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Bradt Author Peter Lynch on Conservation Volunteering: Przewalski’s Horses

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Since April is Volunteer Month on GeckoGo, Peter Lynch from Bradt Travel Guides and author of Wildlife and Conservation Volunteering: The Complete Guide has kickstarted our Bradt Author Series by sharing his experiences volunteering with the Przewalksi’s Horses.

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A project leader once told me the story of a small African boy who, while watching the umpteenth safari vehicle drive pass, asked his father, ‘Why don’t white people have legs?’ He had never seen tourists doing anything except riding in a 4×4 in pursuit of the next animal on their Big Five tick list.

Contrast this form of tourism with conservation volunteering. As a conservation volunteer you’ll have your feet firmly on the ground. You’ll be expected to work without pay, but you’ll learn things that no escorted tour group ever will. It stresses the point that while luxury safari groups no doubt enjoy a memorable holiday and never go without their creature comforts, they often miss the essence of the country they’re visiting. Instead of just passing through, conservation volunteers have the opportunity to really get to grips with an unfamiliar culture; you work with local people, as opposed to staring at them. You’re able to get a hands-on feel for the problems and issues associated with a particular project, and play an active role with the chance to participate in solutions.

The old adage: ‘you get what you pay for’ no longer applies to travelling. Nowadays, just going somewhere isn’t really much of an achievement. Discerning travellers are looking to contribute more and spend less during their travel experiences; they’re discovering that conservation volunteering produces returns far greater than any initial ‘investment’. It opens up opportunities to contribute directly to the survival or protection of a species and create friendships with local teams that endure long after a project ends.

But how to choose a project? A quick web search throws up a plethora of conservation volunteer outfits. Some are excellent, some are average and some fall below the ideal; some projects are just specialised forms of tourism (where the emphasis falls on satisfying a customer’s interests ahead of the needs of the project), others are grassroots NGOs. The objectives of all of them should be scrutinized carefully to ensure that they don’t operate in a western volunteer vacuum. The aims of a project should be clear; volunteers should be encouraged to engage respectfully with the local people; and local people should play a central role in project management.

One of my favourite examples is the reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses back into the wild in Mongolia’s Hustai National Park. These sturdy dun-coloured horses once roamed through Europe and Asia and were so common that our cave-dwelling ancestors depicted them in their cave art; one example in Lascaux, France, dates from 15,000BC. But by 1900 their range had been confined to the open steppes of Mongolia and by 1969 hunting, competition and interbreeding with modern horses, along with the widespread capture of foals for zoos and private collectors had led to their extinction in the wild. Subsequent inbreeding between captive family groups had led to a further decline in genetic resilience (one bout of disease could potentially have wiped out the remaining members of this ancient bloodline).

Dutch couple Jan and Inge Bouman decided to act and formed the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski Horse in 1980. They raised funds, bought separate bloodlines from zoos around the world and started a cross-breeding programme to build up genetic diversity again. Because all the animals had been born into captivity for many generations there were additional problems of human habituation, dependence and a need to relearn social behaviours. Semi-wild reserves were created in the Netherlands and Germany where they began to live a semi-wild existence and, finally, in the 1990’s the groups were transported to Mongolia for controlled release back into the wild.

Today, volunteers are needed to track harems across the steppe, recording how they are adapting to wild conditions, as well as behaviour, formation of new harems, births and signs of predation.

Local people are involved at every level; working as cooks, cleaners and drivers, but also project managers and leaders.. Volunteers work alongside Mongolian staff, live in a traditional ger and enjoy homestays with nomadic families in the region to learn about and experience aspects of a nomadic culture and lifestyle. Furthermore, volunteer fees are put towards providing health facilities and setting up sustainable local enterprises for locals so they can reduce their hunting and the over-grazing caused by their yaks.

The dedication, enthusiasm and vision of a few individuals has made a real difference. It’s this possibility that makes travelling so special today.

Further information
Peter Lynch Wildlife & Conservation Volunteering: The Complete Guide Bradt Travel Guides, Feb 2009
Piet Wit & Inge Bouman The Tale of the Przewalski’s Horse – Coming Home to Mongolia KNNV Publishing, 2006
For further details about this project see www.ecovolunteer.org

Images courtesy of Hustai National Park
1. Przewalski stallions fighting for harem leadership
2. A herd of Przewalski horses on the open steppes of Mongolia
3. Mother and foal