San Diego Zoo Global is honoring the work of one of the most prominent conservationists in Africa, Ian Craig, and his lifelong dedication to the fight against extinction. During an Aug. 3, 2017 ceremony with San Diego Zoo Global staff and close to 600 members and donors, Craig was presented with the San Diego Zoo Global 2017 Lifetime Achievement Medal, in celebration of his long-standing and far-reaching efforts to safeguard the iconic wildlife of Africa.
During the event, organizers shared Craig’s impressive legacy of conservation advocacy. Most of Ian Craig’s life has been spent in northern Kenya, where he and his father David Craig, along with conservationist Anna Merz, converted thousands of acres of their family’s 62,000-acre cattle ranch into Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary in 1983, to protect endangered black rhinos. This was at the height of the rhino poaching crisis, and the sanctuary flourished when few others did.
Ian Craig and San Diego Zoo Global President/CEO Douglas G. Myers
Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo Global
By 1988, the sanctuary had doubled in size; and in 1995, it was renamed the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, with Ian Craig serving as executive director until 2009. The Conservancy has continued to actively promote conservation on its land, and in partnership with the people who live in the surrounding communities, to ensure that they share in the benefits of protecting endangered species. In 2004, Ian Craig headed the effort to form the Northern Rangelands Trust, which today supports more than 30 community-run wildlife conservancies in northern Kenya. Together, they encompass an area larger than all of the national parks and preserves in Kenya combined.
I love the impact that we, as partners with San Diego Zoo Global, are having, on the ground,” said Ian Craig. “We’re opening up new ground for wildlife, and wildlife is safe in spaces where it was previously exterminated. We’re really changing the future for wildlife on a scale that excites me.”
Global recognition also came to Ian Craig in 2013, when UNESCO extended the boundaries of the Mount Kenya World Heritage Site to include Lewa and the Ngare Ndare Forest. UNESCO called it “a true testament of the hard work and dedication to all who have helped build Lewa into the Conservancy that it is today—a global model for protected area management and a catalyst for conservation.” More recognition came in 2016, when Ian Craig was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to conservation and security to communities in Kenya.”
Since 1966, the Conservation Medal awards program has recognized world leaders and organizations who share San Diego Zoo Global’s vision to end extinction. The recipients exhibit active and important contributions to the conservation and recovery of endangered species, habitats or ecosystems through applied research, breeding and reintroduction programs, community education or the establishment of protected areas.
ABOUT NORTHERN RANGELANDS TRUST
Established in 2004, NRT’s mission is to develop resilient community conservancies that transform people’s lives, secure peace and conserve natural resources. The 33 member conservancies cover over 44,000 square kilometers of northern and coastal Kenya. With support from San Diego Zoo Global, USAID, The Nature Conservancy, DANIDA and AFD, NRT is empowering communities to develop locally led governance structures, run peace and security programs, take the lead in natural resource management and manage sustainable businesses linked to conservation. The community conservancies are starting to have a significant impact on building peace, improving lives and managing the rangelands, and their success has helped shape new government regulations on establishing, registering and managing community conservancies in Kenya.
ABOUT LEWA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is an award-winning catalyst and model for community conservation, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Green List of successful protected areas. Lewa is the heart of wildlife conservation, sustainable development and responsible tourism in northern Kenya, and its successful working model has provided the framework on which many conservation organizations in the region are based. The success of Lewa can be attributed the Lewa Standard, a set of guiding principles and ethos under which the conservancy is managed. This has enabled Lewa to maintain a flourishing habitat that supports tourism and conservation activities.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in children’s hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
