Pemba Island - Tanzania

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Pemba flying fox education project

The Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi) is an endemic bat species found only on Pemba Island, Tanzania. This species was considered to be critically endangered by IUCN, having a range restricted to Pemba Island (less than 900km2) and reported population declines, linked to the impacts of hunting (these bats are traditionally eaten on Pemba) and destruction of key forest habitat. Bat conservation efforts on Pemba have been ongoing since 1992, and were boosted in 1998 by a grant of $8,000 from the Lubee Bat Conservancy for the project, which enabled staff of the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruit and Forestry (DCCFF) on Pemba to continue their activities, with support and training from staff at Fauna & Flora International (FFI).

Conservation efforts on Pemba have focused on:

A thumb’s up for Pemba bats from children joining local conservation clubs

(i) Determining the population status of the Pemba flying fox, through locating roost sites and undertaking regular colony counts;
(ii) Establishing local support for conservation efforts, through presentations in schools and seminars for local authorities and other stakeholders; and
(iii) Supporting the development of village-based environment clubs that undertake active measures to protect local bats roosts.

Since 1998 the team has:

• Developed an educational video to be shown at schools and village meetings;
• Delivered presentations on the Pemba flying fox to 60 schools, reaching over 4,000 students;
• Held 36 village meetings to discuss bat conservation, targeting those communities closest to bat roosts or where hunting is most prevalent;
• Supported eight local conservation clubs, which now actively protect their neighbouring bat roosts and take part in the annual monitoring of the species;
• Held four stakeholder workshops which promoted debates relating o bat conservation among local decision makers and authorities;
• Undertaken biannual surveys of roosts and colony counts.

The grant from the Lubee Bat Conservancy supported the work of the DCCFF for five years, resulting in clear conservation outcomes:

• There has been widespread mobilization of public support for conservation of this species on Pemba, with an increased recognition of these bats as an important cultural and natural resource unique to the island, and in particular the project has been successful in directly involved local schoolchildren in conservation.
• As a result of direct dialogue with communities and local authorities, which built local consensus, the regulations on hunting this species have been strengthened
• Through local environmental clubs, communities living adjacent to bat colonies have taken responsibility for the protection of key roost sites, which has resulted in the protection of old growth forest, and the associated bat colonies have significantly increased in their size since protection, and now support the some of largest colonies on the island (one estimated at 2,500 bats).
• The survey work has helped to provide information on the location of key roosts sites which require protection, and the population estimate has been significantly revised to around 7,000 (a 50% increase on that made in 1995) and IUCN is now considering downgrading the threat status for this species.

As a result of the success of the project funded by the Lubee Bat Conservancy, FFI and DCFF have been successful in raising a further more substantial grant from another Foundation to continue the work on community-based protection of the Pemba flying fox. For further information contact: Dr Abigail Entwistle or Matt Rice, at Fauna & Flora International (info@fauna-flora.org).

A Pemba fruit bat in hand is helping save many more in the bush! All pictures © Abigail Entwhistle

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