East Africa has been in the news a great deal this past week, with several important stories about elephants and ivory, as well as a large amount of media interest in the July 16 PLoS ONE paper by African Conservation Centre researchers on the challenge of protecting Kenyan wildlife.

With elephant numbers both on the increase and at increased risk to poaching, the important message in Dr. David Western's PLoS paper - that there must be additional measures taken to protect wildlife besides just setting aside more parks - is particularly topical. Community-based initiatives and incentives are key, he said.

NAIROBI  - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 (The Ethiopian Review) -  Kenya's elephant population has doubled following the international ban on trade of wildlife products. But Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) is warning the gain, which saw the number of elephants rise to 32,000 from 16,000 in 1989, could be wiped out due to increased poaching prompted by the lifting of the partial ban in some African countries recently. . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI - Saturday, July 18, 2009 (AP) -  Kenyan wildlife officials called today for an end to the ivory trade worldwide, saying a one-off sale two years ago led to a spike in the number of elephants killed in Africa..  . . .  Full story>>

NAIROBI - Tuesday, July 14, 2009 (Los Angeles Times / AP) - Kenya seized more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of illegal ivory and black rhinoceros horn -  some of it still bloody - on a cargo plane headed to Asia on Tuesday, wildlife officials said.. . .  Full story>>

For the past half-century or more, conservation goals have focused on saving endangered species and establishing national parks, which now cover 10% of the earth's land surface.

But do parks really protect wildlife, and more importantly, biodiversity?

Survey results from Kenyan scientists, who looked at 30 years of wildlife data, published today in the online science journal, PLoS ONE, show that though vital, Kenya's parks are insufficient to protect species.

"The decline in Kenya's park populations is not surprising, given the inherent shortcomings in their design. Only a modest portion of the annual migratory range of large herbivores is included in Kenya's parks," said senior author Dr. David Western in a paper titled The Status of Wildlife in Protected Areas Compared to Non-Protected Areas of Kenya, co-authored with Samantha Russell and Innes Cuthill.

In 2007, Paul Schuette teamed up with Dr. Scott Creel of Montana State University on an ambitious plan to survey and study the carnivores of Kenya's South Rift Valley - a project that would also become Paul's doctoral thesis.

In record time Paul was off to Kenya on a young researcher's dream: find and outfit a reliable research vehicle, establish relations with a willing community, find a suitable base with water and with reasonable resupply access, and proceed to design and set up a new project in the remote African bush.

Last year Paul became a Partner in Conservation with ACF so we could process donations and grants for his research. We were lucky to spend time in the field with Paul as he tracked the movements of his first collared lion, a female, in her home range in the Olkiramatian Maasai communal lands. Following is a description of his important research, and images from our time spent with Paul and his team. Paul's commitment to science as well as community is the ACF ideal for conservation.

The development of the South Rift Resource Centre and its support team has been steadily gaining ground, with a lot of hard work from all parties.

First, the team is happy to announce they have a new web presence - their own weblog created by Christine Kovash, friend of researcher Paul Schuette. Have a look at their excellent site: http://southriftccr.blogspot.com/

One of the things you'll notice on the site is the new Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project (UNBP) Walk With Baboons opportunities with para-ecologist Joel Njojo, who is from the local Olkiramatian community. ACF's 2008 Adventure Safari Team was so impressed with Joel's natural guiding skills and knowledge of wildlife, they listed him as a top-five experience on their trip.