Youths are the energy and workforce, including in bird conservation. To deliver conservation messages against the Illegal Killing of Birds (IKB), the Korongo Football League was convened in collaboration with the Mpwapwa District Government in the Dodoma region.
Nature Tanzania appreciate the positive support and collaboration of the Mpwapwa District Government in nature conservation, community empowerment and, specifically, addressing the Illegal Killing of Birds (IKB) in Central Tanzania. The figure below is a group photo of Mpwapwa district government leaders during a project update meeting with Nature Tanzania.
To raise awareness of the Illegal Killing of Birds (IKB) challenge through sports, we collaborated with the Mpwapwa District Council to organise and conduct a Korongo Football League held in Mpwapwa District. “Korongo” is the Swahili word for White Stork. The Korongo Football League aimed to engage young people (the main bird poachers) through sport to communicate about the conservation of resident and migratory birds, the IKB challenge, and opportunities to address this issue. The White Stork League was officially launched on 17 September 2024 by Mr. Pius Sebastian Bakari, the Mpwapwa Sports Officer, at Ng’hambi village. Ten football teams registered and participated in the Korongo tournament, including the two teams supported by our project, which consist of former bird poachers who are now conservation ambassadors.
Korongo Football League is a conservation campaign that educates communities about bird conservation, including the impacts of bird poisoning and hunting and motivates them to participate in mitigation campaigns. Large numbers of migratory and resident birds are often poisoned with carbofuran and agro pesticides, hunted using catapults & dogs, and trapped in mist nets. The insecurity of birds in this region pushed us to initiate the sports competition approach, targeting hunters, i.e. the youth and consumers.
A committee of community leaders, educators, and local sports enthusiasts was formed to oversee the Korongo Football League competition. Twenty-four football matches were held, but only four teams qualified for the semi-final stage: Kilimo Kwanza FC, Center Boys FC, Mlimani Park FC, and Majimaji FC.
The communicated awareness messages included the importance of protecting migratory birds and the environment, the negative impacts of hunting birds, and the negative impacts of consuming poisoned birds. The winners received awards in the following order: the first winner (Center Boys FC) received Tsh. 800,000, the second winner (Majimaji FC) received Tsh. 500,000, and the third winner (Kilimo Kwanza) received Tsh. 200,000.
As a result of this activity, more than 10,210 people (2,250 females) from ten villages in Mpwapwa District were reached during the Korongo Football League.
The IKB project implements other interventions, including;
- Monitoring populations and distribution of migratory birds (20 species recorded) Improvement of community livelihoods through beekeeping, poultry, goat & piglet farming as alternative sources of income (more than 300 people have been supported since 2021).
- Awareness creation through school environment clubs and community meetings (more than 20,000 people reached since 2021).
- Landscape restoration through tree planting (more than 5,000 trees planted since 2021).
We appreciate the support from the NABU International Foundation and the good cooperation from the Kongwa and Mpwapwa district councils, the communities and other stakeholders for their collaboration and participation in this exciting activity.
