2024

From Classroom to Community: Engaging Nigerian Children in Vulture Conservation and Combating Traditional Beliefs: A project Sponsored by Rufford Foundation, in collaboration with PACE

Nigeria is experiencing a severe vulture collapse owing majorly to belief-based causes. One of the greatest threats to West Africa’s vulture populations is the trade for traditional medicine and belief systems, a common phenomenon in Nigeria. Nigerian conservationists and nature enthusiasts have undertaken several vulture orientations and sensitization programs to halt the declining vulture population trend. However, there seems to be little awareness of the success of such orientation and sensitization programs directly linked to the conservation of vultures. Hence, evaluating the success of an awareness program and evaluating the most time-efficient and cheapest way to conduct awareness-raising programs is of great importance and is the purpose of this project.

Targeting six of Nigeria's ecoregions Caka and Michael are investigating the importance of secondary students as agents to convert their parents' traditional beliefs regarding vultures. This project has two aims. The first aim is to conduct and evaluate the success of a vulture sensitization and awareness program for secondary school children. The program's success will be evaluated by the distribution of pre- and post-program questionnaires and a questionnaire administered a month after the program for the longer-term impact. 

The second aim is to investigate the spill-over effect of the vulture awareness program on children’s parents or guardians. Parents are generally busy. Therefore, it can be time-consuming and expensive to convince parents to take time out of their daily activities to participate in a vulture awareness program. Moreover, some parents believe that what their kids learn from school is authentic and they tend to take it seriously. By letting children participate in a vulture sensitisation program and giving them a vulture booklet donated by Pan African Conservation Education (PACE), we hypothesize that this newly gained information will reach and alter the parents’ perception of vultures. The objective is to distribute a questionnaire survey among the children’s parents before the vulture awareness program and a month after the children participated in the vulture awareness program.

2024

Collaboration with PACE (Pan-African Conservation Education)

Nigeria's vultures are experiencing a drastic population decline. Conservation action is crucial to safeguard these beautiful and important birds. Hence, BiotaCHF initiated a vulture sensitization program in collaboration with PACE.  Through 2024 BiotaCHF will conduct vulture awareness programs around Nigeria and vulture conservation booklets, donated by PACE  will be distributed. Boys Special School and Government Special Secondary School, Toro, Bauchi state have been targeted, as well as, Girls Secondary School, Kafin Madaki. In Taraba state, the program has been run for traders and businessmen and GSS Wukari.