Copperbelt Bats Project
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Saving one of Africa’s most iconic bat species in Copperbelt Region, Zambia
The Copperbelt Bats Project is an exciting conservation project to safeguard straw-coloured fruit bats in Ndola and Kitwe (Copperbelt Province, Zambia). Did you know? The iconic straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum), often called the "Gardeners of Africa," are renowned for their role in the world's largest mammal migration. Every year, millions of individuals travel across the African continent, with around ten million individuals arriving in Zambia between September and January, most heading to Kasanka National Park - home of the world’s largest fruit bat roost. We are also lucky to have large, important urban roosts in Ndola and Kitwe too. Being a long distance migrator, straw-coloured fruit bats play a key role in ecosystem services such as seed dispersal and habitat reforestation. |
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As long-distance migrators, straw-coloured fruit bats provide crucial ecosystem services, particularly in seed dispersal and natural reforestation. However, despite their ecological value, these bats face severe persecution. In Copperbelt Province, migrating straw-coloured fruit bats arrive in October each year, where widespread deforestation has forced the bats to find refuge in gardens in urban areas. Some residents have been trying to move the bats by cutting down trees, or smoking them out, and in some cases killing bats too.
It is essential to develop strategies for peaceful coexistence between humans and bats. Research on human-bat interactions shows that education, raising awareness, and improving understanding of the ecological benefits provided by bats are crucial steps in ensuring their conservation.
Human-bat coexistence
Human-bat conflict puts both people and bats at risk, which is why one of our key work areas is people engagement. We strongly believe that sustainable long-term conservation can only be achieved if communities are included in the decision-making process. This project aims to use a co-designed, inclusive and participatory approach working with young people in local schools to find solutions to human/bat coexistence and to carry out focus groups and household surveys to better understand concerns from residents that will help to inform our conservation strategy.
As the bat population faces increasing pressures from habitat loss, climate change, and persecution, we must find solutions for a peaceful co-existence between people and bats in Zambia. Human-bat conflict studies have shown that education and awareness and an increased understanding of the ecological benefits they provide to humans, are essential for their conservation.
The project activities are broadly divided between community and youth engagement, which are subsequently subdivided into project stages:
Community engagement
The community engagement activities will include:
Youth engagement
The youth engagement activities include the following three stages:
Meet our Conservation Engagement Officer
Purity Kalenge joined the Bats without Borders team as our Conservation Engagement Officer. In this role, Purity leads community and youth engagement activities for the Copperbelt bats project, helping to inspire and educate others about bat conservation. Find out more about Purity here.
Get Involved
The Copperbelt Bats Project depends on the support of passionate individuals and sponsors. Here’s how you can help:
Donate: Your donations directly support our research, outreach, and conservation activities.
Spread the word: Help raise awareness about the importance of bats and the threats they face by sharing our work with your networks.
Thank you to our sponsors:
It is essential to develop strategies for peaceful coexistence between humans and bats. Research on human-bat interactions shows that education, raising awareness, and improving understanding of the ecological benefits provided by bats are crucial steps in ensuring their conservation.
Human-bat coexistence
Human-bat conflict puts both people and bats at risk, which is why one of our key work areas is people engagement. We strongly believe that sustainable long-term conservation can only be achieved if communities are included in the decision-making process. This project aims to use a co-designed, inclusive and participatory approach working with young people in local schools to find solutions to human/bat coexistence and to carry out focus groups and household surveys to better understand concerns from residents that will help to inform our conservation strategy.
As the bat population faces increasing pressures from habitat loss, climate change, and persecution, we must find solutions for a peaceful co-existence between people and bats in Zambia. Human-bat conflict studies have shown that education and awareness and an increased understanding of the ecological benefits they provide to humans, are essential for their conservation.
The project activities are broadly divided between community and youth engagement, which are subsequently subdivided into project stages:
Community engagement
The community engagement activities will include:
- Focus groups: with residents, gardeners, local authority and business members to better understand human-bat conflict issues
- Household surveys: will be carried out to collect more detailed information needed on human-bat conflict issues
Youth engagement
The youth engagement activities include the following three stages:
- Classroom without Walls: working with schools on our Classrooms without Walls programme to inspire an interest in bats, nature and science
- Youth Panel co-design: working with a youth panel to co-design bat activities and a story book to address human-bat conflict situations and champion local support for bats
- Train the Trainer: will run workshops for Environmental Educators and teachers to scale the programme
Meet our Conservation Engagement Officer
Purity Kalenge joined the Bats without Borders team as our Conservation Engagement Officer. In this role, Purity leads community and youth engagement activities for the Copperbelt bats project, helping to inspire and educate others about bat conservation. Find out more about Purity here.
Get Involved
The Copperbelt Bats Project depends on the support of passionate individuals and sponsors. Here’s how you can help:
Donate: Your donations directly support our research, outreach, and conservation activities.
Spread the word: Help raise awareness about the importance of bats and the threats they face by sharing our work with your networks.
Thank you to our sponsors:
