Localized Conservation Efforts

Moreangels Mbizah gave a keynote discussing the need for community-led conservation efforts. Mbizah is the founder of Wildlife Conservation Action, which advocates for the conservation of biodiversity, and also for the coexistence of humans and wildlife.

Moreangels Mbizah opens her keynote by sharing her personal reaction to when Cecil the lion was killed by a trophy hunter. Mbizah outlines how she was heartbroken as she had become attached to the lion, however the death of Cecil shed a global spotlight on the importance of conservation.

The death of Cecil brought her to question if the lion would have been killed had the community been invested in conservation efforts. Mbizah states how many of the people involved in conservation efforts are not from the region, however, local communities also hold the most power to protect wildlife.

Moreangels Mbizah continues to state the importance of local communities interacting with wildlife. She states that if local communities are not involved in conservation, then outside intervention will not solve the issue, irrespective of scale or resources.

Mbizah concludes her keynote by stating that community-led conservation efforts should work to educate and involve people.