African Wildlife Foundation

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), headquartered in Washington, DC, was established in 1961 to promote the protection of the animals native to Africa. The group maintains offices in both Washington, DC, and Nairobi, Kenya. The African headquarters promotes the idea that Africans themselves are best able to protect the wildlife of their continent. AWF also established two colleges of wildlife management in Africa (Tanzania and Cameroon), so that rangers and park and reserve wardens can be professionally trained. Conservation education, especially as it relates to African wildlife, has always been a major AWF goal—in fact, it has been the association's primary focus since its inception.

AWF carries out its mandate to protect Africa's wildlife through a wide range of projects and activities. Since 1961, AWF has provided a radio communication network in Africa, as well as several airplanes and jeeps for anti-poaching patrols. These were instrumental in facilitating the work of Dr. Richard Leakey in the Tsavo National Park, Kenya. In 1999, the African Hearlands project was set up and to try to connect large areas of wild land which is home to wild animals. They also attempt to involve people who live adjacent to protected wildlife areas by asking them to take joint responsibility for natural resources . The program demonstrates that land conservation and the needs of neighboring people and their livestock can be balanced, and the benefits shared. Currently there are four heartland areas: Maasai Steppe, Kilimanjaro, Virunga, and Samburu.

Another highly successful AWF program is the Elephant Awareness Campaign. Its slogan, "Only Elephants Should Wear Ivory," has become extremely popular, both in Africa and in the United States, and is largely responsible for bringing the plight of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana ) to public awareness.

Although AWF is concerned with all the wildlife of Africa, in recent years the group has focused on saving African elephants, black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis ), and mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla berengei ). These species are seriously endangered, and are benefiting from AWF's Critical Habitats and Species Program, which works to aid these and other animals in critical danger.

From its inception, AWF has supported education centers, wildlife clubs, national parks , and reserves. There is even a course at the College of African Wildlife Management in Tanzania that allows students to learn community conservation activities and helps park officials learn to work with residents living adjacent to protected areas. AWF also involves teachers in its endeavors with a series of publications, Let's Conserve Our Wildlife. Written in Swahili, the series includes teacher's guides and has been used in both elementary schools and adult literacy classes in African villages. AWF also publishes the quarterly magazine Wildlife News.

[Cathy M. Falk ]

RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS

African Wildlife Foundation., 1400 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC USA 20036 (202) 939-3333, Fax: (202) 939-3332, Email: [email protected], <http://www.awf.org>