If I had to choose, I would say my favourite story in this edition of Earthyear is the one about young children and community guides teaming up to help leatherback sea tutles nesting on the beaches of Gabon, in West Africa.
Sea turtles are in trouble – and leatherbacks are the most endangered of these gentle giants. Researchers say they could easily be extinct in 10 to 20 years.
Faced with statistics like these, many people go numb. But not the young Gabonese ‘turtle guys” and schoolchildren who took a simple decision to make a difference and are following it up with appropriate action. They could just as easily have walked away from a bad situation. The would would not have been any the wiser, and it definitely would have been poorer.
Their inspiring story was sent to Earthyear unsolicited by science teacher Stacey Lin Edou. She ws delighted and encouraged to hear it would be published. ‘I am stunned to hear from anybody because of that story. I really didn’t think it would happen,” she wrote back. ‘I like the philosophy of looking for solutions for the environment.”
There are numerous other examples in this magazine of people going that extra mile for solutions for the environment. Leaders like outgoing South African National Parks CEO Mavuso Msimang and Dutch billionare Paul van Vlissengen. Corporatations and foundations that are finally receiving some recognition for their efforts, in the Greening the Future – Investing in the Environment awards. Game rangers who put their comfort, and sometimes their lives, on the line.
Kenya’s green role model, Wangari Maathai, is a source of inspiration in East Africa, particularly for young women. The kind of courage, hope and dedication she embodies is the spirit behind the Fifth World Parks Congress, hosted in Durban from September 8 to 17.
The World Parks Congress is convened every 10 years and draws together thousands of experts and interested parties to chart the future of protected areas. With the theme ‘Benefits Beyond Boundaries”, the Durban congress aims to demonstrate the relevance of protected areas to the broader economic, social and environmental agendas for the world in the new millennium.
This is the first time a World Parks Congress will have been held in Africa. Among the aims of the gathering are to highlight the central role that protected areas play in the livelihoods of the people of Africa and to leave behind a positive legacy for protected areas on the continent. As this edition of Earthyear indicates, Africa and its people already have a lot to show in this regard.