Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Kia Ora
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and that there are some features you can't use or read.

We are an active community of worldwide senior members participating in chat, politics, travel, health, blogging, graphics, computer issues & help, book club, literature & poetry, finance discussions, recipe exchange and much more. Also, as a member you will be able to access member only sections, many features, send personal messages, make new friends, etc.

Registration is simple, fast and completely free. Why not register today and become a part of the group. Registration button at the very top left of the page.

Thank you for stopping by.

Join our community!

In case of difficulty, email worldwideseniors.org@gmail.com.
If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Sir Richard Branson Helps Build 'Elephant Corridor
Topic Started: Jun 5 2007, 11:04 PM (62 Views)
Deleted User
Deleted User

Sir Richard Branson Helps Build 'Elephant Corridor' in Kenya
(Published 2 Jun 07)

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, today announced that Virgin would help to create a vital new elephant corridor, north of Mount Kenya, which would provide a lifeline for local communities and the dwindling elephant population in the region.

Around 2,000 elephants, part of the Laikipia-Samburu elephant population, will benefit from the Virgin Mount Kenya Elephant Corridor, which will cost up to $1million dollars to build and maintain over the next ten years.

Sir Richard is donating $250,000 to the project. It will be created between the Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve and the Mount Kenya National Reserve, enabling elephants to benefit from the diverse resources offered by each habitat. Mount Kenya is a World Heritage site and one of the most impressive landscapes in Eastern Africa.

Sir Richard made the announcement as he arrived in Kenya to launch Virgin Atlantic’s new daily service between London Heathrow and the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, commented:

“Historically, the African elephant has roamed across the continent from South Africa to the Mediterranean coast but its population is under serious threat. We need to build safe elephant corridors to protect the species, as well as the villages, people and crops around them, and our wider environment. All of us at Virgin are pleased that we can create a vital lifeline for the entire animal and human population in the region.”

Levi Wendo, the Chairman of the Bill Woodley Mount Kenya Trust, added:

“This is probably the last realistic opportunity we have to link the two major ecosystems in the region and enable the elephants to use their historic access routes, while at the same time reducing human/elephant conflict. The corridor will help prevent the damage that elephants can do to crop fields that are vital to livelihoods in the area and I am so pleased we can now proceed with this project to benefit the Mount Kenya region.”

The Mount Kenya National Reserve is surrounded by a growing farming population and farmland, which over time has cut off the historical elephant access routes. Elephants have either been contained within the Reserve or forced to move out in search of mineral salts to supplement their diet. This not only presents a threat to the elephant population and its habitat but has also increased human/elephant conflict in the region.

Therefore the corridor is needed to prevent elephants from killing and injuring people and livestock, where there have been growing numbers of deaths in recent years, and from damaging crops and trampling through villages. A corridor would also protect conservation in the region, and cut down incidents such as poaching, logging, charcoal burning and illegal livestock grazing.

http://www.v-flyer.com/pages.asp?click=206&pageid=206
Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
Learn More · Sign-up for Free
« Previous Topic · Pets & Wildlife · Next Topic »
Add Reply