Lewa head of anti poaching wins Tusk award

A Kenyan ranger from a conservancy in Laikipia has won the inaugural Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award by Prince William for his war against poaching.

The head of anti-poaching unit at Lewa and the Northern Rangelands Trust, Mr Edward Ndiritu,
received the prize from His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge in London last week.

Mr Ndiritu said that he would like to thank his team back at Lewa and the Northern Rangelands
Trust for this award. Were it not for them and their bravery, he said he would not be standing
there today.

In 2014, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust brought their anti-
poaching operations under a centralised command.

This has enabled more effective responses to incidents and better sharing of intelligence and
it has also allowed community conservancies to benefit from Lewa's anti-poaching resources.

Glad to see Kenya is making concerted efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching these days. The formation of the Community Conservancies in the Northern Rangelands has been a huge step forward in empowering local people to look after their national resources.