Conservation Planning for

Implementation is key to the process

Conservation of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) presents a major challenge for conservationists in the 21st Century. Like all large carnivores they need large areas to survive and so are more susceptible to habitat destruction and fragmentation. The majority of Africa's protected areas are too small to conserve viable populations, and active conservation efforts needs to focus on areas outside where humans and wildlife coexist. (Main threats to survival)

In 2006 the Cat and Canid Specialist Groups of the IUCN/SSC, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) initiated a Rangewide Conservation Planning Process for wild dogs and cheetah. A key component of this process is a series of workshops, bringing together species specialists and conservation managers from governmental and non-governmental conservation organisations. Three regions have been defined to assist in this process: eastern Africa, southern Africa and north and west Africa.

Wildlife policy is formulated at the national level, so it is critical that conservation planning be enacted at the local level. National workshops are therefore a vital component of the Rangewide Conservation Planning Process. Each National Action Plan satisfies the regional strategy while addressing specific conservation issues relevent to each country.

Conservation strategies and national action plans form an important framework on which to 'hang' conservation activities, however all too often they are seen as an end in themselves, rather than a first step towards an implementation process. This project sees the regional strategies and national action plans as the beginning of the conservation process.

This website serves as a portal to share information about the regional strategies developed and national action plans drawn up in line with the relevant regional strategy. The website also provides up to date information on the distribution of the two species and regional level initiatives taking place to conserve the two species.

Every person on this planet is essentially a stakeholder in the process of conserving the Cheetah and the African wild dog, and we hope that by using this website you will engage and get involved in conservation efforts already taking place, and those planned for the future. The cheetah and the wild dog urgently need all the help they can get.