BEYOND TOURISM

How do you create sustainable conservation without relying on tourist dollars? A new pan-African competition hopes to provide the answers…

- Graeme Green

When I first visited Kenya, back in 2008, the national parks and reserves were empty – not of wildlife but of tourists. At Samburu, Nakuru, and the Maasai Mara National Reserve, there were barely any vehicles on the roads. I got to photograph lions, elephants, and other animals in what felt like a peaceful, untouched wilderness.

Africa’s wildlife areas aren’t always so uncrowded – we’ve all seen images of safari vans swarming around big-cat sightings. But, at that time, political unrest and violence, following Kenya’s contested 2007 election, had put off international travelers from visiting. What felt initially to me like good luck, to have these remarkable locations almost to myself, was clearly a disaster for Kenyans working at lodges and camps. With fewer tourists and less money, many were struggling to make a living.

Before COVID-19, wildlife tourism supported 21.8 million jobs worldwide, including 3.6 million across Africa, directly contributing US$29.3 billion (£22.2 billion) to Africa’s economy. Between 10 and 13 percent of Kenya’s GDP (gross domestic product) comes from tourism. But my first assignment in Africa was an insight into how precarious it can be to rely so heavily on international tourism to provide incomes or to fund conservation work.