Weekly Blog Update 4/17-4/25

ApeAPP and South Sudan


AWF is being featured in a new APP, ape APP.
it is created by the Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP)

allows its users to learn about, and help apes
links general public to our closest cousins
(chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos)
instant access to AWF's bonobo projects and conservation work
straight from the field updates
insight to AWF's work

available for Iphones and androids

AWF is assisting South Sudan in establishing policies to help protect its abundance of natural resources.

James Kahurananga, technical adviser for the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism for AWF
answers questions....

What is the strongest threat to conservation in South Sudan?
Maintenance of  Security
      * poaching
      * opposition to gov.

What are the greatest overall challenges the South Sudan Gov. faces?
lack of finance. South Sudan depends on oil for 98% of its budget.--> closure of the oil pipeline= shortage of funds. tourism is a low priority--> losing out on profits. food insecurity, and drought.



#wildlife #awf #animals #africa #southsudan #apes

Weekly Blog Update 4/8-4/16

An Update on the first class of Conservation Management Trainees

My first blog post was about this group of individuals, and now there is an update on them :)

This post focuses on two trainees in particular, George Okwaro and Theo Way Nana
Both are making strides for conservation
George supported the Mau reforestation project in Kenya, under AWF's direction. George became a full-time employee of AWF after his training. He is responsible for the implementation of the forest conservation in the Mau reforestation project and shows a promising future in conservation.

Theo is an environmental lawyer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a former Congo landscape community officer for the AWF. he was based in the Samburu Landscape for his first 9 months of fieldwork, where he developed land-use plans for Kirimon Group Ranch. He will spend a second 9 month placement in Uganda supporting the implementation of the USAID/Uganda Tourism for Biodiversity program. He as well shows great potential as a conservationist.

(George)

Weekly Bog Update 3/30- 4/7

The  Western Red Colobus of The Niger Delta

It was discovered in 1993 and declared a full species in 2007
It lives in the upper canopies of the forests
It is considered one of the most elusive and endangered primates in Africa

The Western Niger Delta, unlike other Red Colobus populations spends most of its day traveling
It eats a large diet of leaf buds, young leaves, seeds, flowers, and flower buds.

In the upper canopy it is in danger of being scooped up by its predator, the crowned eagle.... which can eat medium-sized primates.

Not much is known of the colobus, except its tendency to travel in large groups with its family of about 15-80 members.

population estimates ~500
80% decrease in the past 30 years due to deforestation, crude oil  harvest, bushmeat trade, lack of gov. protection

Colobus recently made The World's Top 25  Most Endangered Primates ( International Union for Conservation of Nature)

They're a shy species, which makes them hard to observe.
Little is known of them and little is done to help them

Weekly Blog Update 3/23-3/29

Pros and Cons of Wildlife for natives
TOURISM

Some people see the wildlife surrounding them as a nuisance. Elephants eat crops and tip water tanks. Lions eat cattle, and there's always the danger that hippos or crocodiles just may be waiting for you at the riverbank.

However, wildlife also provides many opportunities for many African nations, as tourism is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors.
AWF has used the relationship between tourism and conservation for sustainable growth since the 1990's.
The increase in tourism creates a need for growth of jobs, helping to reduce poverty.

AWF has developed sustainable tourism initiatives to conserve wildlife and keep the golden goose  thriving. however, from poaching and deforestation, tourism could be threatened.

After all the Landscape of Africa and the creatures that inhabit them are what tourists come for.

" The killing and trafficking of wild animals not only destroys livelihoods and ecosystems, and undermines development and stability,but is a crime that steals revenues from legitimate economic activites, in particular tourism."
- Yuri Fedotov, Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Blog Update 3/16-3/22

This week focused on the AWF Conservation Schools

education encourages conservation among rural communities
in exchange AWF builds/rebuilds primary schools
This benefits both the community and conservation positively

80% of the SEkute Chiefdom population is illiterate, but AWF efforts are changing that
students want to learn and be successful.

"I love wildlife animals; they provide income to the country," says Happy, 13 (grade 6) " Above all, through wildlife, AWF has built us a new school."

"I love to watch elephants, giraffes, and zebras." Paul, grade 1 at Manyara Ranch conservation Primary School.

Blog Update 3/9- 3/15

This week highlighted the many submissions to the Sun Valley Film Festival

AWF, as well as Sun Valley and National Geographic WILD are responsible for selecting the winner of the first  WILD to INSPIRE Short Film Competition.

The winner will work with Bob Poole, Emmy award-winning Nat Geo filmmaker.

The films were judged based on:
editing and production quality
connection to the theme
creativity/originality

They were supposed to successfully capture wildlife as it effects those who view it.

The three finalists:

Always Endangered: Jim Laybourne --> this film is dedicated to following a grizzly bear whose status under the Endangered Species Act is about to be revoked. It has adapted to living among humans in Grand Teton National Park.
Bee Happy: David Thompson & Jacob Taylor --> dedicated to Bill Water, a beekeeper that cares for beehives at Guerilla Beekeepers LLC, and explains the importance of beehives in the environment.
Wolf Mountain: Dan Duran, Sam Price-Waldman, Brendan Nahmias --> dedicated to Tonya Littlewolf's spiritual bonding with the 14 wolves she cares for at her California Sanctuary.

The three finalists will attend the Sun Valley Film Festival where their movies will be screened and the winner will be announced.

Blog update 3/1-3/8

International Women's Day
AWF fully supports the importance of women in conservation and all other areas of society.
last year in Uganda AWF launched a Women in Conservation project
The conservation sector has been male-dominated for quite some time and because of that , at a disadvantage
Women provide a different persepctive, and are responsible for a more nurturing connection with the environment and its species that inhibit it.
women are innate conservationists

"Women have not only collected and consumed what grows in nature but they have made things grow."
-Maria Miles

SO.... AWF's Uganda team is continuing its Women in Conservation program... focusing on 5 senior female conservationists, with the newly facilitated establishment of the Women in Conservation Working Group

Blog update 2/23-2/28

This week focused on how AWF leverages capitalism for conservation

AWF is historically known for raising money for conservation. The organization thrives off donations and investors of conservation.

The African Wildlife Capital   is a mission-related investment company owned and operated by AWF. It engages in long-term investing for AWF conservation efforts.

People seek a return on their investments, but each investment must contain conservation logic/ priority conservation landscapes or specific wildlife populations.
investments:
* generate economic and social benefits to local communities
* reduce encroachment on wildlife
*generate income to sustain conservation efforts/operations/initiatives

target investments range from $250,000-$1.5 million US dollars

Bog Update 2/16- 2/22

http://www.awf.org/blog/magic-elephants

This week, the awf blog focused on the importance of elephantes and why people should care about their extinction
Elephants play a crucial role to their ecosystem
they're a keystone species
Whith out them the habitats around them would collapse

They're MAGICAL
They're called silent speakers and walkers
they communicate through low frequency sounds called "rumbling" in a wide range of sounds (10 octaves)
their feet are padded to prevent slipping and making a sound

Their trunks have over 40,000 muscles in them.
They can swim
they rescue helpless creatures
They even have death rituals
Their are even stories of elephantes retrieving poached bones and burying them.

Blog updates 2/9-2/15

The blog for the African Wildlife Foundation is easy to read because it is so interesting. The work that they do is very important and inspirational. The blog posts are relatively short, and are always accompanied by pictures, and a small blurb about the author.

This week, the most important blog post  was about the success of  Nasaruni Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization since its start in 2009. This organization has helped local women save their money and obtain loans. since 2009, the org. went from having 141 members with Ksh 22,600 (about US $250) in assets, to haveing more than 1,100 members today, with assets of Ksh 8.8 million (US $102,000). This organization has made such a positive impact on the community by allowing the women to be able to save their money, obtain loans to achieve their goals, and be able to pay for their children to go to school.

This week also focused a lot on Elephants... or as I like to say "elephantes" (in hopes to someday be bilingual I throw in Spanish when i can). Elephants as well as rhinos are wicked popular in regards to conservation efforts. The ivory trade is out of control, and the ban on Ivory has increased the already insanely high value for ivory being traded on the black market. The posts focused on how wonderful and beautiful elephants are, and how tragic poaching is. 

Problems-
Every animal serves a purpose in the ecosystem
The drastic poaching of Elephantes and rhinos is altering the ecosystems in Africa and Thailand. eventually these animals will be extinct

New Development-
China crushed 6.1 tons of ivory in public
tolerance for smuggled products has decreased significantly, especially for banned ivory