Alison M. Jones: NGOs:
African People and Wildlife Fund
Images and website content © Alison M. Jones. All rights reserved.
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INTRODUCTION TO APW
by Alison M. Jones
Born a Leo, I have been drawn to photographing lions for 22 years. My experience supporting Kenya’s Mara Conservancy taught me the value of community-based conservation. I have followed Laly Lichtenfeld’s work with the Maasai to help them accommodate the presence of lions in Tanzania. With great respect for her conservation philosophies and accomplishments with her African People and Wildlife Fund (APW) I asked her to be advisor to my No Water No Life project.
Below is her July 27, 2009 email describing the pressures on African lion populations and a brief on their “Living Fences” built to protect Maasai and their livestock from lions. Given the severity of the situation today with the use of Furudan to kill the lions, I ask you to consider helping. Several years ago, I created A Pride of Lions as a 4 x 6” booklet of 8 photos to help save Africa’s large carnivores, through conservation, research, development and education programs. I now feel the issue is so desparate that I am raising the price a bit and hoping we can help Laly and her team at APW continue to protect both the Maasai and the lions. Please support us!
ABOUT THE AFRICAN PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE FUND (APW)
Mission of APW: The African People & Wildlife Fund (APW) works to conserve Africa’s wildlife, protect their natural habitats, and to promote village development through innovative, multidisciplinary strategies that emphasize coexistence with the natural world.
From APW’s Director: “The future of these cats lies in our hands — their numbers are dwindling and habitats disappearing. Saving lions means reducing conflicts between people, livestock and the big cats, and helping local people derive benefits from their existence.” — Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld, director of African People & Wildlife Fund
NEWS UPDATES from APW
News from APW, July 27, 2009: “Following up on a story reporting the illegal use of the pesiticide Furadan for the poisoning of lions in Kenya, 60 Minutes producer Drew Magratten contacted APW’s Maasailand Lion Conservation Program to assess the use of the destructive chemical in Tanzania. Unfortunately, our team found Furadan readily available in Tanzania and widely known as an effective predator killer.” Read the full story.
From: Laly Lichtenfeld
Date: July 27, 2009
Dear Friend of APW,
This month has been tragic for both people and lions. Though horrible to conceive, three young children were recently killed by lions in the Maasai village of Loibor Siret after going missing for two days. Though the search party was large, the children were not found in time, falling victim to the lions during their second night alone in the bush.
It has been many years in Loibor Siret since anyone has been killed by a lion. However, over the last months, we have seen lion-livestock conflicts escalating in this area. Drought has played an important role as thousands of cattle are being moved into the area to access the Loibor Siret stream, some herders coming from as far away as Kenya.
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes reports that the illegal use of the pesticide Furadan for lion poisoning continues despite urgent requests to the company to stop distributing this product in East Africa. In Tanzania, APW found the pesticide readily available and well-known for its potency in killing lions. View the full report. APW’s Maasailand Lion Conservation Program is also featured on their web page.
Despite these tragedies, preventing conflicts with lions is possible. APW’s Living Walls project is an important example of how people, cattle and lions can all be kept safe. The cost to enclose a family’s livestock corral with a Living Wall is $500.00. Please read the brief APW paper attached that describes how our unique enclosures can eliminate lion attacks on livestock or visit our website at afrpw.org.
With many thanks for your continued interest and support,
Laly Lichtenfeld
AFRICAN LION PHOTOS
See images of these majestic predators of the East African plains taken by Alison during her 25 years of photographing in East Africa. Sadly during this time, the lion population has shrunk from over 200,000 to 30,000 — and the losses continue. How soon before they lose a critical number to survive as a species? And what will the effects of the loss of this keystone predator be on the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem?
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