08/10/2026
When we think about lion conservation, it's easy to picture the lions themselves.
But after spending years working alongside these animals, I've learnt that conserving lions is rarely just about lions.
It's about understanding how they interact with prey, with other predators and with people. It's about recognising that every landscape is different and that good conservation depends on making informed decisions based on the best available evidence.
Perhaps most importantly, it's about collaboration.
Lions don't recognise fences, property boundaries or organisational logos. Their future depends on people working together across an entire landscape.
That was exactly the focus of a stakeholder workshop held in June to begin developing a new Lion Management Plan for Savé Valley Conservancy.
Led by Savé Valley Conservancy, the workshop brought together conservation organisations, researchers, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Rural District Councils, land managers and technical specialists to begin shaping a shared vision for lion conservation over the next 5–10 years. Together, we reviewed the current status of the conservancy's lions, discussed the challenges they face, identified gaps in our knowledge and explored how we can ensure future management decisions continue to be guided by sound science.
One thing became very clear throughout the discussions: successful lion conservation isn't about chasing a particular number of lions. It's about maintaining a healthy population, understanding how lions respond to changes across the landscape, reducing conflict where people and lions share space, protecting habitat and ensuring management decisions are based on robust evidence rather than assumptions.
For AWCF, it was a privilege to contribute our long-term monitoring and Human-Wildlife Coexistence experience to those discussions. Our role is one part of a much bigger collaborative effort, and that's exactly how it should be.
As this management plan develops over the coming months, I'm excited to see so many partners contributing their expertise towards a shared goal: ensuring Savé Valley Conservancy continues to support a healthy, resilient lion population long into the future.
We are proud to be working alongside Savé Valley Conservancy on this important initiative, and grateful to every organisation and stakeholder contributing their knowledge and experience, and to the Lion Recovery Fund for supporting the development of the plan.
Happy World Lion Day.
— Jess Watermeyer
Operations Director, African Wildlife Conservation Fund