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Where are the Gaps in Conservation Finance?
The rate of magnificent biodiversity loss and rampant destruction of our natural forests that accelerate climate change are now too severe to ignore. If we have any chance of saving ourselves from the most devastating effects of climate change, financing the protection of our natural places needs to scale up quickly. Wildlife Works’ founder Mike Korchinsky spoke on a panel to discuss the gaps and opportunities in conservation finance at Stanford’s Natural Capital Symposium. This panel reviewed the evolution of conservation finance, explored what’s not working and more importantly, what is working and what other innovative models have potential to reverse the negative trend. The panelists: – Marilyn Waite Program Officer,…
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Empowering Young Boys Through MAP Training
In rural Kenya, young boys and girls are frequently held back from pursuing their ambitions due to cultural practices and beliefs as well as other vices. To counter such challenges, a series of trainings are held to assist them navigate through life. Wildlife Works has been at the forefront of supporting such community projects in our project area, which among them entail education, women’s empowerment and the rights of the girl child. Recently, supporters of Wildlife Works have facilitated a different kind of training about sexual health education held at Mkamenyi Primary School. The program dubbed MAP (Men as Partners) is specifically tailored to boys above the age of 12…
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A Day In The Life of Wildlife Works Rangers
It is a regular Thursday morning at Rukinga sanctuary. A group of nine rangers are already in a green Toyota Land Cruiser ready for their normal patrol in the bush, which starts at 7am and ends at 4pm. John Mwachofi, the team leader for camp 2.0, and his team started the day with some strategic planning at their camp. As the Media and Communication Officer at Wildlife Works, I thought it would be great to join this dedicated team with my colleague, the Executive Office Assistant just to get a glimpse of what it’s like being a ranger. The team is just a section of 120 unarmed Wildlife Works rangers…
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It’s All Smiles As Wildlife Works Presents Bursaries To Schools
By Jane Okoth A famous proverb once said, “A child without education is like a bird without wings”. Wildlife Works, the world’s leading REDD+ project development and management company, is committed to ensuring every young deserving student in the Kasigau Corridor communities has access to education. As part of its REDD+ project, Wildlife Works has awarded over $368,000 in scholarship money to students in the project area. These students who come from orphaned or single parent families, receive the funding through the income made from selling carbon credits in consultation with the community. Recently, as part of its wider distribution of bursary funds, Wildlife Works visited Kasigau and Marungu locations…
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Keeping Girls in School: Women Receive Training to Make Sanitary Towels
Wildlife Works, the world’s leading REDD+ project development and management company, is dedicated to supporting and empowering women through community initiatives and specialized training. Women are key pillars of society, and our aim is to ensure that they receive the support they need. This past week, a team from Wildlife Works spent time with the Tumaini Women’s Group, a lively and well-organized group consisting of 24 women. These free spirited women have every reason to smile because Wildlife Works has been a key supporter of their projects. This particular visit was focused on teaching the ladies how to make reusable sanitary towels and how to turn them into an income…
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Hundreds Join Campaign To Keep Rukanga Town Litter Free
By Jane Okoth On a chilly Saturday morning, residents at Rukanga town situated in Kasigau location were going about their normal duties. But Saturday was a special day because Rukanga was going to witness the largest ever clean-up campaign that targeted the whole town. First in line to take part in the activity were school children aged 6-12 years from Rukanga, Jora and Kiteghe primary schools accompanied by their respective teachers. Also joining in the occasion were Wildlife Works Rangers, employees, the County Assembly representative and members of the community. Wildlife Works Assistant Community Relations Officer Protus Mghendi began by highlighting the importance of keeping the environment clean to the…
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Meet Protus Mghendi, Wildlife Works Environment Conservation Ambassador
It’s a scorching hot day in Mwatate, in Wildlife Works’ project area, and the region continues to suffer from the current drought. A group of youth and women known as Malezi Bora sit quietly and attentively on the benches in the open air for a discussion about environment conservation. It is just another working day for Protus Tetweni Mghendi, an Assistant Community Relations Officer at Wildlife Works. The 35-year-old husband and father of one is very passionate about the environment. Mwatate area is similar to many other rural places in Kenya where residents are dependent on charcoal production, bush meat poaching and unsustainable agricultural methods to meet their survival. Deforestation…
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In Kenya, a Transformation in Shades of REDD by Amy Yee
Originally published by Undark. CASE STUDIES/News & Features In Kenya, a Transformation in Shades of REDD Communities near the Rukinga Sanctuary once seemed locked on a path of resource decimation. But here, at least, a global conservation plan is working. 07.28.2017/ BY Amy Yee HERE IS WHAT a dead elephant looks like: Rib bones longer than my arm scattered across red dirt. Over here is a lower jaw, beached and desolate like the broken hull of a ship. Over there is the massive boulder of its skull. Behind the gaping eye sockets is a web of porous bone, a hideous honeycomb. Shreds of gray skin are strewn across the soil like filthy rags,…
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A Message for 2017 from Our Founder Mike Korchinsky
January 18, 2017 – This week, America will pass the baton of power over to a new administration. I think it is fair to say that regardless of the eventual outcome of Donald Trump’s time in office, the history of remarks that he and some of his closest advisors have made in the past are genuine cause for concern within the international climate community. However, it is also now clear that the rest of the world will not have their resolve to tackle climate change weakened in any way whether or not the US continues to participate in a leadership role on this critically important issue. Here at Wildlife Works, we…
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Changing Kenya’s Landscape for Wildlife and Jobseekers
Changing Kenya’s Landscape for Wildlife and Jobseekers Published in the The Opinion Pages on NY Times By Amy Yee JUNE 8, 2016 RUKINGA SANCTUARY, Kenya — Twenty years ago, this wildlife corridor in southern Kenya was in jeopardy. A scarcity of jobs in this impoverished, arid landscape meant people were hunting wild giraffe and antelope for meat, and chopping down trees to make charcoal. With fewer trees, desertification loomed. Water was so precious that local cattle herders lit fires at water holes to keep giraffes and zebras from drinking. The animals had less vegetation to eat and less forest cover. Cutting down trees combined with poaching decimated wildlife in this…
