It's all happening. . .An excellent initiative in the Maasai Mara:
"The Mara Conservancy, a not-for-profit conservation management company based in the Masai Mara, has launched a new Responsible Wildlife Tourism Award, aimed at encouraging tourism best-practice in Kenya. Sponsored by international wildlife charity and long-time friend of Kenya, the Born Free Foundation, the award is aimed at protecting Kenya’s wildlife from the potential negative impacts of increasing visitor numbers in the region. . ."
Read the full story here, at TravelMole.com.
The award is being judged by Cheryl Mvula, who featured in the Observer recently, in a piece about the Maasai benefitting properly from tourism.
Photo: Mara Wildebeest © Irv Weissbart
This is one of the best if not the greatest initiative introduced by Tribal voice Communications with funding from the Born Free Foundation encouraging good practice with the aim to empower the guides to lok after there own natural resource and not lose this pristine ecosystem due to client pressure. Responsible guiding initiative is a brain child of TVC in collaboration with the Mara Conservancy and the Lodges in the area. Currently the Most Responsible Guide Award scheme is only practised in the Mara Triangle but there is tremendous scope to roll this out to other parts of beautiful Kenya. The winners of the award have had the opportunity to travel (all expenses covered)to Zambia's South Luangwa on a training safari experience shouldering some of Africas best guides. South Luangwa has probably the most comprehensive and best guide training regime in Africa where safari legends such as Norman Carr, Robin Pope, Manny Mvula, Phil Berry, John Coppinger, and the recent run up for the best guide award in the world Abraham Banda have set their unshakable legacy in mother Africa.
ReplyDelete