Critical Partners in Conservation
African communities and cultures have historically existed in a sustainable way with their surrounding ecosystems. However, the dynamics of overpopulation, urbanization, globalization, etc., have created circumstances which now threaten these communities’ most valuable asset – their immediate environment. A lack of education and impoverished conditions that many communities find themselves in, puts conservation well down the list of priorities.
Rebuilding these communities and growing sustainable relationships between people and the environment has become our biggest challenge. Restoring a set of circumstances in which communities living closest to nature have a fundamental desire for care and custodianship, has become an urgent priority.
A global appreciation of the value of functioning ecosystems, which provide life’s essential services, is a concept for which the global community also needs to take responsibility for. Untangling the complicated web of destruction and restoring the web of life can best be done by the communities who live closest to these ecosystems. However, often a catalyst is required to break a cycle of destruction and, in most cases, this capacity to support positive change has to be sourced from a global community far away.
The critical question is: How can a global community, largely detached from daily realities in these local communities, help to create an enabling environment for people to improve their future prospects while living amongst healthy ecosystems?
Planet Rhino wishes to explore the existing socioeconomic challenges, identify key areas that require catalysts for positive change, and direct your assistance into those areas where we can make a difference to the prospects of the lives of people and animals. A fundamental principle here is to empower communities from within through upliftment.
