Some of Kenya’s wildlife conservationists like the Wildlife Direct’s Paula Kahumbu received prestigious international prize worth £35,000 in honor of her effort towards inspiring Kenyans to put an end to the country’s elephant poaching crisis. Also Shivani Bhalla who is the founder of Ewaso Lions was recognized for her Warrior Watch campaign that is about improving on the status of coexistence between people and lions in northern Kenya. Both animals and man need to live in harmony.
Shivani established the Ewaso Lions in 2007 and it is intended to promote co-existence between carnivores like lions, leopards, among others and the local people mostly nomadic population. She has also worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service and Save the Elephants where she promoted environmental education programs among schools and students in Samburu which was a good job done.
In 2013, Kahumbu is Executive Director of Wildlife Direct also started the “Hands off Our Elephants” campaign that addresses poaching and the trafficking of ivory and hopes to be able to close down the international ivory trade. Records show that elephants contribute the most to Kenya’s economy through tourism which accounting for about 12% of Kenya’s GDP and also employing more than 300,000 people who would otherwise be jobless.
According to Sir David Attenborough, a Trustee of the Whitley Fund for Nature, Whitley Award winners are successful people who don’t just watch and measure but they act! Meanwhile Edward Whitley, Founder of The Whitley Fund for Nature, says they know the fact that wildlife and habitat conservation in developing countries Like Kenya cannot be successful without the involving the local people as they are the ones closer to the crime scenes and can be very useful in wiping the vice out by report whoever they see or suspect to be a poacher. Wildlife conservation is very import to all national as it is a great source of revenue and huge foreign exchange earner in the whole of East Africa.
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