The market for bushmeat – a term applied to any wild game in Africa hunted illegally for food – is taking a heavy toll on wildlife. The pressure on wildlife species such as the hippopotamus, wildebeest and zebra from poaching could jeopardize the long-term health and viability of wildlife populations. However, the threat is not just to wildlife but also a lucrative tourist industry that is also one of the region’s biggest employers.

MENTOR Fellows, Mentors, Dirck Byler (USFWS), Heather Eves (BCTF) and Nancy Gelman (ABCG) who attended the fellowship program's opening ceremony in Mweka

Through the USFWS MENTOR (Mentoring for ENvironmental Training in Outreach and Resource conservation) Fellowship Program, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the College of African Wildlife Management- Mweka, Tanzania, and the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group invests in capacity building, training and career development of emerging conservation leaders in order to build a network of eastern African wildlife professionals who can lead efforts to reduce illegal and unsustainable bushmeat exploitation at local, national and regional levels.

In December 2007, eight MENTOR Fellows were selected from Kenya, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to pursue academic studies at the College of African Wildlife Management in order to earn a Post-Graduate Diploma and to obtain one-on-one guidance from field based Mentors (role models/ advisors) who they are working with to conduct bushmeat assessments and implement field projects. The involvement of four highly experienced African conservation professionals who will work side-by-side with the Fellows is the foundation for the 18 month program. One third of the program (6 months) is formal coursework with Fellows based at the College while two thirds will be based in the field working directly with their conservation Mentors (12 months).

The Fellows are developing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices to address the illegal bushmeat exploitation in eastern Africa by focusing on various components of the bushmeat trade including:

* applied bushmeat research and monitoring,
* law enforcement,
* legislation and policy,
* alternative livelihood interventions,
* protein alternatives,
* wildlife-human health interactions, and
* education and constituency building.

The USFWS MENTOR Fellowship Program was launched by international and regional bushmeat experts on 6 February 2008 at the College of African Wildlife Management.

Click here to see the mid-term performance report from August 2008.

Meet the MENTOR fellows