**Trustees' Annual Report for the period From** Period start date **To**[Period end date ] 06 April 2023 05 April 2024 A Section A Reference and administration details **Charity name** Conservation Research Africa **Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any)** ~~——~~ 1170640 **Charity's principal address** C/O Bat Conservation Research Lab, University of Bath,Milner Centre Bath **Postcode BA7** Section A Reference and administration details ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** **Dates acted if not for whole Name of person (or body) entitled Trustee name Office (if any) year to appoint trustee (if any)** 1 Mr Lee Stewart - 2 Dr Martin Jones - 3 Dr joe Nunez - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 **Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)** ~~<<<~~ **Name Dates acted if not for whole year TAR** 1 March **2024** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** **Type of adviser Name Address** **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** ## **Section B Structure, governance and management** ## **Description of the charity’s trusts** Constitution Type of governing document - (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is constituted CIO - (eg. trust, association, company) Trustees are Appointed when necessary (e.g. when a trustee steps down Trustee selection methods or 3 years is met) by agreement at the AGM (eg. appointed by, elected by) ## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about: - policies and procedures - adopted for the induction and training of trustees; - the charity’s organisational - structure and any wider network with which the charity works; - relationship with any related - parties; - trustees’ consideration of - major risks and the system and procedures to manage them. ## **Section C Objectives and activities** To advance environmental protection and improvement in particular by promoting the conservation and sustainable management of flora and fauna for the benefit of the public in Africa through: **Summary of the objects of the** a) Applied research and management (in the fields of conservation biology; **charity set out in its governing** natural resources management; sustainable waste use; ecosystem **document** services provision; behavioural ecology; ecology; climate smart agriculture; sustainable livelihoods; human wildlife conflict resolution) to inform and promote sustainable development (sustainable development means > March **2024** 2 **TAR** |**Summary of the main activities**
**undertaken for the public**
**benefit in relation to these**
**objects (include within this**
**section the statutory**
**declaration that trustees have**
**had regard to the guidance**
**issued by the Charity**
**Commission on public benefit)**|“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”).
b) Community education and by raising awareness to: reduce poverty;
promote sustainable land management and development; reduce human
wildlife conflict; reduce environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
c) Capacity building for African communities and stakeholders (through
workshops, training, scholarships, and networking) in the fields of:
conservation research; wildlife and natural resources management; climate
change mitigation, conservation farming; climate smart agriculture and
human wildlife conflict mitigation.
Beneficiaries: From Local communities (farmers, teachers, school children)
to Government officials (from the Departments of the Environment, Wildlife
Management, Forestry and Fisheries) in Africa.| |---|---| ||In planning the activities for the year we have kept in mind the Charity
Commissions guidance on public benefit at our meetings and strategic
planning discussions.
The main activities are:
1.
Applied research to inform conservation management of wildlife
and the environment and human wildlife conflict resolution to inform and
promote sustainable development and provide important data and
resources for wildlife and environmental custodians in Malawi
2.
Education and outreach activities around Lilongwe and Kasungu
National Park to increase understanding of wildlife and environment and
conservation and reduce human wildlife conflict
3.
Capacity building programmes with the Department of National
Parks and Wildlife and Lilongwe City Council to build skills in research and
wildlife management
These activities benefit the following people:
1.
Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and Lilongwe
City Council by data and reports which allow them to manage national
parks and wildlife in an effective way through provision of data on animals
numbers, densities, threats to wildlife, ecology of wildlife, biodiversity data
and hotspot maps, enforcement plans for wildlife and biodiversity in the city
2.
Local communities including women and children, who are
experiencing conflict due to hyaena attacking them, eating livestock and
bats occupying their homes, schools and clinics through provision of
mitigation activities to provide solutions to conflict, reduce conflict or
mitigate it (e.g, removal of bats from clinics, education about how to react
around hyaena to reduce attacks, or mitigation to reduce livestock attacks)
3.
DNPW and Lilongwe City Council through increased skills and
capacity in wildlife conservation and management and reporting to the
CBD through training in mapping, GIS, wildlife research and census
techniques| ## **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)** > March **2024** 3 **TAR** The majority of our staff continue to volunteer their time. While we have hosted some volunteers during this period, the number has remained low. Despite this, we have been able to resume some of our programs and research activities. However, our income remains affected as we have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of student group participation. As a result, our programmes have been operating at a reduced capacity. You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about: ● policy on grantmaking; ● policy programme related investment; ● contribution made by volunteers. ## Section D Achievements and performance > March **2024** 4 **TAR** |Section D|Achievements andperformance|Achievements andperformance| |---|---|---| |**Summary of the main**
**achievements of the charity**
**during the year**||**RESEARCH ACTIVITIES**
CRA have conducted the following two research programmes:
Our activities are gradually recovering, though we are still operating with
reduced teams.
. African Bat Conservation resumed research activities in August 2023,
following a period in which the team were not operational due to a lack of
funding for specific projects.
Only August/September 2023 bi-monthly reports
1.
**_African Bat Conservation Programme_**
**1.1**
**Lilongwe bat box project**:
66 bat boxes in Lilongwe have been monitored between 2023 and 2024
for bat presence to promote and monitor bats in the urban environment.
This includes:
1 bat box check undertaken at Kumbali Country Lodge, Lilongwe (26 bat
boxes) – No bats recorded
4 bat box checks undertaken at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, Lilongwe (30
bat boxes) – No bats recorded
3 bat box checks undertaken at Barefoot Lodge and Safaris, Lilongwe
(10 bat boxes) – No bats recorded
**1.2**
**Kuti bat box project**:
25 bat boxes in Kuti Wildlife Reserve have been monitored between 2023
and 2024 for bat presence to promote and monitor bats in the reserve.
This includes 3 bat box checks. Bats were present in 4/25 (16%) boxes
on check 1, 6/25 (24%) boxes on check 2, and 8/25 (32%) boxes on
check 3.
**1.3**
**Bats and Biodiversity Research Project**:
CRA have conducted 25 bat mist netting and harp trapping surveys, 18 of
which were conducted in Lilongwe and 7 of which were conducted in Kuti
Wildlife Reserve.
155 bats captured during surveys, comprising 18 confirmed species.
52 wing punch biopsies collected from bats during trapping surveys
4 hair samples collected from bats during trapping surveys
12 faecal samples collected from bats during trapping surveys
23 parasites collected from bats during trapping surveys
**1.4**
**Straw-coloured fruit bat roost monitoring**:
13 count surveys of_Eidolon helvum_undertaken at Maula Parish in
Lilongwe.
53 trees monitored for roosting bats, including 8 newly identified occupied
trees
A high of 6618 roosting bats counted during count surveys.
406 faecal samples collected from underneath roosting bats during count
surveys
**1.5**
**Bat Roost Surveys**:
3 new bat roosts identified
4 roosts (3 new and 1 known) regularly monitored and surveyed in
Lilongwe city
4 emergence surveys| > March **2024** 5 **TAR** ## Section D Achievements and erformance p _**2.0 Carnivore Research Malawi Programme**_ **2.1 Assessing boldness and stress in spotted hyaena Project:** 2 Wariness tests completed with Urban hyaena clans 2 Neophobia tests completed with Urban hyaena clans 2 Behaviour experiments completed with Urban hyaena clans 7 habituation nights performed (1 in Lilongwe and 6 in Kasungu National Park) Faecal samples collected from 4 different hyaenas from Urban clans Hair samples collected from 4 different hyaenas from Urban clans Blood samples collected from 4 different hyaenas from Urban clans 1 Potential Behaviour experiment site identified in Kasungu National Park 1 Potential Immobilisation site identified in Kasungu National Park 1 new Urban hyaena clan identified **Urban Carnivore Research Project Lilongwe:** 7 spotted hyaena den sites monitored each month 1852 camera trapping survey nights completed at dens 34685 camera trap photos processed 1711 Hyaena pictures recorded by camera traps 8 conflict mitigation visits were done in local communities, and given advice and capacity building for living safely with large carnivores 17 facilitators active taking part on the helpline programme **Peer reviewed papers published this year:** None ## 1. **COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS** The following outreach events have been conducted in Malawi: ● Outreach stalls were held with education materials about bats conservations at the 4 farmers markets in Lilongwe city ● Regular Outreach, Education and Speaking on the Importance of Urban Wildlife Including Spotted Hyaena at Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary ## **CAPACITY BUILDING FOR AFRICAN STAKEHOLDERS** : ● We conducted 1 training workshop with partners from DNPW, training a total of 19 rangers on camera trapping. > March **2024** 6 **TAR** Section D Achievements and erformance p > March **2024** 7 **TAR** **Section E Financial review** ~~a~~ Cash at bank 04/5/2024 £3409.57 in unrestricted funds. **Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves Details of any funds materially** N/A **in deficit Further financial review details (Optional information)** Principal funds are derived from volunteer donations and income from You **may choose** to include running expeditions for school, university, and citizen science groups. additional information, where Additionally, we occasionally receive funding from conservation relevant about: organizations that support specific projects. All expenditure has been ● the charity’s principal spent on delivering the charity’s objectives in Malawi, focusing on sources of funds (including any research, outreach, and capacity building. - the charity’s principal - sources of funds (including any fundraising); - how expenditure has - supported the key objectives of the charity; - investment policy and - objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. ## **Section F Other optional information** **Section G Declaration** ~~|~~ **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature(s)** Dr Martin Jones **Full name(s)** Dr Emma Stone ~~ee~~ **Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)** ~~a~~ CEO/ Founder Trustee **Date** 04/05/2024 ~~|~~ > March **2024** 8 **TAR** **CC16a** **Charity Name No (if any) Conservation Research Africa Receipts and payments accounts For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 05/04/2023 06/04/2024 ~~ee ee ee~~ ## **Section A Receipts and payments** ||**Unrestricted**
**funds**|**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**||**Total funds**||**Last year**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**to the nearest £**|**to the nearest £**|**to the nearest £**|**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**| |**A1 Receipts**||||||||||| |Volunteer Donations cash and bank|27948|||**-**||**-**||**27,948**||**-**| |||||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |Grant Income charitabe acivities||0||5,369||**-**||**5,369**||**-**| |||||||**-**||**-**||**-**| |||||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |||||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |||||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| _**Sub total** (Gross income for AR)_ **27,948 5,369 - 33,317 - A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). Sale of nissan and trailer 6,709 - - 6,709 - - - - -** ~~_**Sub total**_~~ **6,709 - - 6,709 -** _**Total receipts**_ **34,657 5,369 - 40,026 -** ~~Seee=~~ **A3 Payments** 201-Advertising, PR **0 -** 202-Bank Charges **416 -** 203 - Capacity building **916 -** 204 - Conference costs **0 -** 205 - Client entertainment **115** 206-Equipment / Supplies Camp **548** 207 -Equipment Camp Maintenance/Repair **88** 208-Equipment Research **8699** 209-Equipment Research Maintenance/Repair **44** 210 -Equipment Computing **693** 211 -Education costs **621** 212-Fuel **3508** 213-Internet **637** 214 -Meeting Costs - Community Outreach **25** 215 -Meeting Costs - Funders/Clients/Partners **74** 216 -Professional Fees **80** 217-Staff Salaries **12122** 218 -Staff Accommodation **313** 219 -Staff visa fees **569** 220 -Stationary/printing Research **61** 221 - Stationary/printing Outreach **7** 222-Travel - Staff National (Non project vehicle) **255** 223 -Travel - Staff International **102** 224-Telephone **8** 225 -Uniforms Staff (T-Shirts/Shoes etc) **76** 226-Vehicle repair **3115** 227-Vehicle running costs **797** 228 - Vol accommodation **295** 229-Vol food **1624** 230-Vol phone **78** 231-Vol travel **0** 232 -Veterinary Expenses **739** 233 - Website **0** 234 - Insurance **61** 235 - Mvuu **0** 236-Misc **375** 237-Office Stationery **18** 238-Office Rent **1118 -** 239 - Office Utilities **0 -** 240 - Office ImCCXX R1 accounts (SS)provements ~~ut~~ 1 **27** 18/11/2025 **-** |241 - Office Maintenace|||**-**||**-**
**-**|**0**||**-**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |242 - Office Equipment|||**-**|||**54**||**-**| |243 - Office Security|||**-**||**-**|**20**||**-**| |244 - Office Supplies||||||||| |245-Capital Grant Expenditure||||||||| |246-Lab Costs|**-**||**-**||**-**|**93**||| ||**-**||**-**||**-**|**-**||| |**_Sub total_ **|**-**||**-**||**-**|**41,901**||**-**| |**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||||| ||||||**-**|**41,901**||**-**| |||||||||| ||||||**-**|**40,026**||**-**| ||**-**||||**-**
**-**|||**-**| |||||||**4,765**||**-**| ||**-**||||**-**|**3,410**||**-**| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 18/11/2025 2 ## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** |||||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||**Categories**|**Details**||**funds**
**funds**
**funds**| |||||**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**| |**B1 Cash funds**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**3,410**
**-**
**-**
Cash in bank
**_Total cash funds_**
~~—===~~||| |||(agree balances with receipts and payments|(agree balances with receipts and payments|| |||account(s))||Agreement Error
OK
OK| |||||**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Endowment**| |||||**funds**
**funds**
**funds**| |||**Details**||**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**| |**B2 Other monetary assets**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
~~=====~~||| |**B3 Investment assets**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Details**
~~==~~||| |**B4 Assets retained for the charity’s**
**own use**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Landcriuser Troopy
**Details**
Nissan Pick Up
~~====~~||| |||||**Fund to which**
**Amount due**
**When due**| |**B5 Liabilities**||**liability relates**
**(optional)**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Details**
~~Se~~||| |Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
the trustees|Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all|Signature||Date of
approval
Print Name| |||||20/04/2024
Martin Jones| |CCXX R3 accounts (SS)|CCXX R3 accounts (SS)|~~3~~||~~18/11/2025~~| ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** |**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**|Charity Name
Conservation Research Africa|||| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| |**On accounts for the year**|05/04/2024||**Charity no**|1170640| |**ended**|||**(if any)**|| |||||| |**Set out on pages**|1-2|||| |||(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)||(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 04/05/2024 **Responsibilties and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. - **Independent** - **examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ **Signed: Date:** 20/4/2024 **Name:** Mrs Donna Kenny **Relevant professional** N/A **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** 21 Barberry Farm Road, Yatton, BS49 4QY **Oct 2018** 1 **IER** ## **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . N/A **Oct 2018** 2 **IER**