Wangari confronted by askaris at Karura Forest

Many around in the world know the humble woman who refused to bow. A true believer. A fighter. An icon of courage. She fought for the environment – our forests – against more powerful foes – askaris armed with batons, trigger happy police officers, a myopic

government of fools – and all she had was her trademark leather ankle boots and tree seedlings – and she won. Her legacy lives on. She has inspired many to not bow to any pressure in the quest for sustainable development – development that does not destroy the environment -  and she has also inspired many African women. To be strong. To believe in themselves. To be proud of being African women.

In celebrating a life that should have lasted perhaps two decades longer, here a few words of environmental wisdom from the woman who refused to bow.

“I am working to make sure we don’t only protect the environment, we also improve governance.”

“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.”

“It is important to nurture any new ideas and initiatives which can make a difference for Africa.”

“It’s a matter of life and death for this country. The Kenyan forests are facing extinction and it is a man-made problem.”

“It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.”

“There’s a general culture in this country to cut all the trees. It makes me so angry because everyone is cutting and no one is planting.”

“We are very fond of blaming the poor for destroying the environment. But often it is the powerful, including governments, that are responsible.”

“We need to promote development that does not destroy our environment.”

RIP Wangari Maathai
I am a disciple.

Paula, the Executive Director of WildlifeDirect, was recently named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer together with friend and insect expert, Dino Martins, and will address her audience at the Nairobi Museum’s Louis Leakey Auditorium on Wednesday, 25 May 2011.

Here is the notice that the talk organisers, the Kenya Museum Society sent around:

Kenya Museum Society

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Social Media for Conservation: Connecting and Collaborating with People

Dr. Paula Kahumbu
Executive Director, WildlifeDirect
Executive Director, Kenya Land Conservation Trust
Chair, Friends of Nairobi National Park

Renowned conservationist and 2009 PopTech Social Innovation Fellow Dr. Paula Kahumbu will talk about building a global wildlife conservation community that connects conservationists and their supporters through blogs and direct funding.

Time:
Refreshments 6:15 pm
Doors open 7:00 pm

Louis Leakey Auditorium
Nairobi National Museum

Donation: Non-members Ksh 500, Members Ksh 400, Students Ksh 200
Proceeds to fund the National Museums of Kenya
KMS Offices: 0724 255299 or 2339158

info@kenyamuseumsociety.org http://www.kenyamuseumsociety.org

Kenya is beautiful. The landscape, our beautiful wildlife, the peoples… that is why today, at 1pm, I will say the prayer that is our National Anthem. I will go deep into patriotism and sing it in Kiswahili, the language that unites us all, educated and not so educate. Rich and poor. African, Asian, Caucasian… we are united in that one language. We should speak it always.

And let’s all conserve and protect our natural heritage. Protect our wildllife, our forests, our environment. For today we renew our promise, when we sing at 1pm, that…

And our Homeland of Kenya,
Heritage of splendour,
Firm may we stand to defend.

Now join me in singing this prayer in Kiswahili.

Ee Mungu nguvu yetu
Ilete baraka kwetu
Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi
Natukae na udugu
Amani na uhuru
Raha tupate na ustawi.

Amkeni ndugu zetu
Tufanye sote bidii
Nasi tujitoe kwa nguvu
Nchi yetu ya
Kenya tunayoipenda
Tuwe tayari kuilinda.

Natujenge taifa letu
Ee ndio wajibu wetu
Kenya istahili heshima
Tuungane mikono pamoja kazini
Kila siku tuwe nashukrani.

Amen!

This is plainly illegal since in Tanzanian law, it is prohibited to sell ivory of any kind. Tanzania is also party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which upholds a worldwide ban on sale of raw ivory, and a no-trade moratorium is in place starting from 2007 and set to last for 9 years. This moratorium was upheld in 2010 in Doha during the 15th Conference of Parties to CITES (COP15). During the same meeting, Tanzania and Zambia lost their bid to sell their ivory stockpiles to the authorised buyers, China and Japan. Tanzania wanted to sell 90 tons of ivory valued at $20 million and plough back the proceeds to support conservation – nobody at COP15 believed this.

This new attempt to sell ivory is yet another demostration of treachery on the part of the Tanzanian government which is clearly unable to control illegal poaching in its parks and other wildlife areas. A recent report by the London and Washington, DC-based Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA) points to this weakness. The report, titled ‘Open Season – The Burgeoning Illegal Ivory Trade in Tanzania and Zambia,’ says the poaching threat in Tanzania is most pronounced in the 50,000 sq m Selous Game Reserve. The Selous lost 70,000 elephants in the 1980s during the worst elephant poaching period in Africa.

The report says that poachers enter the poorly protected and porous reserve for periods of around two weeks and kill an average of 10 elephants on each trip. This is massive.

It is not cclear what will happen should Tanzania succeed in selling their stockpiled ivory but one can predict disaster. Tanzania will again present their bid to sell their ivory in the next CITES meeting in 2013. Those who see the thinly veilled treachery of Tanzanian government should be very afraid.

Go ahead and read the article that appeared in the East African Business Weekly as presented by AllAfrica.com

It is rather lengthy but I suggest you take the time to read this brilliant letter…

In danger: One of the natural wonders of the world

OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete,

The President: United Republic of Tanzania;

Your Excellency,

Re: THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MTO WA MBU – LOLIONDO – MUGUMU:

With respect and humility, I request you to grant me audience through this esteemed paper while I am aware that you have a very busy schedule. Since we just finished commemorating the 11th Mwalimu Nyerere Day 2010 on October 14th, I feel apt that in view of Mwalimu’s legacy; these concerns of mine be shared; both as my humble opinion as well as my contribution as your loyal subject.

Leaving the Environmental Impact Assessment Report that Your Excellency re-ordered and are awaiting for aside; many pleas that were directed against the project concentrated on the Tourism industry (which contributes to a significant share in employment opportunities as well as towards the National Revenue); and Environmental damage – two subjects that are very close to Your Excellency – since you have personally been a promoter of Tanzania overseas during your travels; and the fact that Tanzania as well as you personally are well regarded locally and internationally as an Environmental-friendly.

Therefore, I would put my emphasis on how the Commercial road construction (Highway) would impact on the LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES it is supposed to serve; both on the western side of SENAPA and its eastern counterpart.

Your Excellency, at least 90% of Humankind believes that its own specie (HomoSapien) is; by virtue of its existence – superior to ALL other living things on planet Earth; except their Maker. Considering this statement, it therefore makes sense that all non-human living things in NCA and SENAPA are subject to the demands of human activity and settlement if and when it becomes necessary for the sake of ECONOMIC PROGRESS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and NATIONAL SELF-RELIANCE. These form just a basis towards FUNDANMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS.

Therefore, in the opinion of most Tanzanians, Government and CCM leaders, activists AGAINST the project have NOT justifiably satisfied Your Excellency as to their grounds of protest. I can sympathize with the Government’s sentiments to some extent on this issue. But let us consider the pros, the cons and the suggested alternative choice which might provide a ‘win-win’ situation.

Your Excellency, very senior Government and CCM officials have vehemently supported this project for the same above reasons (LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES and infrastructure development) and other justifiable reasons as well. Some other ‘patriotic Tanzanians’ went as far as to comment that our Nation is an Independent State and therefore not subject to the whims and directives of foreign (and former colonial) powers as on to how we plan and execute our own economic progress according to our own will.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) had carried out a research on the SENAPA for more that 50 years, and according to their research the (estimated) human population to the North East of SENAPA around the year 2009 was less than 1,000,000. The area comprises Game Reserves, clusters of villages and towns including Loliondo and environs to as far as southern parts of Lake Natron. FZS is just one of many institutions involved in various fields of interests concerning SENAPA.

These LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES mainly depend on subsistence agriculture and others are traditional pastoralists. From their harvest of crops, dairy products and meat, what is not consumed in the immediate vicinities would find its way towards Arusha city or a neighboring country. To date, there has not been a substantiated concern that produce is destroyed in godowns/holding facilities due to lack of markets or ready buyers.

Karatu, Mto wa Mbu and their respective environs are the ‘fruit and vegetable baskets’ for Arusha City consumers; if not the whole Arusha region and beyond. Again, we have not yet received substantive reports that their local produce is rotting in farms, warehouses or other storage facilities due to lack of markets or buyers. In fact, I am reliably informed that there are times when even their whole stocks are depleted, the demand for more supplies is there.

My point here is: the LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES of these areas East of the Serengeti really do not have JUSTIFIABLE need or requirement for a NEW Commercial Highwayfor their current infrastructure needs. If the existing infrastructure funds would be utilized to IMPROVE existing roads and other facilities, a lot of revenue would be saved. This similar situation is prevalent in the Western Side of SENAPA. Instead of introducing a NEW Commercial Highway, let the Government employ available funds for major improvements on existing roads and other societal services.

With the above having been mentioned, it is therefore my HUMBLE opinion that there is really no JUSTIFIABLE reason to build a NEW COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY between Mugumu – Loliondo – Mto wa Mbu.

But let us say that the Government will go ahead with its plans and implement the project- what next?

• There will arise the need to establish permanent maintenance and service camps along the Commercial Highway, (Permanent Human Activities)
• There will arise the need to install service stations, rest points, human activity facilities etc between Mugumu and Loliondo; and between Loliondo and Mto wa Mbu,
• The above will necessitate emergence of ‘satellite villages’ along the whole stretch from Mto wa Mbu to Loliondo; as well as from Loliondo to Mugumu – within the ‘conservation, reserve and park boundaries’ contrary to existing and current regulations governing similar lands,
• The speed limits applicable to Park regulations will not be applicable to the Commercial Highway, thus being an imminent threat to life and limb,
• The standard ‘Commercial Highway’ two way lane is at least 10 Meters wide, with a ‘service area of about 5 meters each side, making the width of the road about 20 Meters. Which means we end up with a ‘belt’ 20Meters wide from Mto wa Mbu to Mugumu
• As per the Kiswahili adage ‘Aendapo Mamba, Kenge Hufuata’ (Where the Crocodile Goes, the Monitor Lizard will Follow’): The 1.5 million or so wildebeest migration is also joined by other species of grazing wildlife e.g. zebra, impala etc; and they in turn are followed by the predator animals like lions, hyena, cheetahs etc – this cycle will be severely disturbed.

Your Excellency, already there exists complaints (imaginary and real) concerning Land Disputes in the areas East of SENAPA, within the NCA and nearby environs. According to various media, NGOs, Human Rights groups etc – events of violence, bloodshed, brutality and various Human Rights abuses have been mentioned. These have not yet been COMPLETELY AND AMICABLY RESOLVED. The Commercial Highway project would possibly aggravate more such misunderstandings between LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES and the authorities. I humbly propose solving the existing issues first before commencing on a new project of such magnitude as this Commercial Highway.

The Commercial Highway will OPEN THE FLOODGATES of various greedy land grabbers in the guise of ‘investors’ – both local and foreign based. It COULD get out of hand, and the result would be catastrophic for our Nation’s peace and stability. Similar to the Berlin Meeting after WWII when ‘conquerors’ gathered for the ‘PARTITIONING OF AFRICA’, the Commercial Highway is likely going to be the ‘conference table’ for the ‘PARTITIONING OF SERENGETI!!’.

If we are to honour our Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere – who had made a solemn promise to preserve and upkeep wildlife and nature sanctuaries for posterity; then we must maintain our National Pride, refuse to sell our values and seek the maximum good for the majority citizens, which is the LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITY throughout the Nation.

Your Excellency, an alternative; a ‘win-win’ route has been proposed. This is the southern route, which will end up serving FIVE times the number of LOCAL RURAL COMMUNITIES the so-called Serengeti Highway is envisaged to serve. All the information I have mentioned above regarding the whole issue is available on the website ‘http://www.savetheserengeti.org’ and its links. The information regarding Land Disputes is available in various Tanzanian Human Rights websites as well.

Please consider the above with due attention, Your Excellency; and decide with your known wisdom, discernment and farsightedness. Let the footprints you will leave your successor come 2015 be a legacy of Honour, Pride and Admiration not only of your Tanzanian subjects; but to the World as well.

It my ardent wish that the SERENGETI SYMPHONY OF NATURE – WILL NOT BECOME A SERENGETI TRAGEDY OF HUMAN FOLLY!!

Thanking you for bearing with me for such a long duration, I wish to assure you of my best intentions and total cooperation at all times, and in the meantime

WISHING YOU PERSONALLY CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH, STRENGTH AND WISDOM AS YOU LEAD AND GUIDE OUR NATION TOWARDS A PEACEFUL 2015!!

Mungu Ibariki Tanzania

Mungu Ibariki Africa

Bipin Vishani

Who will save our wildlife?

Huffington Post image of Michelle Obama wearing a necklace made from mammoth ivory

The paper, titled, ‘Russia’s mammoth ivory industry expands: what effect on elephants?’ explores the effects that this growing trade will have on Africa’s elephants. On the one hand, the paper acknowledges that this trade could reduce demand for elephant ivory and consequently considerably reduce poaching of the African Elephant. On the other hand, the authors are cautious that should mammoth ivory be imported into Africa (none has been reported to have entered the continent so far), then – it being legal and all – it could provide an easy disguise for poached elephant ivory. Illegal ivory traders could start selling elephant ivory disguised as mammoth ivory.

That said, Martin and Martin specifically say that the trade in mammoth ivory should not be banned as it does not presently pose any threat to the African Elephant. They however make it clear that monitoring of the chief markets of mainland China and Hong Kong should be monitored to see how the trend goes.

Some facts:

• Russia sells about 60 tons of mammoth ivory to China
• There may be as many as 150 million dead mammoths (genus Mammuthus) frozen beneath the Siberian tundra just waiting to be dug up.
• Mammoth ivory can command a much higher price than elephant ivory and sells for as much as £330 per kilogram
• Woolly mammoths are thought to have first appeared on the earth 4.8 million years ago and to have finally become extinct at least 3,600 years ago.
• Trade in raw elephant ivory is banned globally but one off ivory sales have been allowed by CITES on different occasions since the ban.
• Illegal trade in ivory is the major threat to the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) survival.
• A list of press articles related to Martin and Martin’s paper can be found here.

A good example: News just in indicate that poachers killed 10 elephants in one gruesome attack in Zimbabwe. So once again, Zimbabwe has proved that they are not in control as they lied to us in order to get to sell ivory.

The news item below was shared by Melissa Groo the Save the Elephants News Service Researcher

Poachers kill 10 elephants in Zimbabwe

Associated Press
June 10, 2010

HARARE, Zimbabwe — The state wildlife authority says poachers killed 10 elephants in a single attack in southeastern Zimbabwe. All the tusks were removed, leaving the carcasses on a river bank.

Caroline Washaya-Moyo, an official of the wildlife department, says heavy caliber cartridge cases were found at the remote scene in the Gonarezhou national park on Zimbabwe’s border with Mozambique. Investigators reported the animals were shot and the ivory was removed in what appeared to be a “quick and professional” onslaught in a single day last week.

Germany’s Frankfurt Zoological Society has offered $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the poachers, Washaya-Moyo said Thursday.

In the nation’s ailing economy, state anti-poaching patrols are suffering from shortages in funds, transportation and manpower.

Full article here.

Amid these concerns, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC, which is set to change its mandate from peacekeeping to stabilization, is planning to airlift 6 gorilla orphans to a sanctuary in Kasughu, in the North Kivu province of the DRC. This precious cargo will arrive sometime in July to join another 4 eastern lowland gorillas that were airlifted by MONUC on 27 May 2010.

This operation, which is part of a wider effort to combat the illegal cross-border trade in baby gorillas, which has intensified in recent years with the proliferation of armed groups in the region, could be MONUC’s first operation in its new stabilization mandate.

Even so, the future of the gorilla remains bleak. The only gorilla species that has recorded an increase in population is the Mountain Gorilla which accoding to recent estimates numbers 700 individuals. The growth of this population which resides exclusively atop the Virunga Volcanoes straddling Uganda, DRC and Rwanda, and the adjacent Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is attributed to intensive cross-border cooperation of the three countries for their conservation.

Gorillas are making their last stand at the edge of the abyss of extinction. Illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bushmeat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat, are the  robbers driving these majestic primates to this abyss.

In 15 years we may not have any gorillas in the Congo Basin. All efforts to conserve these charismatic great apes should keep that in mind. Everyone should get involved. After all, our grandchildren should have the option to visit these intriguing creatures long after we are gone.

A UNEP press release about this operation can be found here.

I have reproduced the Press Release here so you can read it yourself.

Elephant Expert Iain Douglas-Hamilton Receives 2010 Indianapolis Prize

Indianapolis Zoo Press Release

June 3, 2010

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Relentless in his lifelong devotion to the elephants’ survival, Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D., has been named the 2010 recipient of the Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation. In recognition for his lifetime achievements, Dr. Douglas-Hamilton will receive $100,000 and the Lilly Medal at a gala ceremony presented by Cummins Inc. on Sept. 25, 2010, at The Westin Hotel in Indianapolis.

The colorful career of Iain Douglas-Hamilton has included being squashed by a rhino, targeted by poachers, and poked by elephants’ tusks. He has suffered malaria, hepatitis and other diseases so exotic most people have never even heard of them – not to mention the plane crashes he has survived. He has persevered through severe droughts and a flood so powerful it washed away years of research. So why does he endure all this? One reason – to save elephants.

Four decades ago, Douglas-Hamilton pioneered the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behavior that has set the standard for every study to follow. He led emergency anti-poaching efforts in Uganda to bring the elephant population there from the very brink of extinction. He has testified before Congress on behalf of his beloved elephants multiple times, leading to the African elephant bill, to date the most successful funding program for the species. His pioneering Global Positioning System (GPS) elephant tracking, widely emulated in Africa and Asia, has become a model survey technique. He recently partnered with Google Earth to show elephant movement in real time via satellite images.

In September 2009, Douglas-Hamilton worked to rescue a rare herd of desert elephants in northern Kenya and Mali, threatened from one of the worst droughts in nearly a dozen years. In the spring of 2010, a devastating flood destroyed the Save the Elephants camp in Kenya including staff tents, computers and years of field research notes. With a team of local researchers, the camp is now being rebuilt.

He has patiently, relentlessly countered efforts to kill the African elephant for ivory, while continuing to educate others through his extensive conservation research. Just recently, at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Douglas-Hamilton was successful in campaigning against the Tanzanian and Zambian proposals to downlist the elephants’ status on the endangered list and sell their ivory stockpiles.

“The plight of the African elephant is intensely personal to Iain. He has studied, named and nurtured thousands of African elephants for generations, and it is this intimate understanding of and love for these magnificent mammals that drives Iain’s forceful efforts to secure a future for endangered African elephants,” said Michael Crowther, President/CEO, Indianapolis Zoo. “Iain truly epitomizes what it means to be a hero.”

“Iain is a one-of-a-kind encyclopedia on elephants. His breadth of knowledge, derived from personal experience, observation, and interactions with managers, politicians, and land owners, is a critical and unique asset to conservation,” said George Wittemyer, assistant professor in Colorado State University’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, a protégé who has worked with Douglas-Hamilton since 1997. “His legacy to the conservation community, general public and the African elephant includes alerting the world to the risks of its overexploitation, original and continued research on the behavior and ecology of the species, identification of critical populations/regions facing extreme threats, creation and implementation of novel solutions to the multitude of emerging conservation issues, and educating the public about the wonders and intelligence of the African elephant, its habitats, and the people with which it coexists.”

Born in Dorset, England, Douglas-Hamilton attended Gordonstoun School in Scotland and received his bachelor’s degree and doctorate from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. He currently works and resides in Nairobi, Kenya.

The 2008 Indianapolis Prize was awarded to legendary field biologist George Schaller, Ph.D. Schaller’s accomplishments span decades and continents, bringing fresh focus to the plight of several endangered species – from tigers in India to gorillas in Rwanda – and inspiring others to join the crusade.

The biennial $100,000 Indianapolis Prize represents the largest individual monetary award for animal conservation in the world and is given as an unrestricted gift to the chosen honoree. The Indianapolis Prize was initiated by the Indianapolis Zoo as a significant component of its mission to empower people and communities, both locally and globally, to advance animal conservation. This award brings the world’s attention to the cause of animal conservation and the brave, talented and dedicated men and women who spend their lives saving the Earth’s endangered animal species. It was first awarded in 2006 to Dr. George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation and one of the world’s great field biologists. In 2008, the Indianapolis Prize went to Dr. George Schaller, the world’s preeminent field biologist and vice president of Panthera and senior conservationist for the Wildlife Conservation Society. The Eli Lilly and Company Foundation has provided funding for the Indianapolis Prize since 2006.