Life Through Wildlife
Life Through Wildlife is a small organisation built around a core of dedicated professionals and a growing network of practitioners, researchers, and educators working to transform community governance and grow Africa’s wildlife economy.
We work as a networked organisation rather than a conventional NGO. Our anchor sites, fellows, and institutional partners share knowledge and experience through regular communication and periodic field-based meetings, learning from each other’s landscapes and building a shared body of practice. Through partnerships, we integrate action and learning, recovering and advancing the knowledge that made southern Africa a global leader in community conservation.
LtW has an administrative office in Cape Town, South Africa, with institutional partnerships at the University of Florida and Stellenbosch University. Our field work currently spans several countries across southern and eastern Africa, and we are in the process of registering a LtW chapter in Botswana.
Institutional Partners
University of Florida. Academic home for LtW’s founder, Professor Brian Child, and for the Certificate in Wildlife Economy, Governance and Community. UF also supports graduate and undergraduate research on wildlife economics, governance, and environmental monitoring.
Stellenbosch University, Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST). Hosts the Fonseca Leadership Programme, which trains anchor site managers and CBNRM practitioners through Master’s degrees and postgraduate diplomas, with PhD funding planned.
Jamma International. Provides core funding and strategic support, including the development of the Ops Room platform and field operations.
WWF-KAZA. Supports anchor site development and CBNRM in western Botswana.
LtW Fellows
Beyond the core team, Life Through Wildlife’s impact is driven by a growing network of LtW Fellows: field managers, community specialists, government officials, and researchers positioned at key leverage points in organisations and landscapes across the region.
Many are enrolled in the Fonseca programme at Stellenbosch or have completed the Wildlife Economy, Governance and Community certificate through the University of Florida.
Fellows lead anchor site implementation in their own landscapes, conduct governance dashboards, facilitate participatory budgeting, and contribute to comparative research on community governance. They are practitioners who combine local knowledge with the technical skills and professional network that LtW provides.
Contact
We welcome enquiries from practitioners, researchers, funders, and anyone interested in community-led wildlife governance and the wildlife economy in Africa.
info[at]lifethroughwildlife.com
