Human-Wildlife Encounters in Bawa Mozambique

<p>The Balance of the Zambezi</p><p>The Zambezi River region of Mozambique home to the Bawa community is defined by a profound paradox where the success of conservation is weighed against the daily reality of human survival. This book chronicles the complex often lethal negotiation at the heart of the Tchuma Tchato project Mozambique's experiment in community based natural resource management which links local people's prosperity to the wildlife that threatens their lives. Our journey first confronts the brutal realities of Human Wildlife Conflict from lethal crocodile attacks such as the one that disabled Kefasi Domingo to crop destruction by elephants a struggle intensified by the environmental stress of the 2024 to 2025 El Niño drought that triggered mass animal die offs and disease. However the economic counterweight the Tourist's Gaze transforms these dangerous beasts into economic assets generating vital revenue jobs and emergency support through operators like Safaris de Moçambique which in turn helps guard against internal threats like subsistence poaching via a two tiered justice system. Ultimately the Bawa community learns to Build the Buffer through practical mitigation strategies including chili fences and safe protected boreholes forging a sustainable albeit ambivalent peace that hinges on a tense negotiated equilibrium between humanity and the wild heart of Africa.</p>