An incredible partnership between the International Crane Foundation and Endangered Wildlife Trust is lifting up communities, saving wetlands and protecting endangered species.
South Africa (09 November 2025) – The Grey Crowned Crane is in trouble right now. They were once common across Africa, but their numbers have dropped to an estimated 30,000 – 37,000. That’s a serious red flag for two reasons.
The first being that the species is Endangered, and the second being that cranes are a living indicator of how healthy our wetlands really are.
Wetlands are everything for Grey Crowned Cranes. They’re where they nest, raise their chicks, feed and rest. But as families living in last line communities (literally villages that are the furthest away from main tar roads) grow and resources shrink, people are pushed closer to wetland edges.
It’s not out of carelessness, but survival.
When land is limited and farming options are unreliable, wetlands become the only place where crops will grow or where cattle can graze safely. And when wetlands shrink, the cranes lose their safe habitat. More birds end up encountering livestock, dogs and people. Add that on top of existing threats like powerline collisions, illegal wildlife trade, poisoning and invasive species, and the need for action becomes great.
Conservationists have been really clever in their approach.
The International Crane Foundation partnered with the Endangered Wildlife Trust to work across communities that are dependent on wetlands in Africa. Saving the birds starts with supporting the communities that depend on that same land.
They’ve focused on the pressures that these last mile communities face. Understanding this has helped them find solutions that lift people up and ease the strain on the landscape at the same time.
Through collaborating with community groups, local governments, and other organisations across East and southern Africa, that shift has been a wonderful success.
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Banjo's Best Life! Scruffy Pup Found in Bushes Gets Happiest New BeginningThanks to the partnership’s programmes, farmers are supported to move towards climate-smart practices like vertical gardens that grow food without relying on wetland soil. Others are diversifying their income through things like beekeeping, mushroom production and small-scale avo farming. Grazing is being managed across the landscape so cattle stay healthy without damaging fragile wetland edges. Buffer zones along rivers and springs are being restored so water stays clean for both people and wildlife. And entire communities now have secure freshwater points without needing to tap into wetlands. Youth programmes are also teaching children about cranes and wetlands long before they’re old enough to work the land.
It’s a system built on understanding, communication, and sharing knowledge and skills that resolve critical issues communities are facing. Bit by bit, the cranes gain allies in every generation.
Next week, this entire model will be shared amongst an important group of people. Kerryn Morrison, the partnership’s Vice President of Africa Programs, will present the work at the 9th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement in Bonn, Germany.
The meeting will include considerations to extend the partnership’s plan of action for the Grey Crowned Crane for another 12 years.
“For cranes to survive among the neglected ‘last mile’ communities of East Africa, we must continue to improve community well-being, reduce their dependency on wetlands, and increase their resilience in a changing climatic and socio-economic world,” Morrison says.
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