Press Statement

I welcome the completion and launch of an 8.5 MW solar installation in Rwanda by Gigawatt Global. This is the first utility-scale solar project to come online under the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance (ACEF) program, which is now an integral part of Power Africa. The project expands electricity generation capacity by more than 6 percent in a country where more than 80 percent of the people live without access to electricity, and is providing enough grid-connected power to supply 15,000 homes.

Richard Branson: Rhino poaching can be crushed.

RICHARD BRANSON:  Africa’s rhinos are facing a real crisis.  In 2012, 660 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone.  Some lose their horns whilst still alive, only to later die from the wounds.

Rhino horn is used in traditional Asian medicine for a range of ailments.  In the past 40 years, rhino populations have declined 95 percent worldwide.

We faced a similar crisis in 1993 until international pressure and public awareness led to sales bans in Asia and reduced demand in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Up until 2008, rhino populations were recovering due to successful breeding programs in parks and private reserves.

In 2011, the Western Black rhino is declared extinct.

But Vietnam has emerged as a new market in addition to China, with its growing economy.  We need your help now, to raise awareness and reduce demand…

Over 80 % of Kenyan elephant are outside protected areas. Kenya wildlife service knows as KWS cannot effectively manage to conserve the said population due to its dynamic conservation challenges.

I have started this Community based elephant monitoring program working with the local communities and in particular youths. This program will replicate and work together with KWS with long term goals to reduce elephant poaching and some conservation challenges. For a long time our Kenyan rangeland used to hold elephants and other wildlife through landscape conservation model which have been replaced by individual parcels of land. It will be very difficulty so to say if we try to manage elephant without a strong community participatory and good will.

My 14 years experience in wildlife conservation and in particular with pastoralist, if we do not approach the wildlife conservation as an alternative source of livelihoods, other livelihoods such as farming…