Saving Endangered Animals From Extinction

Summary

In Kenya's Masai Mara, the ancient Masai tribe and wildlife coexist harmoniously. However, threats like habitat destruction and climate change endanger this balance. The Masai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association employs traditional and modern methods to combat poaching and protect natural resources. With the help of partners like GivePower, they're installing weather stations for ecosystem monitoring and generating solar power to support conservation efforts. The community also benefits from carbon credit sales, providing funds to lease more land for wildlife. Despite progress, they need $100,000 for additional weather and power stations to continue their mission.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The Masai Mara in Kenya is one of the few places where humans and animals live in harmony.
• 🏺 The Masai tribe is an ancient nomadic group that has preserved their culture and way of living for centuries.
• 🐘 The Masai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association is a local group working to protect the wildlife and habitat from threats like poaching and habitat destruction.
• 🔍 They use a combination of traditional methods and modern techniques, including data science, to protect the wildlife.
• 🌳 The decline in wildlife numbers over the past 40 years has been largely due to habitat destruction.
• 🏞️ The land division and privatization 60 years ago led to habitat loss and increased risk to the ecosystem.
• 💡 The conservancies incentivize landowners to lease their land for conservation, preserving the Masai's ancestral heritage.
• ⚡️ Lack of electricity at the ranger bases is a challenge, hindering effective ecosystem monitoring and management.
• ⛈ Climate change and natural disasters, such as floods, pose significant threats to both wildlife and the local Masai community.
• 💼 Give Power, a long-term partner, is helping to supply clean energy to ranger stations, which will power weather stations and sensors for environmental monitoring.
• 🌱 The project aims to generate income through carbon credits, allowing for the expansion of protected areas and supporting local livelihoods.

Q & A

What is the significance of the Masai Mara in Kenya?

The Masai Mara in Kenya is significant as it is one of the few places on Earth where humans and animals live in complete harmony. It is home to the ancient Masai tribe and a rich biodiversity, including endangered species.

What threats are the Masai Mara and its wildlife facing?

The Masai Mara faces threats from human activities such as habitat destruction, greed, and ignorance, leading to a decline in wildlife numbers. Additionally, natural disasters and climate change have caused unexpected weather events, posing significant challenges.

How does the Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association contribute to conservation efforts?

The Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association contributes by employing traditional methods and modern techniques like data science to combat poaching and protect natural resources, ensuring the preservation of the ecosystem.

What is the role of the local Masai people in the conservation efforts?

The local Masai people play a crucial role as they are the custodians of the wildlife. They work as Rangers, protecting endangered animals and ensuring the ecosystem's health, often with a deep understanding of their environment.

What is the impact of land division and private ownership on the Masai Mara?

Land division and private ownership have led to habitat destruction as investors buy land for development, causing many Masai to abandon their ancestral heritage and putting the ecosystem at risk.

How do the conservancies incentivize landowners to preserve the land?

The conservancies incentivize landowners by offering them a monthly payment in return for leasing their land to the Masai Conservancy, which helps preserve their territory and traditions.

What challenges do the Rangers face in their daily work?

Rangers face challenges such as natural disasters, lack of infrastructure, and the risk of losing their lives while protecting the ecosystem. They also struggle with basic tasks like charging equipment due to the lack of electricity.

Why are weather stations important in the Masai Mara?

Weather stations are crucial for ecosystem monitoring and making informed management decisions for conservation efforts. They help predict environmental changes and events to protect both the Masai people and wildlife.

How does the installation of solar grids and weather stations benefit the community?

The installation of solar grids and weather stations provides clean energy for Rangers' stations, powers weather stations and sensors, and enables the transmission of important field data. It also allows the community to generate income from carbon projects.

What is the goal of the fundraising mentioned in the script?

The goal of the fundraising is to raise $100,000 to install additional weather and power stations in the Masai Mara, which will enhance the Rangers' ability to protect wildlife and generate income through carbon credits.

How does the project support the families of Rangers who lost their lives?

The project supports the families of fallen Rangers by donating funds to cover their living expenses for a year, providing financial relief and acknowledging the ultimate sacrifice made by the Rangers.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Preserving the Masai Mara's Harmony

The script introduces the Masai Mara in Kenya, a place where humans and animals coexist in harmony. It discusses the threat posed by human activities such as plastic pollution and habitat destruction, which endangers wildlife, including the endangered white rhino. The Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association, a group of local Masai people, is highlighted for their efforts to protect the area using traditional and modern techniques, including data science. The script also mentions the challenges faced by the community, such as the impact of climate change and natural disasters, which have led to habitat loss and even the tragic death of rangers. The importance of preserving the land for both the Masai people and the wildlife is emphasized.

05:01

💡 Empowering Conservation with Clean Energy

This paragraph discusses the collaboration between the Masai Mara conservancies and the organization 'Give Power' to provide clean energy to ranger stations. The initiative aims to improve ecosystem monitoring and management by powering weather stations and sensors, which are crucial for predicting environmental changes. The script outlines the potential for the conservancies to generate income through carbon credits, which could be sold to companies to offset their carbon footprint. The project's impact on the community is highlighted, including the provision of light and power to ranger stations, the expansion of protected areas, and the support for affected families following natural disasters. The script concludes with a call to action for donations to fund additional weather and power stations, emphasizing the collective effort needed to protect the Masai Mara's ecosystem.

Keywords

💡Masai Mara

The Masai Mara is a region in Kenya that is renowned for its exceptional population of game and its annual migration of zebra, wildebeest, and the Maasai lions. It is central to the video's theme as it highlights the efforts to conserve this unique ecosystem. The script mentions the Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association, which is a group of local Masai people working to protect the area using traditional and modern techniques.

💡Masai tribe

The Masai tribe is an ancient nomadic group native to East Africa, known for preserving their culture and way of living for centuries. In the video, the Masai tribe is depicted as integral to the conservation efforts in the Masai Mara, showcasing their traditional knowledge and practices in harmony with wildlife.

💡Conservation

Conservation refers to the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, wildlife, and ecosystems. The video emphasizes the conservation efforts in the Masai Mara, including combating poaching and habitat destruction, which are critical for maintaining biodiversity.

💡Poaching

Poaching is the illegal killing of wildlife, often for the trade of animal parts. The script discusses how the Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association has been successful in reducing poaching, which is a significant threat to the wildlife in the region.

💡Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction refers to the conversion or alteration of an environment to the point where it can no longer support the species that previously lived there. The video script highlights habitat destruction as a major threat to wildlife, particularly due to land division and development.

💡Climate change

Climate change is a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns, often attributed to human activities. In the video, climate change is identified as a pressing challenge, with natural disasters and weather events causing flooding and loss of life among the Rangers.

💡Weather stations

Weather stations are instruments used to measure various elements of the weather, which are essential for monitoring and managing ecosystems. The video discusses the installation of weather stations in the Masai Mara to predict environmental changes and protect the ecosystem.

💡Carbon credits

Carbon credits represent the right to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of another greenhouse gas. The video mentions that the Conservancy could sell carbon credits to companies, providing an additional source of income to support conservation efforts.

💡Give Power

Give Power is a long-term partner organization mentioned in the video that works on generating clean energy for the Rangers. They are instrumental in supplying energy to the ranger stations, which is crucial for lighting and powering weather stations.

💡Philanthropy

Philanthropy is the act of donating money or resources to support good causes. The video script includes an appeal for donations to support the conservation efforts in the Masai Mara, emphasizing the impact of philanthropy on the community and wildlife.

💡Ecosystem management

Ecosystem management involves the planning and implementation of activities to manage ecosystems sustainably. The video discusses how weather stations and clean energy are part of the infrastructure needed for effective ecosystem monitoring and management in the Masai Mara.

Highlights

The Masai Mara in Kenya is one of the few places where humans and animals live in complete harmony.

The Masai tribe, an ancient nomadic group, has preserved their culture and way of living for centuries.

Greed and human ignorance pose significant threats to the natural world and animal habitats.

1 million animals are at risk of extinction due to threats like plastic pollution.

The Masai Mara Wildlife Conserves Association is a local group dedicated to preserving the environment.

They use a combination of traditional methods and modern techniques like data science to combat poaching.

The Masai Mara faces pressing challenges that are not widely discussed.

Daniel and Darren returned to the Masai Mara to explore how to further assist the community.

They encountered an endangered white rhino, symbolizing the importance of the conservation efforts.

Rangers work tirelessly to protect endangered animals, often seeing them as their children.

Daniel, CEO of the Masai conserves, discusses the decline in wildlife numbers over the last 40 years.

Habitat destruction due to land division and private ownership has led to a loss of wildlife.

The Masai Conservancy incentivizes landowners to lease their land for conservation.

Natural disasters and climate change are significant threats to the Masai Mara.

The Conservancy is looking to install weather stations for ecosystem monitoring and management.

Lack of electricity at ranger bases is a challenge for basic tasks and weather station operation.

Give Power, a long-term partner, is supplying clean energy to ranger stations to power weather stations.

The Conservancy aims to sell carbon credits to companies, allowing for expansion and protection of the Masai Mara.

Additional weather and power stations are needed, with a fundraising goal of $100,000.

Beast Philanthropy will donate enough money to cover the living expenses of families who lost loved ones in floods.

The project aims to protect wildlife, support the Masai people's traditional lifestyle, and ensure a sustainable future.

Transcripts

there are only a handful of places left

on Earth where humans and animals live

in complete

Harmony in the heart of Africa in Kenya

lies the Masai

[Music]

Mara I came here one year ago while

Building 100 Wells throughout Africa

where I met the Masai tribe an ancient

nomadic group that have preserved their

culture and way of living for

centuries but just like we see an other

places across the globe greed and human

ignorance pose the biggest threat to the

Natural

World animals find their habitat

threatened by human activities plastic

has reached every corner of the globe

this threatens everyone 1 million

animals around the world are now at risk

of

[Music]

Extinction but there is a glimmer of

hope this is the Masai Mara Wildlife

conserves association a group of local

Masai people that are doing everything

they can to preserve what's left through

a combination of traditional methods and

modern-day techniques like data science

and Analysis riding poaching almost

entirely and protecting the remaining

natural resources but there are now more

pressing challenges being faced that

nobody is talking about so Dan and

Darren went back to the Masai Mara to

see how we can further help this

community and not far from the campsite

Dan and Darren came across something

extraordinary

[Music]

oh my this is Elizabeth one of the

endangered white rhinos the Rangers

protect what a beautiful animal it's

unbelievable like it the power you can

like feel it 27 years you've been with

these animals yeah so they're like

children to you yes these Rangers work

day and night to ensure the protection

of these endangered animals and because

they are all local Messi people they

have a deeper understanding of of who

they are as Shepherds of the wildlife

when we arrived at the campsite we met

with Daniel the CEO of the Masai

conserves to find out what other

challenges they are facing if you look

at the last 40 years scientific

information shows a decline of wildlife

numbers and nearly 40% of the wildlife

have been lost and this was as a result

of habitat destructions in particular

the downfall in the mara all started 60

years ago when the land was divided and

given to the Masai people for private

ownership this led to investors buying

the land for development and

exploitation of resources many Masai had

no choice but to accept the money

abandoning their ancestral heritage and

putting the habitat that millions of

masi and animals rely on at risk of

being destroyed to combat this problem

the conservancies came up with a plan to

incentivize land owners to lease their

land to the Masai Conservancy in return

for a monthly payment so that they could

preserve their territory and

traditions this idea of conserv

is just strengthening our relationship

with wildli and nature that those people

who are considered as custodians of wild

animals are now benefiting in the last

18 years more than 24 conservancies have

been formed in the Masai Mara allowing

for the Masai tribe and Wildlife to

flourish together but Tarn the lead

project manager for the Conservancy told

us that natural disasters and weather

events like climate change have proven

to be the biggest problem that the m

side now faces sadly we've had some

really unexpected weather events we've

had massive flooding events we've lost

property in the form of Tourism camps

and more importantly we've lost lives

from some of the Rangers who work out

here to protect this this valuable

ecosystem we've seen quite devastating

uh floods they're coming back from their

normal patrols they found that water

level has risen in the river so they

were actually trying to cross the

vehicles was toppled over by the uh

strong currents of the water and out of

the seven Rangers two Rangers lost their

lives they lost their lives in the line

of duty protecting our precious natural

resources we're trying to find a way to

support the affected families both

Rangers had large families who they

provided for on a daily basis and their

tragic death has now left the families

without a source of income hopefully in

the future we can have an alert system

to avoid these sorts of tragedies ever

happening again one way the

conservancies are looking to combat this

problem is through the installation of

weather stations weather stations are

crucial for doing the ecosystem

monitoring work and ultimately being

able to make informed ecosystem

management decisions that go into the

conservation effort here another

struggle is the complete lack of

electricity at the range of Base camps

which makes basic tasks like charging a

flashlight and powering the current

weather stations extremely difficult

this all goes in to form the backbone

infrastructure that these Rangers need

to be able to do effective ecosystem

monitoring and ecosystem management work

and that's been a big shift in how

conservation has worked in this

landscape over the past 20 years it

feels like we're at an inflection point

in time right now and if we don't do

something about this it may be lost

forever we want to do everything we can

to make a long lasting impact on the

conservation in the Masai Mara so Darren

met up with Michelle the president from

our long-term Partners give power they

have been working with the conserves in

generating clean energy for the Rangers

give power will be supplying the whole

ranger station with clean energy to give

light at night and most importantly

power the weather stations and sensors

to predict environmental changes and

events to protect the Masai people and

furthermore expand the protected Masai

Mara areas so I got very excited about

the opportunity to bring power to some

of these ranger stations we also got the

opportunity to create a digital

connection to be able to transmit

important information that they gather

in the field to A system that would

allow us to start creating carbon

credits carbon credits are bought by

companies to offset their carbon

footprint and allows them to release a

certain amount of greenhouse gases if

the Conservancy gets additional weather

stations they will be able to sell the

carbon credits to companies that need it

in order to continually expand and

protect the Masai Mara in addition to

the seven weather stations and solar

grids that we installed Darren is just

about to surprise Daniel with even more

Daniel we we're going to pay for five

more weather

stations have no words to express

gratitude and the mara community on I'm

speaking on their behalf thousands and

thousands of those landowners who are

not here they are going to be very very

happy

[Music]

thanks to all the work that has been

done on this project this will make it

possible for the Rangers to be well

equipped for their fight to protect the

wildlife the conservancies will also be

able to generate their own income from

the carbon projects allowing for enough

funds to lease out more lands that will

provide larger areas for the Wildlife to

thrive as well as offer the messai

people the opportunity to live as they

have done for centuries we also ensuring

that the new generations will have to

continue on what we have started because

it is also actually changing their

livelihoods it is actually providing

income to thousands and thousands of

households it's a blessing to us even

after our donation and Daniel's immense

gratitude for this to all become a

reality the Masai Mara still needs an

additional five weather and power

stations which totals to the amount of

$100,000 and that is where we need your

help so please click the Donate button

below every single dollar makes a

difference

before Dan and Darren left they went to

visit the families that lost husbands

and fathers in the massive flooding

Daniel then explained that Beast

philanthropy will be donating enough

money to cover their living expenses for

an entire year lifting this massive

financial burden off their

shoulders the Rangers paid the ultimate

sacrifice to protect and preserve this

land it's extremely important that we

all do what we can to support the

organizations making a massive change in

the mara we have a short opportunity to

take action and do something about it

before it's too late it's thanks to all

of you watching and donating that we can

do projects like this with organizations

that are protecting our planet and its

nature so again please click the

donation button so that we can hit our

goal of

$100,000 to complete this project