AWF reflects on 60 years of conservation

THE Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards showcase and gala reception at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare honour AWF’s rich history in conservation.

Guests gathered at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Harare on Tuesday amidst breath-taking photography displays in honour of African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)’s 60th anniversary celebrations and the Zimbabwe premiere of the Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition ceremony.

e exhibition, which showcases photographs of Africa’s diverse ecosystems and aims to engage creatives and encourage young Africans to become advocates for conservation and sustainable development, is currently running at the NGZ and will be going around the world, having been in Nairobi, London and California.

Next stop is Tanzania on July 1 and then it will be displayed in parallel with the first African parks congress dubbed African Protected Areas Congress – running from the July 18 to 23 in Kigali, Rwanda – where the continent is expected to convene and decide the future of its parks and natural reserves.

AWF is the largest non-governmental organisation that is focused entirely on conservation of wildlife and wild lands in Africa.

Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the event, AWF vice-president (species, conservation and science) Philip Muruthi said: “Our key aim is to make sure that wildlife is central to the sustainable development of our continent. We don’t make a distinction between wildlife conservation and development, they have to go together. If any country or community says they are going to do conservation or do development separately from conservation or conservation separately from development they will be making a mistake.”

Two years ago the organisation as a way of self-retrospection drew up a strategic vision that has key goals to be achieved in the next 10 years such as making sure that conservation is led by Africans.

AWF has been in the country since the 1990s working closely with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks).

In a keynote speech delivered by permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Simangaliso Ndlovu said the exhibition has the ability to inspire the people of Zimbabwe to pursue and explore careers in conservation and stimulate a culture of conservation among local communities. AWF Zimbabwe country director Olivia Mufute, in a speech read on her behalf by AWF Zimbabwe program manager Simon Muchatibaya, said: “is gala and photo exhibition provides us an opportunity to look back at the progress that AWF has made in the past 60 years, not just in Zimbabwe but across Africa. We are using the competition to celebrate people who work tirelessly to conserve wildlife and those whose lives are positively and negatively impacted by the reality of living with ‘wildlife in their backyards”.

Complementing the work of photographers who have their snapshots as part of the exhibition the Benjamin Mkapa photography exhibition is juxtaposed by a number of artefacts that were put together last year as an exhibition titled Africa Speaks which, according to NGZ executive director Raphael Chikukwa, was meant to celebrate and communicate the ideas of repatriation of African artefacts.

“Some of the artefacts express how wildlife co-exists with the objects on display,” he said.

Entries for the 2022 edition of the competition have been closed until next year. e exhibition will be on display in Harare until June 30 after which it will also be displayed in Arusha, Tanzania.