The African Conservation Fund

ARUSHA - Monday, September 1, 2008 (Arusha Times) -  Kilimanjaro snows cause havoc in Mwanga - Melting glaciers send floods over  farms.  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Sunday, August 31, 2008 (The Nation) - The issue of the Mau forest was bound to be politicised. Already, some legislators from the area have declared they would not co-operate with the task force set up to study the most efficacious way of removing and resettling those who had invaded and nearly destroyed the Mau.. . .  Full story>>

MALI  - Friday, August 29, 2008 (UNEP) -  Implementers of an international project to help endangered elephants in Mali want to prove that by doing so, they can also help local communities adapt to climate change in the Sahel. . . .  Full story>>

Archived News

NAIROBI - Friday, March 7, 2008 (The Nation) -  Job creation and legal reforms were top on the list when President Kibaki set the legislative agenda for the Tenth Parliament Thursday.  . . .  Full story>>

LAKE VICTORIA, KENYA  - Thursday, February 28, 2008 (East Africa Standard) - A conservation project worth Sh4.4 billion for Lake Victoria is in jeopardy due to delay in disbursement of funds from the World Bank.. . .  Full story>>

KEEKOROK, KENYA  - Friday, February 29, 2008 (International Herald Tribune) -  Kenyan tourism suffering badly from violence. . . .  Full story>>

JOHANNESBURG - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 (InterPress Services) -  There is more to Kenya’s post-election violence than a bungled vote count and so-called tribal rivalries. As protests degenerate into organised ethnic violence in Rift Valley towns and countryside, the root-cause of the unrest lies elsewhere.  . . .  Full story>>

ARUSHA  - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 (Arusha Times) - A network aimed at improving reporting on the indigenous communities in the country has been established. . . .  Full story>>

ARUSHA  - Saturday, January 26, 2008 (Arusha Times) -  Opinion: The Tanzania government of the day appreciates the importance of environmental integrity as a pre-requirement for sustainable development.. . . .  Full story>>

LONDON - Monday, September 3, 2007 (BBC News) -  National parks in Africa, originally set up to conserve endangered species, are failing to protect wildlife within their boundaries, a study claims. Researchers say a decline in the number of large mammals, such as antelopes, was a result of increased pressures on the reserves’ ecology  . . .  Full story>>

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Monday, August 28, 2007 (Africa Journal) -  2007 might as well be called “the year of climate change and biofuels.” As the U.S. and EU ramp up their ethanol production and Brazil sets the stage for leadership in the field, sub-Saharan Africa plays an increasingly important role.  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Tuesday, August 21, 2007 (The Nation) -  The scramble for the lush farmlands on the expansive Nandi escarpment by villagers is now haunting them. The imposing hills covered in scrubby vegetation and boulders have been spewing torrents of devastating mudslides which have left a trail of death and destruction . . .  Full story>>

ARUSHA, TANZANIA  - Friday, August 24, 2007 (Arusha Times) African women to meet in Arusha next month . . . This will be the third ‘Women in Leadership’ Conference under the themes ‘Diversity and Inclusion.’  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Sunday, March 4, 2007 (East Africa Standard) -  Are economic growth and environmental conservation mutually exclusive? Animal rights’ activists say they are. Free market environmentalists say they are not . . .  Full story>>

MAASAILAND  - Friday, February 8, 2007 (East African Standard) - Maasai: A dispossessed community. Images of some Maasai have been placed on the front pages of tourism brochures yet the community suffers the pain of a forgotten people . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Thursday, February 7, 2007 (The Nation) -  The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will undertake branding (marketing) of two national parks in the western Kenya tourist circuit in a fortnight, the Nation confirmed yesterday . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, January 26, 2007 (East Africa Standard) -  Environmental degradation has remained a major issue at the World Social Forum conference at Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani . . .  Full story>>

ADDIS ABABA  - Thursday, January 25, 2007 (SciDev.net) -  African heads of states have announced a raft of science and technology awards to increase the number of scientists in the continent . . .  Full story>>

LONDON  - Thursday, January 18, 2007 (SciDev.net) African countries are spearheading ways to tackle climate change and have important lessons for how others can cope in future, says a soon to be released report . . .  Full story>>

DOL DOL, LAIKIPIA, KENYA  - Saturday, January 13, 2007 (East Africa Standard) -  Resilience of the Maasai woman - Napetei Leitiko plasters the roof of her manyatta. In the Maasai culture, it’s the woman who is responsible for building the family house . . .  Full story>>

MASAI MARA, KENYA - Tuesday, January 9, 2007 (Mail & Guardian Online) -  The Serengeti’s wild game herds: Wonder or worry?  A panel of experts for ABC News’s Good Morning America and the newspaper USA Today in November chose the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania as the seventh “new wonder” of the world. The award offers a welcome boost to tourism for East Africa, but in Kenya’s Mara -- the animals’ destination in July and August -- conservationists and some camp owners fear it may aggravate overcrowding and overzealous development . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Monday, November 13, 2006 (Mail Guardian South Africa) -  Marginalised communities attending a United Nations conference on climate change being held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have given accounts of how their lives are being altered for the worse -- something they blame on climate change . . .  Full story>>

OLOOLAIMUTIA, KENYA - Tuesday, November 7, 2006 (Apple News) -  The new school in the Masai village of Oloolaimutia in East Africa runs day and night now, even though the majestic tribe lives without electricity or running water in its nearby compound of mud houses . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, October 4, 2006 (CNN) -  An elephant trampled and killed a British man on his honeymoon in Kenya. Patrick Smith, 34, was killed in front of his wife, Julie, in the Masai Mara National Reserve on Sunday, officials said. His wife managed to leap out of the way. . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, October 6, 2006 (East Africa Standard) -  Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof Wangari Maathai wants the Government to introduce environmental studies in schools.  “Environmental studies should be introduced in the school curricula if we are going to make headway in protecting where we stay,” she said on Thursday. . .  Full story>>

LAKE NAKURU, KENYA  - Thursday, October 5, 2006 (BBC) -  Lake Nakuru is in danger of losing its famous pink shores to environmental degradation and pollution. Located in a closed basin in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, the shallow salty Lake Nakuru is a unique tourist destination . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, October 4, 2006 (CNN) -  An elephant trampled and killed a British man on his honeymoon in Kenya. Patrick Smith, 34, was killed in front of his wife, Julie, in the Masai Mara National Reserve on Sunday, officials said. His wife managed to leap out of the way. . . .  Full story>>

LONDON - Thursday, September 21, 2006 (London Independent) -  Women work two-thirds of Africa’s working hours, and produce 70 per cent of its food, yet earn only 10 per cent of its income, and own less than 1 per cent of its property. . . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 (Reuters) -  Rains may have eased a severe drought across east Africa this year, but millions still face hardship and it will take herders years to recover from the decimation of their livestock, aid workers say . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI - Monday, August 14, 2006 (SciDev.net) -  African scientists, politicians, and policy advisors are being asked to make suggestions on the design of a proposed mechanism for funding regional research facilities across the continent. . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, August 11, 2006 (National Geographic News) -  Elephants show compassionate behavior to others in distress, even to elephants not closely related to them, according to the researchers who produced these photos and an accompanying report, published in the July 2006 issue of the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science. . . .  Full story>>

ARUSHA, TANZANIA  - Wednesday, August 9, 2006 (Arusha Times) -  Utilising wildlife management areas to fight poverty - Nine villages under the Burunge Wildlife Management Area in Babati district, Manyara region are set to earn Sh. 260 million a yearthrough tourism projects and game hunting in the area . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Sunday, August 6, 2006 (East Africa Standard) -  The Government yesterday received Sh4.3b from the World Bank to assist in emergency drought recovery efforts in arid and semi- arid areas . . . (the funds) will support long-term livelihood investments (as well as) support ecotourism, honey, aloe, gum and resin collection, and hay production, livestock product value addition, and livelihood related infrastructure investments, such as irrigation, and other components that include investing in women . . .  Full story>>

ARUSHA  - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 (Arusha Times) -  A major exhibition, scientific conference and sites visits will take place in July 2009 during the Golden Jubilee of the discovery of Zinjathropous hominid skull in 1959 by the late Dr.Mary Leakey and her husband Louis.
 . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Tuesday, August 1, 2006 (BBC News) -  An international team used global positioning system (GPS) satellite tracking to follow the movements of savannah elephants. They found that the animals rarely visited high ground and scientists think this is due to the energy they must expend to climb the slopes.  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, July 21, 2006 (Nature via SciDev.net) -  Leading scientists from around the world have called for the creation of an international body to advise governments on ways to avert a catastrophic loss of wild species . . .  Full story>>

NEW YORK  - Sunday, July 16, 2006 (New York Times via World Resources Institute) -  In this Sunday’s Business section of the New York Times, Daniel Gross from Slate Magazine writes about the latest trend in international development: the $2 a day job ("Low Wage Jobs Alleviate Poverty.")  . . .  Full story>>

CAPE TOWN  - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 (Bloomberg via Ioltechnology.co.za) -  Microsoft, the world’s biggest software company, and the UN are forming a partnership to supply information technology (IT) and other support to small businesses in Africa . . .  Full story>>

LIBREVILLE  - Sunday, July 9, 2006 (KenyaDaily.com) -  From Ivory Coast in the west through Equatorial Guinea to Kenya in the east, poaching to feed the bushmeat market is rampant. “Bushmeat is probably the biggest threat to biodiversity in central Africa,” said Juan Carlos Bonilla, head of the Central Africa programme for Conservation International. . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Saturday, July 8, 2006 (The East African Standard) - The Government has announced higher compensation for injury and deaths arising from human/wildlife conflict . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, July 5, 2006 (The Nation) - Opinion: The 20th century was an industrial age. The 21st century is becoming increasingly a biological one. Africa, with its natural wealth or “nature capital” residing in its ecosystems - from forests to coral reefs - can be a leading player. . . .  Full story>>

LONDON  - Tuesday, July 4, 2006 (SciDev.net) - Scientists from 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have come up with a plan of action for applying satellite technology to a wide range of development issues.  Among the applications is telemedicine, in which large hospitals are connected via satellite to remote clinics where terrestrial communication systems are non-existent or damaged . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Sunday, July 2, 2006 (Society for Conservation Biology Website) - From 1-5 July 2007, the Society for Conservation Biology will hold its 21st annual meeting in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. With over 11,000 members worldwide - including 400 in Africa - SCB is the most important global community of conservation scientists and practitioners. (After North America and Europe, Africa has more SCB members than Asia, Latin America, or Australia/New Zealand, and at current trends, African members may soon outnumber Europeans.). . .  Go to the website>>

NAIROBI  - Saturday, July 1, 2006 (Independent Online) -  Tony Blair this week announced the launch of a new body that will monitor the progress of the West’s pledges to Africa. Staffed by figures such as Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof, the panel will hold developed countries to account on promises to tackle problems such as poverty and disease.  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, June 30, 2006 (Kenya Broadcasting Company) - The 12th conference of parties of United Nations Framework Convention on Forest Land will be hosted in the next 3 months. Kenya will become the first African country to host such major environment event, which will draw participants from all over the world . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Thursday, June 29, 2006 (Environmental News Network) - More than 70 percent of Africans depend on the continent’s natural resources for their livelihoods, but the toll taken on land and water could cause economic havoc if environmental protection is not given a high priority, a U.N. report said . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, June 28, 2006 (Mail & Guardian Online) - The United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) warned on Tuesday that Africa will slip further into poverty if its governments fail to adopt eco-friendly policies to sustain and exploit its natural wealth . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Friday, June 23, 2006 (The East Africa Standard) - The Tourist Trust Fund has launched the Western Kenya Tourism Plan. At the same time, the Tourist Trust Fund (TTF) announced it would allocate Sh5.3m to fund implementation of the plan, which is expected to transform the region into a key tourist destination. . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Thursday, June 22, 2006 (SciDev.net) - Next January, the heads of member states of the African Union will meet to discuss science and technology in what will be a unique opportunity to support the continent's scientifi renaissance . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, June 21, 2006 (UN News) - The new head of the United Nations environmental agency assumed office today, taking a metaphor from the soccer field to call on all nations to team up together to score a goal for Planet Earth by putting
ecology at the heart of economic policies and ending the rivalry between the two . . .  Full story>>

WASHINGTON, D.C.  - Friday, June 16, 2006 (Science) - The G8 countries should create two initiatives to help scientists who have emigrated from developing countries contribute to development in their home countries, say researchers in Science today (16 June). . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI  - Wednesday, June 14, 2006 (The Nation - Tourism contributed Sh48.9 billion last year in an upward trend that began when the Kenya Tourist Board rigorously reasserted the country as a favourite destination following security-related travel bans by the United States . . .  Full story>>

PARIS  - Tuesday, June 13, 2006 (SciDev.net) - African Water is a new initiative funded by the European Community with the aim to increase the involvement of African researchers in the water related components of EU funding programmes for research and development. . . .  Website link

LIBREVILLE - Monday, June 12, 2006 (Reuters) - Booming bushmeat trade is a major threat to Africa wildlife  . . .  Full story>>

LONDON - Sunday, June 10, 2006 (The Independent) -  Rafting, diving, trekking, riding. Active holidays are a great way to see Africa. Rhiannon Batten picks the best, including several in East Africa . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 (The Nation) - Teeming Animal Life At Umani Springs - Deep within the unique Kibwezi Forest, is a rustic camp by the pond’s edge . . .  Full story>>

ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR - Monday, June 5, 2006 (SciDev.net) - An unprecedented international conference in June will examine how conserving Africa’s unmatched biodiversity can help alleviate poverty, fight disease and improve the quality of life of hundreds of millions of people across the continent.  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI - Monday, June 5, 2006 (KBC) - Climate change, high water demand and even tourism are putting unprecedented pressures on the world's desert ecosystems, according to a new report . . .  Full story>>

LONDON - Monday, June 5, 2006 (SciDev.net) - Drylands are not just deserts, but encompass a wide range of environments  . . . and they are also home to some two billion people.  . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 (The Nation) - The airwing occupies a central place in Kenya Wildlife Service branches, being charged with maintaining park security, animal relocation, combating armed poachers and tackling human-wildlife conflicts . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI - Saturday, May 27, 2006 (AP) - Kenya Wildlife Service rangers killed three poachers in southeastern Kenya after the trio slaughtered two black rhinos, the organization’s spokeswoman said Saturday . . .   Full story>>

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - Saturday, May 27, 2006 (Ethiopian Herald) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said an event that promoted Ethiopian tourist attractions was organized in Rome, Italy . . .   Full story>>

LONDON - Monday, May 22, 2006 (SciDev.net) - Kazhila Chinsembu says Africa risks being ‘enslaved’ by technology it doesn’t own and urges African nations to regain control over their biological resources and indigenous knowledge . . .   Full story>>

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Saturday, May 20, 2006 (New Vision) - Nearly 13 hectares of tree cover are lost daily to land and forest users in Masindi, threatening to wipe out the tree population in the next 16 years . . .   Full story>>

NORTH-EAST PROVINCES, Kenya - Saturday, May 20, 2006 (The Independent) -  Famine in Kenya: The rains have finally come, but for many it’s already too late. The worst drought in decades has brought the tribal peoples of north-east Kenya to the brink of starvation . . .   Full story>>

SERENGETI PLAINS, TANZANIA - Saturday, May 20, 2006 (The Independent) -  Twice a year hordes of wildebeest and zebra risk life and limb as they cross the Serengeti. Frank Partridge watches one of nature’s most spectacular sights . . . .   Full story>>

LONDON - Thursday, May 18, 2006 (BBC News) - A fabled tropical ice field in Africa could disappear in two decades because of climate change, a study says . . .   Full story>>

MALI - Friday, May 12, 2006 (UN News Service) - International tourist arrivals in Africa grew by 10 per cent last year - nearly twice as fast as the world average - but the continent still gets only a 4 per cent share of international tourism, according to a United Nations agency which gathered African officials today in Mali to address the problem.. . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Friday, May 12, 2006 (The Nation) - Kenyans will now pay more to visit the country's game parks in changes that are being effected by the Kenya Wildlife Service . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Friday, May 12, 2006 (The Nation) - The movement of charcoal from Turkana to neighbouring districts has been banned. This is intended to protect forests, which are being destroyed by charcoal burners, according to the district environment committee. . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 (UN News Service) - United Nations General Assembly President Jan Eliasson today concluded a two-day visit to Nairobi where he discussed the environment and related issues with senior UN officials and Kenyan Government representatives . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Sunday, May 6, 2006 (East Africa Standard) - From the hills and valleys of western Kenya, a snot-nosed boy rose to become a world-class intellectual and scientist. Caleb Atemi brings you the riveting story of Calestous Juma, Professor of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology and Globalisation Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Tuesday, May 2, 2006 (The Nation) - The Tourism Trust Fund (TTF) has set aside Sh40 million for developing tourism and conservation projects in northern Kenya. . . .   Full story>>

AMBOSELI & MASAI MARA, Kenya - Sunday, April 30, 2006 (Associated Press) - Kenya’s Maasai-owned Selenkay Conservation Area and nearby parks offer stunning beauty and thousands of wild beasts . . .   Full story>>

SAIWA SWAMP, Kenya - Saturday, April 29, 2006 (The Nation) - In bird lingo, when you see a bird for the first time, it’s a ‘lifer’ for you. But the sitatunga is an antelope and a very rare one indeed. . .  Full story>>

LONDON, England - Saturday, April 29, 2006 (London Independent) - To you it is a bag of salad, dropped into the supermarket trolley with the weekly groceries. But to farmers in Kenya starved of the water extracted by large scale agriculture to grow it, it may spell destitution. . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI Kenya - Thursday, April 27, 2006 (Kenya Broadcasting Corp) - The European Union has donated 1.1 billion shillings to Kenya for the development of community based environmental programmes. . .   Full story>>

MASAI MARA, Kenya - Tuesday, April 25, 2006 (Associated Press) - Kenya’s Masai Mara offers travellers a stunning wildlife adventure . . .   Full story>>

SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE, Kenya - Tuesday, April 25, 2006 (Kenya Broadcasting Corp) - The Tourism Industry in Northern Kenya has remained resilient despite the effects of a biting drought.  . . .   Full story>>

RHENEN, The Netherlands - Monday, April 24, 2006 (East Africa Standard) - The Maasai land conflict that has haunted Kenyan authorities for years came to the international limelight once again this weekend as major international organisations, associations and charitable foundations met in the Netherlands to mark the Earth Day Festival. . . .   Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Monday, April 24, 2006 (East Africa Standard) - The Kenya Wildlife Service has increased its rates for local and international tourists by 100 per cent with effect from July.  Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Sunday, April 23, 2006 (East Africa Standard) - Kenyans, we can’t see the forest for the trees (on the environmental crisis)  . . .   Full commentary>>

MASAI MARA, Kenya - Saturday, April 22, 2006 (London Times) - Massaged by the Maasai. Where can you soothe your body and salve your eco conscience? A Maasai-run Ecotourism Society-approved spa at Masai Mara. Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Friday, April 21, 2006 (KBS) - Tourism earnings are projected to increase by 10% this year from 49 billion Kenya shillings last year to 56 billion shillings.  Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Friday, April 21, 2006 (East Africa Standard) - The Kenya Wildlife Service . . . seems to be moving in the right direction and with determination . . . If this is really so, it would be so for the first time in Kenya’s modern wildlife history of 108 years. Full commentary>>

NAIROBI, Kenya - Thursday, April 20, 2006 (The Nation) -  The chairman of a top bank yesterday proposed the setting up of a fund to help in rehabilitating the environment and financing research. Full story>>

LONDON, England -  Thursday, April 20, 2006 (The Independent) - The British charity Oxfam launches the biggest appeal of its 60-year history today, asking the public for £20m to help 11 million people suffering from the worst drought in more than a decade in East Africa. Full story>>

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11, 2006 (ENS) - A report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) indicates that wetland protection and restoration is linked to slowing spread of avian flu. Complete story via  Environmental News Service.