The Mawazo Ideas Digest Issue 2: ‘We Have The Most to Lose,’ On Conservation in Kenya, and Climate Change on the Global Stage
Author: Naliaka Odera
Image Credit: Billy Dodson/African Wildlife Foundation. 2019.
We know it’s been a while since you heard from us at the Mawazo Ideas Digest, and we’re back to help you break down the big ideas in science and show you how the region is moving these conversations forward.
In 2019, we saw a wave of climate change protests around the world coupled with major global convenings, including the 25th Conference of Parties (COP), where signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meet to discuss new measures to mitigate the steady increase of the earth’s temperature. According to Reuters the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, declared to world leaders that it is time to “stop the war on nature” in anticipation of the conference.
2020 seems set to amplify the voices calling for urgent climate action as the year opened with extreme wildfires in Australia, reported to have killed an estimated one billion animals so far. On the heels of unprecedented weather events like this, world leaders met for the 2020 World Economic Forum this past week. Held under the theme of “Stakeholders for a Sustainable and Cohesive World", as world leaders rubbed shoulders in Davos, Switzerland, sustainability and the responsiveness of businesses and governments to climate change was present on their minds.
Image Credit: World Wildlife Organization/ The Living Planet Report. 2018.
Despite the proliferation of conversations around climate impact, discussions around climate and conservation have taken place in two very separate fields until recently. However, the severity of the consequences of climate change on natural habitats, as evidenced in places like Australia, means that increasingly one conversation cannot be had without the other. A point that the World Wildlife Organization breaks down as it examines the effects of climate change.
To explore the interaction of climate and conservation in Kenya, the Mawazo Ideas Podcast brought in two local experts in the area of conservation. Dr. David Kimiti is a rangeland ecologist who heads research at the Lewa Conservancy and has dedicated his career to curbing land degradation. He also advocates for a “systems approach” to conservation, arguing that species-specific solutions are not the answer.
“Species-specific conservation usually looks at the security of the animals, the numbers, are they growing… and it usually ends at that...” Dr. Kimiti says. “Coming from an ecology perspective, I have to think of it in terms of, is there enough food for these animals, is there enough water for these animals. If you focus on the ecosystem, the wildlife will come to it and they will repopulate themselves.”
Image Credit: Equilibrium Research/ The New Lion Economy. 2019.
Dr. Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Wildlife Direct, believes in a more targeted approach. As the award-winning conservationist and campaigner behind the anti-poaching initiative “Hands Off Our Elephants”, Dr. Paula believes that civic education on Kenya’s wildlife is imperative to addressing the country’s dwindling biodiversity.
“We have the most to lose because we have the most on our doorstep,” she told the Mawazo Institute’s CEO, Dr. Rose M. Mutiso, on Episode 11 of the Mawazo Ideas Podcast.
Another initiative working to build local education on Kenya’s wildlife is Mpala Live!, an outreach effort that is run by the Mpala Research Centre. Mpala Live! runs several programs aimed at educating the public on the interaction between wildlife and human beings, with the hopes of building understanding on how the two can live together beneficially. Mpala Live! features stories from scientists operating in Kenya’s area, classroom materials about the area’s animals and ecosystems, and a live webcam posted at a watering hole on the conservation’s property. Streaming 24/7, Mpala Live! invites viewers from across the world into the rangelands of Laikipia, offering (one of) the cheapest front row seats to Kenya’s amazing wildlife—and a reminder of what is at stake.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NIt6ibAD6I&feature=emb_title
For more on these topics, we recommend the following.
For Listening
“Meet Dr. David Kimiti” and “Meet Dr. Paula Kahumbu”. Mawazo Ideas Podcast. Season 2 Episode 10 and 11. October 2019.
“How to track baboons!” Ecogeeks: Untamed Science Video Podcast. September 2012. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-track-baboons/id185714235?i=1000120489931
“Mark Anderson: BirdLife South Africa.” Conservation Careers. September 2019. https://www.conservation-careers.com/uncategorized/birdlife-south-africa-podcast/
For Reading
“A living Sanctuary: Mawazo visits the Mpala Research Centre.” Mawazo Institute. 24 September 2019. https://mawazoinstitute.org/blog-posts/2019/9/24/6c2jcu2nhuiqpezcp4envawic4kksu
“Ancestral Ingenuity: Harnessing traditional knowledge and innovation in Morocco, conservation & livelihoods flourish”. UNDP Ecosystems & Biodiversity. June 2019. https://undp-biodiversity.exposure.co/ancestral-ingenuity
Stolton, S. and Dudley, N. The New Lion Economy: Unlocking the value of lions and their landscapes. 2019. Equilibrium Research, Bristol, UK. https://assets.takeshape.io/eec0d9cd-dc81-4ba8-ac20-50da147f43d2/dev/f5cbc108-9039-4f4e-9ce7-90eea0ec63c3/The%20New%20Lion%20Economy%208-2019.pdf