A week in the life...

There is no such thing as a "typical week" at AEFF. Take the last couple of weeks, for instance.

Production of AEFF's film, 'White Gold' is in full swing. We are entering our last two weeks of filming before the editing phase starts.

During October and early November, Ian and I were filming on the lovely (but muddy) Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Ol Pejeta lies west of Mount Kenya in the Laikipia region and is the largest rhino black sanctuary in Kenya. They take their rhino conservation seriously, with watch towers, high voltage fences and well trained rangers working together to secure this haven for wildlife and tourism:

Above and below, a Black Rhino and (above) a security watch tower in front of Mt Kenya.

And a sense of humour:

In addition to their Black Rhinos and Southern White Rhinos, Ol Pejeta looks after four Northern White Rhinos - these are four out of just seven Northern White Rhinos remaining in the world. These four rhinos had spent their life in a Czech zoo until, three years ago, they were moved to Ol Pejeta to live out the rest of their lives in wild and natural surroundings. To help secure their safety, the Ol Pejeta team saw off their horns - this is a lengthy process carried out once a year over a period of three weeks - cutting a little at a time.

AEFF's film 'White Gold' will show the example of the Northern White Rhino to illustrate how quickly a species can be exterminated in the name of trade and greed. The same could happen to elephants and other species if we are not vigilant.

The photos below show Ian with Mohamed and Jeremy from Ol Pejeta with two of the Northern Whites and two (wild) Southern Whites, after Ian had been filming Mohamed de-horning one of the rhinos:

Above, two Northern White Rhinos. Below, two wild Southern Whites can be seen on the right, the two Northern Whites on the left.

This was our temporary home for two weeks on Ol Pejeta - a tranquil campsite by the Uaso Nyiro River - tranquil that is until the heavens opened every day at 2pm without fail and the campsite became a swamp! That's one of the challenges we expect to face when filming in the middle of the rainy season...

It was during one such rainy afternoon that Ian received a phone call from Washington DC asking him whether he could appear before a Congressional Committee in five days' time to testify about the ivory trade and its implications. So, to cut a long story short, this development saw Ian transported from a muddy tent in Laikipia to Washington DC where he delivered a strong and insightful testimony. The panel brought together by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation delivered diverse opinions, each based on individual experiences - and though not all agreed on the precise nature of the solution, it is encouraging to see the issue of wildlife crime being debated with such seriousness on the world stage. Ian's testimony is about two thirds of the way through this YouTube clip:

Less than a week after leaving and having been to London to film the historic Ivory House on his way, Ian was back in Kenya, where it was back to "business as usual" and loading up the car to get back in the field filming. Our entire life for two months has to fit in the car, including cameras, clothes, tents, bedding, food, water and you-name-it... Testifying before Congress is no mean feat, but fitting everything into the Land Rover is quite another challenge!

More photos from Ol Pejeta on Facebook - click here.

Photos of Lions in action on Ol Pejeta - click here.

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Want to get involved? Please support the production and widespread distribution of this important educational film.

Thank you.

'WHITE GOLD' - a Kenyan perspective on elephant poaching and the ivory trade

AEFF is currently working a new non-commercial, educational film entitled ‘White Gold’ (the name given to ivory by Chinese traders).

The film investigates the current status of African elephants, today’s unprecedented poaching levels, and the international ivory trade.

Currently in production, the film is being made from Kenya’s perspective and will be a powerful voice supporting Kenya’s opposition to the re-opening of a legal international ivory trade.

View the promo trailer for WHITE GOLD on YouTube:

We are working in cooperation with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Northern Rangelands Trust, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, the Milgis Trust, Space For Giants, Save The Elephants, the Environmental Investigation Agency among other eminent scientists and conservationists across Kenya and internationally.

The film follows the ivory trail from source to consumer, covering issues never before seen on film and examining the security and economic implications of the illegal ivory trade - and the potential future impact should international ivory trading be legalized by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The film use the Northern White Rhino (a species now considered extinct in the wild) and the Black Rhino (a species teetering on the very brink of extinction) as examples of how quickly entire wildlife populations and even species can be lost. If we are not vigilant, the same fate could await the African Elephant.

As a conservation education tool, the film 'White Gold' has three key objectives:

1. when screened in multiple languages at CITES 2013, to encourage the international delegates to vote in support of Kenya’s opposition to re-opening the ivory trade – the result of this vote by the 175 member nations of CITES is critical to the survival of the African Elephant;
2. when broadcast in Mandarin, to create awareness among the ivory consumers in China (the world’s largest consumer of illegal wildlife products) in order to slow the demand for ivory – to support the conservation community’s efforts to make the buying of ivory socially unacceptable (much as was achieved with the fur trade in the West);
3. as a free educational resource disseminated across 46 African countries through AEFF’s established distribution network that reaches hundreds of millions of people across the continent.

The cumulative effect of addressing CITES, the consumer nations and the African elephant range states will have a significant impact on elephant conservation, because the result of the CITES vote and reducing the demand for ivory in consumer nations are key to the survival of the species, and because this film, as an educational tool in Africa, will maintain its relevance for many years to come.

Not only elephants and their habitat (also shared by other wildlife) will benefit from the effects of this film. The security and stability of African countries are at stake (for a legal ivory trade would create an “ivory rush” and a proliferation of weapons uncontainable by most African countries with their limited resources), with implications for people’s personal safety, businesses, investor confidence and the tourist trade (which in many African countries is the biggest employer and a major foreign exchange earner). Ivory is also increasingly being used as an untraceable form of revenue for subversive organisations, with worldwide security implications.

AEFF is seeking support for the production of this important film – any donation, large or small will help bring this project to completion in time for CITES 2013.

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Want to get involved? Please support the production and widespread distribution of this important educational film.

Thank you.