WHAT IMPACT WILL THE 3100 KM EAST
AFRICAN WALK BEING UNDERTAKEN BY JIM JUSTUS NYAMU HAVE ON THE CONSERVATION OF ELEPHANTS.
With what
is happening to our large land mammals in Africa is a sad story. Bad cultural
practices in some Asian countries coupled insatiable greed for wealth for
criminal cartels in countries that are home to vanishing herds of elephants are
driving this and other endangered species close to extinction while many human
beings remain silent spectators. This is very sad indeed and calls for much
more awareness being created about their plight.
When Jim
Justus Nyamu single handedly embarked on his campaign in 1983, dubbed IVORY
BELONGS TO ELEPHANTS, he had little in terms of resources to continue with his
work but he was armed only with a passion, determination and the confidence
that his message will not only reverberate locally but beyond the borders of
his country, Kenya.
With the
support of a few young Kenyans and other well-wishers he continued his march
attracting very little financial support from corporate entities locally or
other local or international donors. However, he persistently continued to
spread his message and with passage of time, many individuals of goodwill have
come to his aid with whatever meager resources they were able to put at his
disposal to facilitate his work.
The
importance of his efforts has now attracted the attention of the Kenyan government,
a few Corporates and some diplomats accredited to Kenya, notable being the
Ambassador of the United States of America.
The East
African walk now in progress which will cover a total distance of 3100
Kilometer will take him through the three East African states. During his long
journey Jim will be talking to ordinary people, particularly those faced with
human-wildlife conflict in their localities, collecting their views and
educating them on the need to conserve our wildlife in order to ensure they
remain a part of our landscape so as to continue attracting both local and
overseas tourist to our game parks. The importance of community participation
in the management of wildlife and revenue sharing is also an important theme of
his message.
He will
also engage the three countries through stakeholders in an attempt to establish
an integrated wildlife anti-poaching and trafficking strategy.
The
support extended by #KWS and the CS for Natural Resources #Judy Wakhungu is
noteworthy and of great significance for this important campaign. Her presence
in Arusha earlier this week was a clear demonstration of the Kenya Government's
support and commitment to work being undertaken by Jim.
Since
this is an ongoing campaign, its success will largely depend on the goodwill
and financial support from our corporates, more so those engaged in tourism
sector and other donor agencies who should consider supporting this important
conservation efforts.
