Mongabay.com, a leading online source for environmental news, recently interviewed Shivani about Ewaso Lions and the conservation status of Kenya’s lions. Click here to read the article or use the link below.
Here is an excerpt:
Mongabay: How do you convince local communities to see lions as assets and not dangerous pests?
Shivani Bhalla: I realized during my years of working within this human-dominated landscape, that local people would not care about the wildlife they live with unless their livelihoods are protected and they realize the value of wildlife to the ecosystems and economic health of their areas. Therefore, I’ve always valued the importance of combining conservation with development activities, such as spreading awareness, capacity building through training, providing jobs and education, and providing communities with the tools to protect their livestock and alleviate human-wildlife conflict, in order to achieve lasting, long-term solutions to the problems wildlife and people face in this area.
Samburu’s lions: how the big cats could make a comeback in Kenya
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0930-hance-wcn-ewaso-lions.html