Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, or news.
Today: Win a $100,000 USD project with the Wilderness Impact Challenge!
Every month, you can win exclusive holidays in my pick of the best luxury travel contests & sweepstakes on the internet. These contests are weekly updated on my travel blog here, so check back regularly. Today, I am introducing a very special and meaningful contest: the Wilderness Impact Challenge, launched by Wilderness.
Wilderness is one of Africa’s most luxurious safari companies and a brand that I absolutely love. Wilderness was founded in 1983 in Botswana by two young guides, who wanted to ensure both conservation of wildlife areas and that the financial benefits of their safaris flow to Botswana and its people. Today, Wilderness is widely acclaimed as the continent’s foremost ecotourism operator, dedicated to conserving and restoring Africa’s wilderness and wildlife. They do this by creating life-changing journeys in some of the most remote and pristine areas in Africa, hereby helping to conserve Africa’s spectacular biodiversity and share ecotourism’s benefits with the local communities. You can read here my reviews of stays at Wilderness Lodges in Rwanda, Botswana and Namibia:
Wilderness has now launched the Wilderness Impact Challenge, a transformative initiative which aims to advance environmental protection and sustainable practices while building on Wilderness’ longstanding commitment to preserving Africa’s rich biodiversity. The latter is increasingly at risk as expanding human populations encroach on once-remote habitats, escalating conflicts between communities and wildlife. Iconic species like elephants and lions face growing threats, while farmers endure crop losses and livestock predation, deepening poverty and food insecurity. Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions that safeguard both people from wildlife and wildlife from people. And that’s why Wilderness is introducing the Wilderness Impact Challenge, which the aim to foster human-wildlife coexistence and strengthen wildlife security.
With a $100,000 USD prize to bring the winning vision to life, this challenge builds on Wilderness’ unwavering dedication to safeguarding Africa’s wild while addressing the urgent need for creative solutions to human-wildlife conflict. “Conservation as we know it isn’t succeeding fast enough. That’s why we’ve pioneered a new model that’s creatively disrupting the way conservation has traditionally been funded. We’re shifting our focus from merely protecting specific species to reimagining entire ecosystems and economies, ensuring that our solutions are both scalable and sustainable”, said Vincent Shacks, Wilderness Group Impact Manager.
The Wilderness Impact Challenge seeks resourceful solutions that promote human-wildlife coexistence and enhance wildlife security. Rooted in three core pillars – Educate, Empower, and Protect – Wilderness’ Impact strategy aims to address critical conservation issues. For its 2025 edition, the Challenge concentrates on the Protect pillar, inviting submissions that focus on wildlife areas and the communities connected to them in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda.
The Challenge encourages entries from individuals and organisations worldwide, addressing vital areas such as developing technology like early-warning systems and non-lethal deterrents, designing eco-friendly barriers to safeguard crops and livestock, and implementing community-driven conflict resolution and educational programs. Following a comprehensive review process, a panel of judges will assess the entries and award the $100,000 USD to the most impactful project, assisting in transforming the winning entrant’s or team’s idea into a tangible reality.
“We invite innovators, researchers, and community leaders from all corners of the globe to submit their proposals and join us in this exciting new chapter of conservation. This Challenge embodies our ethos of forging new paths and we are excited to explore disruptive solutions that will balance human and wildlife needs while advancing our commitment to sustainability and impactful change”, concluded Vince.
Feeling inspired? Ideas flowing? If you think you’ve got what it takes to craft a scalable solution to this year’s conservation focus, now’s your chance! With a USD 100,000 prize on the line, the Wilderness Impact Challenge 2025 is your platform to make a difference; turning ideas into meaningful action.
Here’s how it works
Entries are submitted online via a digital form. Simply answer the questions provided, and use the word count allocation as a guide for the required details. Entries run until 28 February 2025. Finalists will be announced on 14 March 2025, with the winner revealed at the end of March.
The Impact Challenge overview video can be viewed below.
There are several types of entries to explore
Technological innovations
- Early warning systems: Develop sensors or monitoring devices to detect wildlife movements and alert communities.
- Non-lethal deterrents: Create devices or methods (e.g., lights, sounds, scents) that deter wildlife without harming them.
- Fencing and barriers: Innovate cost-effective, eco-friendly barriers that protect crops or livestock from wildlife.
Community Engagement and Education
- Conflict mitigation strategies: Develop community-driven approaches to manage interactions with wildlife, such as community patrols or conflict resolution techniques.
- Education programs: Design educational materials or programs to raise awareness about wildlife behavior, conservation, and sustainable practices.
Livelihood and Economic Solutions
- Alternative livelihoods: Introduce income-generating activities that reduce dependency on wildlife-related resources (e.g., fresh food provision, sustainable agriculture).
- Insurance and compensation: Develop innovative insurance or compensation schemes for farmers or communities affected by wildlife-related losses.
Data and Monitoring Solutions
- Data analytics: Utilize data analytics and remote sensing technologies to understand wildlife movements and behavior patterns.
- Monitoring systems: Develop tools for real-time monitoring of wildlife populations and human-wildlife interactions.
Collaborative and Multi-stakeholder Approaches
- Partnerships: Foster collaborations between NGOs, governments, local communities, and businesses to implement holistic solutions.
- Capacity building: Strengthen local capacities through training, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
Behavioural and Psychological Insights
- Human behavior: Solutions that deal with human perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors towards wildlife to inform targeted interventions.
- Social psychology: Apply behavioral science to understand and influence decision-making related to wildlife conservation and conflict mitigation.
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