Living Together: How Chiawa Is Redefining Coexistence Between People and Wildlife

In Zambia’s Chiawa Chiefdom, part of BCP’s Luangwa Community Forests Project (LCFP), carbon revenue is powering solutions that help both people and wildlife thrive.

With funds earned from forest protection through REDD+, the community has invested in solar-powered fencing—a transformative intervention that now safeguards six farming blocks and over 300 households from crop-raiding elephants and hippos.

For a region where women often have to sleep in fields to protect harvests, this is more than a fence; it’s a step toward dignity, food security, and gender equality.

As land and resource pressures intensify, the Chiawa community is showing what peaceful human-wildlife coexistence can look like—reducing conflict while protecting biodiversity.

And they’re not stopping here. With stronger harvests and increased security, the community is turning its attention to building a maternity ward and drilling boreholes, creating a ripple effect of health and resilience through REDD+ benefits.

This is conservation that empowers. A model for how climate finance can unlock equity, security, and harmony for both people and the planet.