Conservation through social media, photography and film
Will elephants be extinct by 2025? Ivory road explains how the road leads to elephant collaring being such a necessary measure. It talks about what the road ahead looks like for African elephants. Ivory road gives a brief summary of the elephant poaching crisis and possible ways of stopping the rampant illegal trade in ivory. This is another video created by our interns.Continue reading “Ivory Road: Will elephants be extinct by 2025?”
By Fortunate M. Phaka
Everyone involved in conservation has a story of how it all began. Some had passion for wildlife and it translated into a lifelong dedication. Some got involved after finding out that our destruction of the environment eventually affects our wellbeing. Others got involved purely because of the prospect of monetary gain in the conservation industry. Having been part of three Youth 4 African Wildlife (Y4AW) conservation internship programmes puts me in a privileged position of witnessing how the mind-set of an intern changes as they start their lifelong conservation journey. I started off as an intern myself then later on was promoted to a supervising role on the Y4AW internship. During this 4 week long internship pure passion evolves to a strong conservation ethic and meaningful action to preserve wildlife.Continue reading “The evolution of a conservation intern”
The year is 2050 and the global population of wild lions is zero. After spending almost 4 weeks in South Africa hoping to see the mighty king of the jungle a tourist starts asking “What happened to the lions?”
Despite warnings from experts and pleas from activists we could not save lions from going extinct. Now living in a future without lions and their contribution to our ecosystems there is nothing to do but wallow in regret and hope for the best.Continue reading “Video: What happened to the lions?”
Most efforts to save rhinos from extinction have been focused on protection and taking out the poaching foot soldiers; the people responsible for shooting rhinos and hacking off their horns. The rhinos’ last shot in race against extinction could be demand reduction campaigns, stricter laws and political will by concerned governments.Continue reading “The Rhino’s Last Shot”
Easter Island was once a pristine tropical island thriving with life, primarily in the form of palm forests. After the arrival of Polynesian settlers, however, the ecosystem was transformed into a barren desert. These early inhabitants known as the Rapa Nui used the palm trees and their products for virtually everything: food, shelter, canoes, firewood, and the transport and erection of their famous Mo’ai, giant statues commemorating their ancestors. As the society grew, the population multiplied, and the demand for the precious palms multiplied with it. The settlers ignorantly continued to meet their demands by abusing the forest’s supply. In just a few centuries the trees were completely used up, leaving the fragile ecosystem in ruins. The forest was important ecologically not only because it was the society’s primary resource, but also because its destruction led to the erosion of topsoil, a decline in crop yield, and the drying up of streams and drinking water. The island could no longer support the settler’s population, and the civilization, along with other communities of creatures that relied on the palms, collapsed.
People and wildlife will always have to compete for resources and space as long as people reside in areas where animals are also present. Some civilizations have had conflicts with the local wildlife, either from competing for resources or because of risks with livelihoods. Prime examples of wildlife skirmishes can be exhibited with the overexploitation of passenger pigeons in the United States in the early 1900’s, the disappearance and eventual reintroduction of carnivores in many ecosystems, and the disappearance of megafauna from almost every continent. Unfortunately, some human and wildlife interactions have ended more poorly than others. For example, the passenger pigeon was hunted to extinction by 1914, plummeting from the millions in numbers. Because the passenger pigeons flew in extremely large flocks, most of them were killed for sheer sport. However, low numbers reduced their reproductive capacity, rendering them incapable of repopulating. A similar occurrence took place in many species of large carnivores such as the saber-toothed tiger; yet the carnivores were killed predominantly because of the large threat they placed on both human life and livelihood.Continue reading “The Sixth Extinction–Changing Our Ways Now”
Who was Cecil the Lion? Cecil was an African lion who roamed a national park in Zimbabwe. He was well liked by tourists for his distinctive mane, and he was the leader of a large pride that dominated certain areas within the park. He was a key player in maintaining environmental balance. And now that he is dead, his whole pride has potentially lost stability.Continue reading “Cecil the Lion: What His Death Means”
By Fortunate M. Phaka (Youth 4 African Wildlife Project Leader)
Conservation; “The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water” The intentions of conservation look good on paper, but we must ask ourselves if conservation is becoming more neoliberal in an ever increasing capitalist world.Continue reading “Conservation and Capitalism: A Love Story”
By Olivia Goldring (Y4AW 2015 intern)
It’s so hard to attract a person’s attention. It is even harder to make a person care. Ask ad agencies trying to market their newest product or even your friend whose eyes are glued to his smart phone at dinner. People have their own jobs and kids and problems to deal with. Moreover, people have their own lives to deal with. How can we ask that an average person donate her hard-earned money to help combat the poaching of elephants if it is so far removed from her daily life? Why should this person donate to elephant welfare when there are children dying of malnutrition in her own city?Continue reading “Non- Profits in the New Age: Changes that must be made”
