Wildlife rangers, standing up to poachers and safeguarding species, are always worthy of our cheers and at the London Marathon this year is Edward Ndiritu, a Kenyan ranger and the first ever winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award, presented in 2015 by the conservation charity.
While the race offers a beacon of hope and solidarity by bringing together people from all walks of life across the globe to support great causes, for Edward this is a key moment to raise crucial funds aimed at improving the welfare of his team of rangers.
The profession is one of the world’s most challenging and dangerous. Both men and women work in hugely hazardous environments with little or no safeguarding. Survey figures reveal the difficulties they have contend with: 88 per cent of rangers Africa have faced a life-threatening situation and 40 per cent have no health insurance protection. Half have no life insurance either and 60 per cent no long-term disability cover.
As head of the anti-poaching team at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, Edward plays a crucial role in wildlife conservation and development in the region by running the massive landscape’s security strategy.
His work protects the survival of species such as migratory elephants, black rhinos and white rhinos through reducing and eliminating poaching, which in turn improves the safety of people of northern Kenya.
But poaching still remains a massive threat. The protection that wildlife rangers give to areas such as Lewa are fundamental to achieving climate change mitigation targets, safeguarding biodiversity and supporting sustainable development goals. Yet there are only 286,000 of the 1.5m rangers needed to meet the globally-set protection target of 30 per cent of the planet by 2030.
Through Edward’s marathon effort, he aims to raise awareness of the vital work and raise funds to support those working in protected areas. Thanks to Lewa’s partners at African conservation charity Tusk and with the support of donations, Edward and his team will continue to work on the frontline of conservation, ensuring a lasting legacy for future generations to come. To donate visit: https://londonmarathon2024.tuskgiving.org/campaigns/Edward-Ndiritu
