7 Female Trailblazers Fighting at the Forefront of Africa’s Biodiversity Crisis

Kenya has a approach of charming you — the mind-bending landscapes, curious wildlife, and breathtaking sunsets which are greatest savored within the nonetheless of the bush. But, along with all of this magnificence, there’s a battle to protect the fragile steadiness of Kenya’s ecosystems; and on the forefront of this problem stand a bunch of outstanding girls.

Journeys With Purpose, the corporate I work for, and Taran of Soul Safaris partnered years in the past with one clear aim: to be taught from and champion these girls who’re addressing the local weather and biodiversity disaster head on. Listed here are the feminine leaders making an actual distinction in Kenya by means of their conservation efforts that shield elephants, cheetahs, lions, and extra.

Elephant Conservation

Paula Kahumbu, wildlife campaigner and CEO of WildlifeDirect, works on Hands Off Our Elephants, a marketing campaign that has garnered worldwide acclaim and considerably lowered elephant poaching. Not too long ago, when my crew and I visited Sir Richard Branson’s Mahali Mzuri safari camp, Kahumbu launched us to probably the most urgent challenges going through Kenya’s conservation panorama — together with catastrophic floods that end in lack of property and displacement, in addition to the searching of big tusked elephants which are killed for his or her ivory. 

Defending the Cheetah Inhabitants

Founding father of the Mara Meru Cheetah Project Dr. Elena Chelysheva and I as soon as met on a night sport drive. I discovered that Chelysheva left her house in Austria for a home within the coronary heart of the Kenyan savanna to guard cheetahs. Her dedication and hope was so contagious, considered one of our visitors donated a Jeep to assist her journey throughout the tough terrain extra simply. 

Defending the Lions

Lion Guardians and Ewaso Lions (conservation packages devoted to defending lions) take a community-centric method on the subject of their efforts, and chief Munteli Lalparasaroi, the Mama Simba supervisor at Ewaso (a program that empowers Samburu girls by means of training and conservation coaching), prides herself on turning into the primary feminine driver within the Samburu area. An enormous motive why these two collectives work tirelessly is as a result of within the final 50 years, an estimated 50 % of Africa’s lions have disappeared. 

Different Girls to Know

Different feminine trailblazers embrace Zulfa Hassan, founding father of Mangrove Restoration Girls’s Collective in Lamu, Belinda Mackey from Grevy’s Zebra Trust in Nairobi, and Dr. Leela Hazzah and Dr. Winnie Kiiru from Women for the Environment Africa, who I met over a workshop at Segera Retreat in Laikipia. At Segera, among the many eco-conscious villas, Hazzah and Kiiru launched me to tourism that helps the preservation of its surrounding 50,000-acre reserve. 

All through my journeys throughout Kenya, I’m at all times humbled by the dedication, resilience, and innovation of girls who dwell their life by a easy motto: “I could make a distinction.” As they proceed to paved the way, they remind us that true conservation is as a lot about folks as it’s in regards to the planet. 

Venetia Martin is a member of Journey + Leisure’s A-Checklist and focuses on sustainable journey. You possibly can create a tailored itinerary with Martin by contacting her at connect@journeyswithpurpose.org.