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26.
April
2016.
Elephants for Africa charity launches new conservation website

PRESS RELEASE

 

CONSERVATION CHARITY ELEPHANTS FOR AFRICA LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE SHOWCASING THEIR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN BOTSWANA

 

Elephants for Africa, the conservation charity based in Botswana, has launched a new website to showcase the charity's conservation work which is being developed through research and education with the local communities in Botswana. The website has been designed using the charity's original images from their study site in the Makgadikgadi & Pans National Park in Botswana.

The website is reached here:www.elephantsforafrica.org

Elephants for Africa was founded by Dr Kate Evans in 2007. Kate started the charity having had a lifelong passion for elephants. In 2002, she set up a long-term research project on elephants in northern Botswana with the support of Randall Moore, the Botswana Government and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which was the basis of her PhD on adolescent male elephant behaviour.


Kate is a research associate of the
University of Bristol, and a member of theIUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group , theSouth African Wildlife Management Association and the Zoological Society of Southern Africa.

She says: ‘The Elephants for Africa team works so hard to make a case for these magnificent beasts and those in camp have a real commitment to their research and fieldwork. We're delighted to be able to showcase what we do on our new website, which will hopefully alert more people to the conservation, research and educational work we do.

‘Conducting research on African elephants is vital to their conservation, since it helps us to understand their behaviour, resource requirements and responses to changing environmental conditions. 

Elephants for Africa is dedicated to the conservation of elephants and other wildlife in their natural ecosystems.

‘We are very proud of the work we do with the communities in Botswana. Elephants for Africa aims to inspire people to be the conservation leaders of the future.

‘Our education program, a long-term collaboration between Elephants for Africa, Chicago Zoological Society and local stakeholders, seeks to improve the long-term survival of elephants and the quality of life of local communities by creating capacity-building opportunities for local youth leading to increased employment into the wildlife sector. In addition we aim to increase local communities' ability to manage human-elephant conflict and realize the potential of elephants as a crucial natural resource. 

‘Engaging children in their wildlife provides a sustainable approach to change Botswana youths' attitudes about elephants and wildlife. Elephants for Africa is empowering local stakeholders with knowledge of mitigation techniques, enabling communities to work towards decreasing conflict and increasing crop production.

‘Our work with the children also extends to our dedicated EleFun programme. The aim of the Elephants for Africa EleFun activities is to take local children out into their surrounding environment to observe their wildlife and learn key skills for future employment within the environmental sector, such as tracking, observation and identification. We hope to help them make informed decisions about wildlife, introduce them to positive role models in conservation and to broaden their horizons for new opportunities and future careers.'

All photographs on the website were taken or donated by Dr Kate Evans, project manager Dr Jess Isden, Steven Stockhall and James Stevens.

-Ends-

For further information on the website, for images, or interviews, please contactclaire@elephantsforafrica.org

Website -www.elephantsforafrica.org