This activity aims to expose young interns to the challenges inherent to the Conservation Areas, as well as to contribute to the resolution of different problems, in particular, Human – Wildlife conflict.

During the first round of the PLCM Internship Program, HagnésioChiponde, a young  graduate in veterinary medicine fromUniversidade Eduardo Mondlane, was assignedto the National Administration of Conservation Areas, in the Department of Protection and Inspection, and joined the inspection team of the Maputo Special Reserve for a period of timeto participate in the management of Human – Elephant conflict.

Hagnésio had the opportunity to participate in activities related to the development and implementation of a program to drive away elephants from the community areas and back into the reserve, such as mapping the routes elephants use, fencing some areas and researching the effectiveness of some of the techniques that the reserve intends to adopt to scare off the animals. In this context, the young intern assists in the tasks of tracking and immobilizing animals such as elephants and buffalo for placing collars, collecting samples and patrolling the reserve, contributing to the fight against poaching.

Hagnésio Chiponde, emphasized that he is gaining an extraordinary experience in conservation, saying: “It has been an interesting experience! In this internship I acquired excellent knowledge, but the most import thing is working in an area that not only allows me contact with wildlife, butis also helping the community”.

The PLCM is implemented by BIOFUND, integrated within the Mozbio2 project. The programaims to strengthen the capacity and skills of professionals in the National System of Conservation Areas (SNAC) and to shape the profile of future conservation leaders in Mozambique.