The Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Community Conservation Strategy cements the role of local communities living around — and sometimes inside — protected areas as essential for maintaining the integrity of the country’s critical natural…
Two years ago I embarked on an opportunity of a lifetime. It changed my life for it helped me gain independence, confidence, and skills that every aspiring scientist should have as they move forward with their conservation career. Of course…
Sundowner Stories are a new blog series of first-hand stories going behind the scenes of AWF’s remarkable history. In the second installment, AWF Vice President, Species Conservation and Science Philip Muruthi reminisces about the birth of AWF’s…
If wealth were measured in biodiversity, the forests of the Congo Basin would be rich indeed. Wildlife from the endangered bonobo to the Congo peacock can be found in this ecosystem, not to mention more than 600 species of trees (and that…
A photo diary from Becky Walter, an AWF intern in the field. Click on any of the stunning images below to view it in full size.
"Near the end of my stay in the Kazungula Heartland, I went up in a helicopter above Victoria Falls. Having spent a…
When Dr. Simon Munthali called to tell me that our CEO, Dr. Patrick Bergin, was planning to come to the field to spend a few days, I couldn’t believe my ears. My brain immediately went berserk. I started counting stock of the good things and the not…
As we approach the imminent COP 28 meeting in Dubai, it has become abundantly clear that the myriad global challenges we face are intrinsically linked to climate change. Climate change exacerbates these issues, and it is, therefore, pivotal to our…
4:45am: Wake up and take a shower (I’m extremely grumpy* at this stage).5:00am: Still grumpy, I get into the research car with my backpack and laptop bag and follow the bus from Shishangane (Staff Village) to the lodge (Singita Kruger National Park)…
11:00am: I take the research car and go and upload pictures from the cameras. I’m unsettled at this stage because I’m alone. I get to the first camera station. I get out of the car, pick up the stones that lay right next to the car and throw them in…
“Ngarkuwa.” This was the title bestowed on Manfred Aimé Epanda by Cameroon’s Tchamba chiefdom. Epanda, African Wildlife Foundation’s Cameroon country coordinator, has devoted the last two decades of his career to community conservation in his native…
Djagoun, C., Akpona, H., Kassa, B., Gichohi, N., Muruthi, P., & Sinsin, B. 2017. A stakeholder assessment of human–elephant conflict in Benin. Pachyderm, 58, pp.161-166.
This month, Asian Geographic published an 8-page cover story of my ‘Schools United for Elephants’ Campaign, spreading the anti-ivory trade idea in 24 places including, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, Hong Kong, India,…
In October 2021, a new aircraft was delivered to the African Wildlife Foundation office in Bili Uele in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This plane will be integral to the continued operations and logistics in this expansive forest landscape where…
I recall, as a child, being taken to the circus and having an overwhelming feeling of sadness and empathy for the animals, particularly the elephants that were paraded for our entertainment.
As I grew up, my eyes opened wide, and…
Belise Kariza, African Wildlife Foundation’s Country Director, Rwanda, did not fully understand the impact of wildlife and wild lands on a country’s economy and the lives of its people until she joined public service in 2015, running Rwanda’s…