We are in northern Cameroon, Boubba’ndjidda, National Park to be exact. We are close to the border of Chad. Boubba’ndjidda connects to Sena Oura National Park. We are on a scoping mission, assessing conservation opportunities with the hopes of being able to provide support to the management and protection of the Binational  Sena Bouba (BSB) Yamoussa Complex in coordination with the Governments, Wildlife Authorities and partners.

Unlike southern Cameroon well known for its tropical forests, chimpanzees, gorillas and lovely coast line, Boubba’ndjidda and its surrounding lands are savannah. A familiar landscape of sorts for me, coming from East Africa. The wildlife is incredibly diverse, but threatened severely poaching and lack of capacity.

Upon arrival we heard that 27 elephants had been poached in the last three days. That’s right, 27 elephants in three days. During our stay 12 more were poached, putting the estimated ‘known’ number to 39. A massacre. There were 50 poachers on horseback, armed. They got away. Villages feast on elephant meat.

Cameroon boasts a variety of habitat types, ranging from coastal, to desert, to rainforest, to savanna.

Cameroon has set aside 20% of its landscape as conservation areas, a commendable percentage. But like most African countries, they struggle to operationalize and sustain these protected areas with adequate resources. Take Boubba’ndjidda for example. On a morning game drive we saw a wide diversity of wildlife, including elephant, eland derby (for which the Park is known), kob, duiker and more. We stayed at the only camp in the Park (www.paulboursafaris.com), which is lovely camp perched on a wide river, where we watched crocodiles and an amazing diversity of birds. In the evening I awoke to the glorious sounds of lions roaring. However, only approximately 300 people visit the Park / year, hardly enough to generate enough revenue for Park operations.

So, when a major poaching episode happens like the one that took place during our visit, the Park Authorities and government leaders have little ability to respond. There is no communication in the field, access is difficult, weapons are few and vehicles minimal. Building their capacity is key to conservation success.

The other issue we witness is the movement of people and livestock from the surrounding countries of Chad, Nigeria and Central African Republic. When conservationists hear the word corridor, we think of wildlife corridors. But in this part of the world there are “trans-humance corridors”–human corridors that are designed to help facilitate the movement of pastoralists across vast lands and to reduce conflict. Thousands of people move through these landscapes with livestock seeking better grazing lands, water and access to markets. This increases conflict with people and wildlife and is a difficult issue to tackle. With desertification in the north, more and more people are moving from the north to the south exacerbating conflict. In addition, with strife and conflict in neighbouring countries, such as Nigeria, more people are seeking refuge in other places, such as Cameroon. Its complex.

Cameroonians comprise of hundreds of groups, often each with their own language. European colonization and refugee immigrations from Central Africa contributed to the melting pot population.

Our visit included meetings with traditional leaders, local NGOs, partners, hunting concession owners, protected area authorities. We spent time in the bustling city of Yaoundé, and then took a yellow, 25-year old Toyota taxi to the coast of Cameroon, the town of Kribi. The beach is lovely, water warm, fish fantastic and a great place relaxing as well as seeing turtles and other marine species. A deep sea port is being developed just south of Kribi, which will have a significant impact on the town. At night the off-short rigs are bright.

From Kribi we made our way to Campo M’aan, a tropical forest, National Park located on the border with Equatorial Guinea. On the way we passed pygmy people selling bark for medicine, vast forest on fire—slash and burn practices, and villages dotted across the landscape. The Park has gorillas and chimps and I can’t believe I am in such close proximity to these amazing mammals and will not be able to see them. The forest is so thick that you would not see an elephant 10 feet into the forest. Chimps and gorillas in an area like this with high bush meat poaching are very skittish, and stay clear of humans. There is a habituation program underway for the gorillas in an effort to encourage tourism.

Kathleen and other AWF representatives met with local leaders to discuss the future of Cameroon's wildlife.

Cameroon is an incredibly diverse country with high endemism, a wide diversity of ecosystems, over 240 tribes, savannahs, forests, vast rivers and ocean. Its largest reserve in southern Cameroon, Dja, hosts approximately 600 gorillas and 600 chimps. As a country it is ecologically significant and has a diversity of sources for economic revenue: tourism, carbon credits, and agricultural. With proper planning, support, partners and investment, this country will thrive and AWF hopes to be part of this unfolding development.

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When I reported to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for my voluntary work, I was given a list of activities that I was going to be involved in and one of them was the gorilla census since I was part of the monitoring and research department which was attached to the census. But actually it was not really a must that I was to participate because everyone thought that no lady could handle the terrain in Bwindi. I kept on pressing the head of the department until he included me on the list of the participants.

After confirming that, I was so excited and I started preparing myself psychologically. But this still didn’t take away all my fears because the words from the people around me just kept on ringing in my mind. “She won’t manage; they will bring her back here on a stretcher,” one of our colleagues had mentioned. I prayed to God so much that He would help show everyone that I was capable of participating in the census and indeed He did not abandon me.

Team members review the map and the plan before entering the forest.

On the night of 6th September 2011 we traveled to Ruhija, one of the outposts in Bwindi for training. The training was to equip us with skills that would enable us to carry out the census in the right way. Before we reached the outpost, we stopped at a certain village (Mburameizi); one of the passersby asked a question that truly hurt me. “Are women also taking part in the census?” and one of us answered, “yes.” Surely this gave me moral to go and do the best that everyone else would live to commend.

The training went on well and after it every one was given a team. Our team was to work in the northern sector. The first few days when the census had just started, it was very hectic. By the third day of the census I had gained a lot of strength that it amazed everyone, including my teammates. Actually one them had said, “Harriet, I no longer consider you a woman, you are now a man.” This he said because no woman had ever had such zeal and stamina like I had.

Days became weeks, I would take GPS points, direct my colleagues with the compass, collect fecal samples and the other chores everyone else did. I became very experienced that at one point Dr. Martha Robbins, the field organizer of the census had mentioned making me an assistant team leader. I bet because of the nature of gender some of my colleagues could not come to terms with that suggestion.

Harriet, Lawrence, and Ismael record census data.

I cannot say that everything went on smoothly, there was a day we encountered a wild gorilla group, and this group had probably seen us from a distance, so we approached it unknowingly. They charged us and we had no option but one of our colleagues had to scare shoot in the air. Harriet here I was, never in my entire life had I experienced a bullet at a very close range. This scared me a little, but still I didn’t give up. The other challenge was when it came to putting up a tent when we got into a new camp. At times I would book a place, but since I didn’t know how to build a tent, I would wait for the men and in the process of waiting the malicious ones would take over my area for the tent. I am naturally a calm lady, there was no need to fight back.

Of course I can’t forget the many stinging insects and plants that none of us dodged. The other challenge was falling down. This later became normal because at times the terrain was slippery that nobody would miss the fall. But at least God protected us from falling onto cliffs that at times had rivers underneath. I personally, am water phobic so each time I met a water source, I would be affected psychologically.

Apart from the challenges above, surely I can say that the census is one exercise that I will live to tell. First of all it gave me experience I wouldn’t have gained from anywhere else; at times seeing the gorillas face-to-face that so many are wishing to come across, I interacted with high profile people from whom I got various ideas and of course working as a team gave me lots of friends.

I thank my teammates for without them I wouldn’t have managed to come to the end of the census. That is Bakebwa Ismael, Raymond Kato, Alison Byamukama, Lawrence, Christopher Byaruhanga and David Lorika and the rest I may not have mentioned. God bless them all.

My last word to all ladies out there; if you are determined to do something, let no one else put you down. It is just the courage that you have that will make others know that you are able. Ladies as well as gents can do the same chores if given the chance!!!!

Harriet Kyakyo

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Question for you, Harriet: What can the collective we do the next time around to make sure more women have the courage (and support) to volunteer like you did?

Harriet’s response: Sensitization. The community’s attitude towards ladies participating in the census is negative. This does not encourage the interested parties (ladies) to involve themselves in census. So if the community a round us can be sensitized so they know that women as well as men can do the same work if given the opportunity. Mobilization. Many a times the ladies are not mobilized and probably have no idea about the activity. So if they are mobilized in time, am sure many will be ready to give a hand in the next censuses to come. For the recently concluded census the list of participants did not include any lady, until I volunteered to be part of the team. What does this imply?? Ladies probably didn’t get the information!!

I realized (from experience) that taking part in the census does not require only the very energetic, all it takes is a determined heart. So in this way i would advise the ladies not to have fear. Everything is possible when one is optimistic.

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Many thanks to Harriet for her courage, participation and candor. It was well received.

It was in this vein that the International Gorilla Conservation Programme teamed up with CARE International in Rwanda and Uganda to take comprehensive steps in the mountain gorilla region to provide opportunities for people in a way that was equitable and conservation-responsible, through the EEEGL Project funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

A few weeks ago, I went on an evaluation field visit to our joint project sites in Uganda and met with hundreds of beneficiaries of the project. While I have been well aware of the IGCP-side of the EEEGL project (construction of communal rainwater harvesting tanks; support to tourism-related community enterprise; launching and raising awareness about the Gorilla Levy tourism revenue-sharing scheme), this was my first glimpse of what this 5-year project as a whole has been able to accomplish. More than two weeks after returning from the trip (with time to reflect on the experience), I am confident in saying that what I found borders on transformational. And in that sometimes fuzzy or ‘soft’ area where community development and conservation overlap, here there are crystal clear, tangible examples that it can be done where people and parks (and the gorillas) both emerge as winners.

Here are several integrated themes that I think have been the strength of the EEEGL Project- community empowerment, equitable benefits, and incorporation of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

Community Empowerment

The vision of the women of Bukazi village: a secondary school for girls, a clean and close water source, and a way to put money in their purses. Photo: Helen Ninsiima

Many tourists who come to the region and visit mountain gorillas ask where their 500 USD permit fees goes to. In addition to going to fund the protection of the national parks and the mountain gorillas through the national park service, a portion also goes back to communities living near the parks through what are called revenue-sharing schemes. In the mountain gorilla area of Uganda, the Bwindi-Mgahinga Conservation Area, there are three such schemes- traditional revenue-sharing, the Gorilla Levy, and the Bwindi-Mgahinga Conservation Trust.

But just merely having these schemes, doesn’t mean that the money gets put into the areas that the community needs the most. Communities have to submit proposals for these funds directly from the grassroots. This is not automatic. What the EEEGL Project has done is to build systems at multiple levels to ensure transparent, equitable distribution of these funds to projects that can have the most positive socioeconomic effect on the communities surrounding the parks.

Here’s how we (collectively IGCP and CARE) have done it- we’ve improved and clarified the revenue-sharing schemes, encouraging the development of a special Gorilla Levy, and raised awareness of such funds and how people can receive them. We’ve worked to support and empower civil society organizations and forums. These civil society organizations are now equipped to write better proposals to seek out funds, not just from revenue-sharing, but other sources as well. Personally, one of my favorite projects is the work to facilitate community-based mapping and planning.

Members of hte Ikumba Civil Society Forum. The civil society organizations that these people represent also have representation at the District of Kabale.

All of these interventions built and fed from one another, so that after five years, the EEEGL Project has made clearly visible transformations in the communities involved. The civil society forums and the communities who have gone through one cycle of community-based planning (and have seen tangible results within months) met with us with bright, exited eyes and plans on how they themselves were going to take the lead in development projects within their community, their Parish, their District. We saw it genuinely at all levels, and I’m inspired by it.

Equitable Benefits

In addition to revenue-sharing schemes, there are other benefits that communities get from mountain gorilla tourism. Through tourism-related enterprise, through something like the luxury lodge, Clouds, collectively owned by the citizens of Nkuringo and Nteko parishes through the Nkuringo Community Conservation and Development Foundation (NCCDF). Improved governance structures, with the inclusion of women, youth, and the Batwa, were further developed within many community associations and groups, like NCCDF.

There are also resource users groups in Uganda that are registered and allowed to collect certain materials and plants from the national parks as well as place beehives within the park. A participatory assessment of this practice (from the ecological and community perspective) was evaluated under the EEEGL project and a new set of guidelines put in place.

Registered resource users in Katunga near Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Almost all are artisans gathering materials within the forest for basketmaking.

A poignant example of this came when meeting a resource user group keeping beehives within Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. They recounted the benefits of having members of the Batwa community in their group. “Before the Batwa would put their hives illegally in the park and even harvest honey from hives that weren’t theirs, thinking that everything in the park belonged to them. Now, we’re working together and everyone has their hives, legally, and there is no conflict,” one member said.

No matter what the benefit or enterprise work was accomplished through the EEEGL project, there was a very intentional emphasis on equity at all levels, to ensure that yes, benefits to the community from revenue sharing, tourism-related enterprise, and even resource user groups were accessible to all members of the community. Through this equity, even the most marginalized of the community are being able to access resources and benefits that allow them to raise their social and economic status, something that with continued vigilance by all involved, can translate into improved conditions for the next generation.

Incorporation of VSLAs

At almost every stop whether we were talking to beekeepers, potato growers, water tank users there was another thing that was in common- the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLAs). Supporting the development of these VSLAs has enabled community members to turn their income-generating activities into machines for further economic development. Members of the VSLA can invest as little as the equivalent of 10 US cents (yes, cents) a week and be able to earn a savings on that money over a year as well as have access to small loans when they need them.

Vasta Busingya, above center, has used loans from the VSLA she belongs to in Ryakasinde, Uganda, to help in her business activities such as retailing avocados and sorghum. She also makes sorghum beer. This coming year, when she receives her re-payment of shares with interest earned, she plans to buy a goat. She is one of three keyholders to the locked box in which her VSLA keeps their savings.

Most of the people I talked to had used the funds to pay school fees for their children (which are due every term in a lump sum) and to invest in their small businesses (trading dry goods, growing livestock, making sorghum beer, planting timber). In addition, funds raised from the collection of water from the communal tanks from those that can afford to pay, is linked doesn’t linger in an account or box, it gets put to use. Community members can apply for loans to fund the construction of their own rainwater collection tanks for their household.

Nelson Byomegabe, part of the Mushanje beekeepers group, which incorporated VSLA two years ago. He invests 2,000 Shillings a month and has taken out two loans- one to buy pine seedlings and one to pay school fees. He also uses the interest on his savings to pay school fees.

Ripple effects. Integrated activities. It leaves me feeling good about the work that we did alongside CARE International through the EEEGL project. What I’m left with a sense that real collaboration between the development sector and conservation sector can work and the power is when we work together in a concerted, intentional way. But the work is far from over.

I am also left with a sense that this type of project is just begging to be undertaken in the Democratic Republic of Congo near Virunga National Park, where the needs of people are dire and the opportunity to transform lives looms large.

IGCP is an organization built upon partnership, in that we have been a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature for 20 years. Together, we are stronger and can accomplish so much. And that’s why the term ‘partnering’ is featured prominently in our mission statement and will continue to manifest itself in our work.

Returning home from Durban we hear the news that negotiations were extended by two days in order to secure agreement for the “Durban platform for advanced action” on climate change. This commitment to secure renewed consensus among all parties is a positive sign that countries are aware of the seriousness of the issues at stake. Over the course of the UNFCCC COP 17 we have reflected on what these discussions might mean for the African continent, it’s people and it’s wildlife.

The AWF delegation at the 2011 Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. From left: Kathleen Fitzgerald, Harry van der Linde, Helen Gichohi, Danny McGahey, Andrea Athanas (front).

Essentially, under the Durban platform all countries have agreed to negotiate a multilateral agreement by 2015 to be operational by 2020. This was in return for the commitment of the EU and several other developed countries to extend the Kyoto protocol by five to eight years. It is welcome news that there is still hope in reaching a multilateral agreement, but with the science suggesting that emissions must be curbed by 2017 at the latest to avoid runaway climate change, this could be too late for many of the most vulnerable wildlife and people.

Throughout the COP AWF has been emphasizing the urgency of the situation. At the CIFOR Forest Day 5 AWF President Helen Gichohi through her keynote address stressed the reduced adaptive capacity of many African ecosystems following the loss of key habitats or refugia.  Africa’s wildlife and ecosystems are already being impacted by an increase in extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods. At the same time Africa’s forests are being lost at four times the global average releasing a significant amount of carbon into the atmosphere.

Some positive progress has also emerged from discussions on REDD+ at Durban, particularly over the measurement of baseline emissions levels. These are important developments for AWF as we continue to work with forest-dependent people to develop REDD+ certified projects across Africa.  Financing the required forest conservation to achieve reduced emissions from deforestation remains an issue, however. Private finance will be essential and at the COP the private sector reiterated the need for governments to provide the right policy signals. Establishing a regulatory market will be essential for REDD to move from a marginal investment to mainstream.

The savannah is a lush green because we have had healthy rains this season. But a chat with a Maasai at the Kenyan boarder reminded me of the urgency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change discussions…and the relevance of the topic to the people here who depend on the rains for their lives and livelihoods. He lost over 20% of his cows in the last 3 years to drought.

Andrea Athanas at an exhibit at the climate change conference.

So here I sit…trying to connect these global talks to such urgent local…individual…issues. And in a sense it strikes me that they are intrinsically linked. The decisions we each make every day ultimately link us to that Maasai man in Namanga. Let us have compassion for his plight and find bold and brave agreement to limit climate change and find ways to adapt to its impacts that put us all on a healthier path to development.

Danny McGahey at another exhibit at the conference.

AWF partners South Africa Parks, SANBI, and the Department of Environmental Affairs South Africa are linking biodiversity to a green economy. They estimate that over 1 million jobs in the country are from economic activities supported by biodiversity. Some of those jobs are in wetland rehabilitation, and over 800 wetlands have now been restored. In the discussions today, Ecosystem Based Adaptation featured as a topic of debate. Can nature provide the kind of infrastructure we need to adapt to climate change impacts? How can we restore natural systems like the savannahs of Kenya and Tanzania or the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo so that they are resilient to the changes brought about by rising temperatures and more variable rain patterns…and provide for the livelihoods of the people who depend upon them. See how we are working on these issues on the ground with communities on our African Heartlands pages.

Danny McGahey at the Good News Stand.

It’s already been a long week and it continues until the 9th of December. The negotiations have been tough. Countries have put their stakes in the ground. Canada said it is pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol and would not sign a second one. Bolivia has opposed REDD (Reducing Emissions from Forest Degradation and Deforestation). The structure and funding source of the Green Climate Fund, a major funding mechanism, is in question. Ideally, as the senior political teams and negotiators arrive this week, countries will begin to pull back together and agree to some consensus. It is a fascinating and frustrating process.

The United Nations designated 2011 as the International Year of Forests. This has helped to raise awareness about deforestation and forest degradation.

One evening I attended a panel with representatives from India, China, Brazil and Singapore. Another evening, Rothschild Financial Advisory Company presented a model for a cap and trade structure. Yesterday, AWF hosted an event with government, private financiers and civil society on REDD markets and their futures. It’s only been 11 months since the last COP in Cancun, where significant progress was made, some question whether it is feasible to emerge with another monumental agreement.

In the meantime, groups like AWF are implementing projects on the ground. Hoping to stop deforestation and degradation, help communities adapt to the impact of climate change, and hoping that some of the lessons we have learned will help shape policy.

Whether there will be a regulatory carbon market is up in the air. If the voluntary market will sustain programs is a matter of debate, and how do you manage the risk of land tenure, policy and market variability? What are the best methodologies to help communities and wildlife adapt to the already felt impacts of climate change is a key question.

Today and tomorrow the World Economic Forum gathers to discuss similar issues. We wait to see what emerges from these high level discussions and in the meantime push for policies that will support the reduction of emissions and the establishment of structures that enable effective REDD and adaptation programs.

The following blog was written by Harry van der Linde, who is part of AWF’s delegation at the United Nations 2011 Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. At the conference, Harry and other AWF staff members have been participating in discussions at the Adaptation Hub: a platform for 20+ conservation and development organizations to promote adaptation as a key issue within the larger conference discussions and negotiations. The Hub aims to achieve this through (i) daily lunchtime question and answer sessions, (ii) a specific adaptation hub area within the exhibition space, and (iii) a website: www.adaptationhub.net

The first Adaptation Hub brownbag question and answer session was facilitated by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and co-hosted with Resource Africa UK (RAUK). Given that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 17^th Conference of Parties is being hosted in Durban, South Africa, AWF kicked things off by facilitating a discussion on Adaptation in Africa. Africa is not a major contributor to climate change, but it is one of the most vulnerable continents to the effects of these changes. This is due in part to a largely rural population, and a general lack of resources that would help communities to adapt.

Representatives from over 20 nonprofits gather at the first Adaptation Hub session to discuss and exchange ideas on adaptation to climate change. Photo courtesy of Max Thabiso Edkins and Resource Africa UK.

This brownbag session provided a forum for non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, researchers and practitioners, and government representatives to reflect on their recent experiences implementing adaptation measures in Africa. It also provided a great way for them to share their knowledge, and important lessons they had learned. A major focus was on the common disconnect between adaptation planning at the national level, and community knowledge and capacity at the local level.

AWF’s Kathleen Fitzgerald reflected on her experiences promoting climate change adaptation, and highlighted the need for strategic planning at the landscape level that could more fully assess the vulnerability of wildlife, habitats, and human livelihoods to projected climatic changes. This high level strategic planning would not only help with identifying key threats, but would also help with recognizing opportunities to address them. It is already being tested in pilot sites, but Kathleen wondered how could we scale this up?

Next, Astrid Westerlind Wigström of RAUK shared a number of lessons emerging from the organisation’s experience working at the community level. She emphasized the need to use communities’ experiences as a starting point for national and policy level discussions, and to build capacity where necessary.

AWF and RAUK facilitate the first Adaptation Hub question and answer session. Photo courtesy of Max Thabiso Edkins and Resource Africa UK.

Some of the poignant issues raised during the group discussion included the need to communicate uncertainty regarding climate change projections, and the reality of trade offs and compromises in climate change decision-making. Another key issue was the importance of recognising and building upon traditional adaptation strategies at the local level, and tackling the various constraints communities face, like access to natural resources, in their efforts to implement these strategies. Particular emphasis was given to the importance of clearly defining the key factors and questions currently constraining adaptation measures at the national, regional, and international level. The process of identifying these factors and questions is a key first step towards developing a framework for action on adaptation going forward. This process will help to guide the learning and planning of Adaptation Hub members while in Durban, and beyond.

AWF  is now getting ready to host its official side event on Meeting Climate Change Challenges in African Conservation and Livelihoods. At this event AWF’s President Helen Gichohi and Director of Land Conservation Kathleen Fitzgerald will share their experiences working with AWF to address climate change through a landscape level approach to conservation and mitigation. They will also share lessons learned from three specific pilot projects.

Meanwhile the AWF delegation is running an information booth in the Adaptation Hub area of the conference, and is welcoming many visitors wanting to exchange ideas and information.

My flight from Nairobi, Kenya to South Africa is filled with Kenyan Delegates, heading to the UNFCCC COP 17. Quite a mouthful of an acronym: United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of Parties, 17.

Delegates from around the world are gathering in the oceanfront town of Durban, South Africa with the hopes of reaching global consensus on climate change mitigation and adaptation policy measures. They are expecting approximately 30,000 people. Given South Africa hosted the World Cup successfully last year, they are ready for a crowd of this size.

We arrive in a violent storm in Durban. The rain pounds and the ocean roars. Coincidentally, we are here to talk about the ramifications of climate change, which include intensive weather patterns and extremes. Five people die in the storm.

AWF has a delegation here in Durban. We are hosting a number of side events and speaking about our Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mitigation and adaptation projects. We hope to create awareness around the severity of climate change to Africa, the impacts to communities and wildlife, and the potential ways to mitigate these problems and help communities and wildlife adapt to these changes. While there may be significant funding available, we are pushing to make sure this funding actually reaches the ground.

Harry Van de Linde and Danny McGahey at the AWF Information Booth, at COP 17 UNFCCC. Photo courtesy of Kathleen H. Fitzgerald

While Africa contributes the least to climate change through C02 emissions, it is believed to be the most vulnerable to its consequences. The majority of Africans live in remote areas, with very little resources (education, money) that enable them to adapt to the changes the continent is already facing.

People in ties, saris, suits and sarongs gather. The crowd is extraordinarily diverse, from all walks of life, around the globe.

At lunch a man from Baffin Islands explains how his people are struggling because of the ice melt. A Maasai man stopped by our booth and explained how drought is ravaging his community. An indigenous group is here to cast light on the Amazon.

There is a lot at stake with discussions focusing on carbon caps, limits, and funding. What will happen when the Kyoto Protocol expires next year? Will the Green Climate Fund, which aims to create an annual reserve of $100 billion (U.S. dollars) by 2020, actually take off? South African President Jacob Zuma opened the Conference. Already countries have put their stake in the ground, some saying they will not sign any new agreement, if others do not. The week begins.

For more information on AWF at COP 17 and AWF’s Climate Change Program click here.

What do you expect when you sign on with the African Wildlife Foundation and travel halfway across the world? Who knew? We arrived tired and anxious about who would compliment us three friends from Colorado on such a long trip. I was matched up with Lulu, from Seattle, whom I had never met. My friends Toni and Karen had each other. And the trip began…

Chimpanzees are a major attraction of Uganda, living in communities of 10 to more than 100 individuals. Photo courtesy of Christina Van Winkle.

In Kampala, Uganda, we met up with our guide, our drivers, and with our 10-day family. The drivers were so accommodating, and Stephen Ham, our AWF guide, was patient and cooperative. And the group? Wonderful, despite our diversity of backgrounds. Each and every person provided part of the fabric for the trip: We were all very different, and together, we contributed those things that make for a great event. I will never forget a single one of them.

So, what can I say about this trip? The night at Ndali Lodge (in Fort Portal, Uganda), one of our first, was incredible. We were introduced to Aubrey, a British expat who had reclaimed the estate after his father was run out of Uganda by the late dictator Idi Amin Dada, and his lovely wife, a retired New York City lawyer from Uganda. They showed us a great time, abound with good food, awe-inspiring views of dormant volcano lakes, and delightful lodging.

In Rwanda, AWF safari-goers enjoyed five-star comfort at one of AWF's flagship enterprises, the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. Photo courtesy of Governor’s Camp Collection.

We traveled from Uganda to Rwanda, and were amazed by the difference in road quality between Uganda (washboard dirt) and Rwanda (nice, tidy tar). After the war in Rwanda, we learned, substantial relief funds came into the country and were used, in part, to build these roads. Yet the people of Rwanda were walking everywhere on these roads. There are so many Rwandans… and apparently few vehicles. And so many children and pregnant mothers! One afternoon, we walked from Silverback Lodge – an amazing complex funded by AWF – into town. We heard drums and followed them to find more than 100 orphans performing traditional Rwandan dances. To think that so many children lost their parents and yet were delighting in their performance was heartbreaking. As an aside, potable water is in short supply there, and help is needed harnessing rainfall.

And then the mountain gorillas. Our guide, Stephen, went beyond all our expectations and carefully arranged our hikes to find the elusive great apes. They are just like us, but with no baggage! It was more than I could have imagined. But here’s the best story, and I will end with this: On our second trek, as we were watching a gorilla family, Stephen yelled for several of us to back up and look above us. We did, in time to see a two-year-old gorilla come sliding down a vine and give us a big show, complete with chest pumping and acrobatics.

AWF's exclusive member safaris, like the one Colleen took, give supporters insight into AWF's conservation on behalf of mountain gorillas and other species. Photo courtesy of Stephen Ham.

Only in Uganda and Rwanda. What a spectacular trip of a lifetime. Thank you, AWF.

Last summer, I traveled from the beauty of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya to the urban office of African Wildlife Foundation in Washington, D.C. In just under three days. Look up “culture shock” in the dictionary and you will see a small diagram depicting my flight pattern. I had come to Washington for an internship in the marketing department of AWF through a program at my school where I study French, Environmental Science, and Film. I had high hopes…and no clue what I was about to get myself into.

A rainstorm on the Maasai Mara. Photo courtesy of Billy Dodson.

What might have been eight weeks of mindlessly filing paper work exploded into a creative, dynamic, challenging adventure that had me writing website copy, collaborating with staff members on print publications, and crafting social media campaigns to publicize AWF events. It was my first time working in an office, but it was also the first time I realized what can be accomplished from behind a desk.

I come from a science background; if you want to make a difference in the world, you go out into the field and you do it. You sweat. You roll up your sleeves. In fact, I had just come from Kenya where I had had the privilege of working alongside some incredibly dedicated students and teachers from Baylor on a variety of public health projects. And I just wasn’t quite sure how all this marketing and media relations really accomplished anything worthwhile.

It took me all of two weeks to find out. Working with and learning from AWF’s graphic designers, corporate fundraisers, and marketing experts quickly demonstrated to me the awesome things that an organization like AWF accomplishes from behind a desk. Every social media post, every new campaign, every phone call was always explicitly directed towards facilitating and supporting AWF’s conservation projects on the ground in Africa. This was evidenced most clearly in the personal connections each person in the office had with Africa’s people and wild lands. One employee was eagerly anticipating a trip to Kenya to touch base with dear friends and help some conservation efforts progress on the ground. And I’ll never forget what one of my bosses told me near the end of my internship: “I started work in Africa because of my love for wildlife and wild lands. But it was the people who I came to love, and it’s the people who keep calling me back.”

AWF CEO Patrick Bergin and VP of Philanthropy and Marketing Craig Sholley at the Brookfield Zoo 50th Anniversary Event. Photo courtesy of Jim Schultz.

One day in July, as we were all busily preparing for a huge event at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, a buzz swept through the office; I kept hearing, “Charlie’s here! He just got in!” Charlie turned out to be none other than the Director of the Congo Heartland himself. It was a special sight to see the level of connection and affection between him and the folks in the office. They eagerly exchanged stories and greetings, but what impressed me the most was the way that those connections spoke to the intentions and motivations of the people in the office around me. Here was this conservation manager from thousands of miles away, and the whole show stopped so everyone could  welcome and greet him. When everyone returned to their desks, I could suddenly see how years of friendship with Africa’s wonderful people and experience with its wild lands were the things that made the whole office function. And that’s the kind of authenticity and integrity that kept defining my whole internship experience.

In sum, the whole eight weeks was a humbling experience. It revealed to me my silly assumptions I had about marketing and media relations that I set out to disprove or confirm. To say they were disproved is a grievous understatement. What I will say is that my internship taught me the worth of working for a better world from behind a desk, and that a phone, the internet, and a notepad go just as far as a shovel and a test tube. I learned a million and one things in my internship at AWF, but nothing so valuable as the principle that meaningful conservation work takes scientists and marketers to function successfully in the world.

To interested interns: treat yourself to a challenging, rewarding experience and apply to work at AWF today. To AWF’s members and followers: it was a privilege to help support your work for eight wonderful weeks. And to anybody out there like me fostering the notion that marketing somehow takes second place to field work, know that the African Wildlife Foundation succeeds everyday in dismantling that assumption.