ZEF was formed in 2015 as a collaborative, supportive initiative to specifically to create awareness of and address the alarming rise of poaching and habitat loss in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe.

Now, the focus of elephant conservation is shifting, and, with it, Zambezi Elephant Fund’s impact is widening to ensure lasting and scalable change across the Zambezi Valley’s beautiful elephant rangelands. Our specific goals actively address the preservation of threatened wildlife and habitat and tackle head-on the systemic issues that adversely affect the future of elephants.


By bringing together the group’s diverse set of skills and perspectives, we and our partners have developed highly effective anti-poaching activities. Now, with everyone working together, the poaching crisis can be contained, and a deeper social and environmental crisis averted through our wider objectives, which include habitat rehabilitation and programs that benefit communities.
— James Egremont-Lee, Executive Director, Zambezi Elephant Fund

WHAT OUR IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS HAVE ACHIEVED, THROUGH ZEF’S SUPPORT

Together with key collaborative partners, ZEF plays a vital role in the preservation of Zambezi Valley elephant rangelands through a range of activity.


42 antipoaching rangers recruited, trained and deployed

6,3 million acres of diverse habitat under protection 


350,000 indigenous trees planted | 1,000 families benefitting 

14,000 km patrolled on foot | 24,700 km patrolled by vehicle | 2,532 km monitored by air


12 km elephant proof fence erected to protect communities

47 wildlife crime arrests made


2,658 snares removed

80,000 fuel-efficient stoves distributed