for domestic dogs, conservation awareness programs in schools, school field trips, a secondary school scholarship program, library and literacy programs, various community support projects and policy dialogue.

The success of AWCF’s work is thanks to our diverse portfolio of activities, our wide-ranging and effective collaborations with local, national and regional partners, our fantastic team of dedicated, enthusiastic and motivated local staff, and our professional conduct.

The AWCF team is a devoted group of primarily local Zimbabweans, with an international reputation for achieving excellent conservation outcomes. All of our work relies on the financial support of granting institutions and private donors. We have extremely low overheads and none of the directors or trustees receives any financial (or other) remuneration for their efforts.

AWCF has a board of trustees in the US, Zimbabwe and the UK, and is also registered in South Africa. Our 5-year strategic plan can be downloaded here and our latest annual reports are available here.

Our Approach

The African Wildlife Conservation Fund (AWCF) is a non-profit organization and a Zimbabwean-registered Trust, dedicated to the conservation of the large carnivore guild of southern Africa, with a particular emphasis on the endangered African Wild Dog.

Adopt a Pack

The success of AWCF’s work is thanks to our diverse portfolio of activities, our wide-ranging and effective collaborations with local, national and regional partners, our fantastic team of dedicated, enthusiastic and motivated local staff, and our professional conduct.

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