Saving the Malagarasi Floodplain (Full Documentary 15 minutes)

The Malagarasi River cuts through one of Tanzania's lesser-known safari concessions, the Uvinza Open Area.

This film provides a compelling look into the critical anti-poaching and conservation efforts that have gone into rehabilitating it.

Most of the area is floodplain. Seasonal water dictates wildlife movement, where poachers operate, and where patrols can reach.

When the safari operator, Game Frontiers of Tanzania, took over the concession, roughly 90% of it had been encroached upon by illegitimate occupiers.

Illegal farmers, commercial fishermen, meat poachers with muzzle loaders and dogs, and illegal timber cutters worked the area freely.

The first concrete result was closing 200 kilometers of river to commercial fishing,
backed by the national and local governments.

That single decision eased pressure on crocodile and hippo populations, protected the habitat from further degradation, and allowed other wildlife populations to
thrive.

Recovery at this scale is slow, and this video shows what that looks like on the ground.