When you support the Small Mammal Conservation Organization (SMACON), you help to make a difference for Nigeria’s small mammals, like the short-tailed roundleaf bat – one of our planet’s most endangered bats.
With an estimated 1,500 individuals left, the short-tailed roundleaf bat is one of the world’s most endangered bat species. The upland Horseshoe bat, another highly threatened species, is between a rock and a hard place due to threats from climate change and wildfires that spread from pasture lands to forests. With only one confirmed population in the Obudu Plateau region of Nigeria, this species needs consistent protection.
Since 2011, SMACON has engaged local communities through conservation awareness campaigns and outreach programs to ensure they lead conservation action on the ground. A small but mighty team of young Nigerian conservationists making a difference for bats, their habitat, and communities.
Protect Bats
With WCN’s 100% model, your entire gift supports the conservationists working to protect wildlife.
Bats:
Small Mammal Conservation Organization (SMACON)
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95
Trees Planted
by the Kujo Women, an all-women local community team leading their efforts to restore re-degraded parts of the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary.
9,360
Bats Protected
SMACON’s conservation efforts in Nigeria help protect a total population of 9,360 bats.
0
Wildfires
for the fourth consecutive year in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. A testament to the efficiency of SMACON’s early-warning wildfire prediction and prevention program.
Solutions in Action
Thriving Nature & Wildlife
Reducing Conflict
Escalated wildfire events often result in conflicts between neighboring communities over who is responsible for the spread of fire. A major challenge is getting every member of the community to strictly adhere to policies placed on signposts that warn against brush burning at specific times. To address this, SMACON works with community leaders to enforce wildfire laws that are most appropriate and practical for each community.
Thriving People
Boosting Local Economies
Co-developed with community members, SMACON employs a Nigerian fire ranger force—Forest Guardians—that deploy remote firefighting equipment to stop wildfires from reaching critical bat habitats. In addition to protecting forests, the program also shields farms from wildfires, serving over 5,000 small-holder farms.
Thriving People
Promoting Health
SMACON’s partnership with local communities also reduces bat hunting and consumption, and thus zoonotic disease risk. This intervention, together with forest protection for biodiversity and climate, addresses Earth’s three biggest interconnected issues, building on a shared belief that healthy environments are essential for healthy communities.
Quote"Just talking about bats is not enough. You have to show people. The question is always "how does it benefit the common man?" A person wants to see how x, y, z trees that we harvest, or we use their seeds, or we use their fruits, is pollinated by bats. So people start to see that a lot of the things that threaten biodiversity also threaten people. And that’s where we’ve got in the local communities, we’re trying to save this forest for the bats and for you."
Dr. Iroro Tanshi, Co-founder Small Mammal Conservation Organization
