Daniel talks about the challenges and successes of his work looking to keep communities happy in the face of ever-increasing numbers of people wanting to take land away from animals, many of whom are many miles away and closely linked to powerful politicians.  Daniel walks this tricky tightrope and plays an increasingly important role amongst the communities he lives amongst.
 
This has been extremely successful in East Africa, Daniel shows, with the evolution of conservancies which have opened up the land to people around what used to be large masses of land owned by single families.  Many of these former private reserves are now trusts and the local population plays an important part in their success.  With the conservancies comes employment, education and healthcare which, without the tourism that wildlife attracts, would not otherwise be available.
 
Daniel explains that the other major problem, and one that is now larger than poaching, is human/wildlife conflict.  As populations grow and the demand for food increases, there is more and more pressure on protected land and encroachment onto it.  As the economy suffers and the cost of living increases, the problem of poaching for bushmeat rears its head.  Corruption plays a part in the issuance of licences and permits and the law has a difficult job to do.
 
 
Daniel Ole Sambu is from Kenya.  He is Head of the Predator Protection Programme at the Big Life Foundation, where he has worked since 2009.  He works for rigorous adherence to the rules and regulations of the Predator Compensation Fund.  This involves conducting frequent training, monitoring and the hands-on resolution of conflicts.  He is also a community mobilisation officer.  He travels and speaks internationally on how communities and conservationists can collaborate for the mutual benefit of all parties.
 

Members of the RGS, their guests and others are most welcome to attend this event, which is HK$200 for RGS Members and HK$250 for guests and others, including free-flow drinks.
 

The Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong wishes to express its thanks to The Elephant Foundation. 

The Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong wishes to express its thanks to
Hill Dickinson as the Venue Sponsor of this talk.