Kenya's South Rift - SORALO
The Wildlife Ranger Challenge 2021
Fundraising for Tusk Trust
Story
About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge:
Covid-19 has created a temporary safer world for Africa’s wildlife. But the floodgates are opening as the economic impacts of Covid drive more poaching. With tourism gone, the rangers who care for wildlife lack the resources to do their jobs. SORALO’s ranger teams are joining thousands of others across the continent taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a series of physical and mental challenges, culminating in a 21km virtual race on Saturday 18th September.
You can join them! Show your support and sign up to run or walk with the community game scout team from wherever you are in the world: WildlifeRangerChallenge.org/registration. Now is the time to go the extra mile to support our rangers!
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Your contribution will help support 50 rangers and an estimated 500 livelihoods in and around Kenya's South Rift. Every dollar we raise via JustGiving will earn an additional 25% match!
Your donation also helps to unlock vital funds for other ranger teams across Africa; the Scheinberg Relief Fund will donate the equivalent of 75% of the amount raised to the Ranger Fund!
The role of rangers:
No formal protected areas exist in the SORALO region requiring wildlife and people to coexist. Wildlife are still able to move freely across the landscape and by doing so enhance the connectivity between Mara-Serengeti and Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystems. The key focus of SORALO’s community rangers is conserving this coexistence and landscape connectivity. Doing so is no easy feat and requires our community rangers to keep wildlife safe from people and communities safe from wildlife. Catalysing community conservation, conducting daily anti-poaching patrols and protecting farms from crop-raiding elephants are just some of the core responsibilities of the ranger teams.
Impact that 2020 WRC had on Organisation & Rangers:
Ensuring 50 community game scouts continue to protect wildlife during the Covid-19 pandemic. Provision of field equipment, motorbikes, tents, and phones further enabled smaller teams to function independently, increasing our teams' patrol effort by up to 160%. As a result, no elephants were poached or killed in our operational area between August 2020 and February 2021.
Ongoing effects of the pandemic:
The pandemic has affected the work of SORALO in five key ways. These include reducing funding opportunities for South Rift communities to engage in conservation as many donors are interested in sustaining conservation around iconic protected areas affected by the Covid pandemic. For example, the creation of the $5 million Mara Rescue Fund. Tourist camps in the South Rift are closed or running on limited capacity and have had to reduce the number of staff employed from local communities, resulting in fewer direct benefits from tourism and conservation (employment and conservation fees) going to local communities.
Emerging and newly formed conservancies are struggling to find tourism investment and question whether conservation can provide tangible economic benefits (tourism revenue and employment) to their communities. The restrictions on meetings and gatherings have reduced collaboration with local communities and buy-in for community conservation. The Loss of current and future employment opportunities and economic hardship continue to increase the incentives to engage in poaching and logging.
How support in 2021 could help:
Ensuring 50 community game scouts continue to protect wildlife during the Covid-19 pandemic. Provision of field equipment, motorbikes, tents, and phones further enabled smaller teams to function independently, increasing our teams' patrol effort by up to 160%. As a result, no elephants were poached or killed in our operational area between August 2020 and February 2021.
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Tusk Trust Limited is a charity registered in England and Wales, No: 1186533, and a company registered in England and Wales, No: 11948023.
In the US, “The Friends of Tusk Fund” donor advised fund is administered by CAF America (Tax ID 68-0480736)
Donors who pay tax in the UK can enhance their donation through Gift Aid, meaning that for every £10 raised, Tusk can recover an additional £2.50 for the cause from the UK Government.
US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation please click here
Main photo courtesy of Guy Western
