Global March for Elephants,Rhinos & Endangered Species 2019 Dates & Venues

The 2019 Global March for Rhinos, Lions, Elephants and other endangered species took place in Nairobi, Kenya; on 13th April 2019 flagging off at the National Museums of Kenya with the end point being The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) headquarters in Langata. The march's mandate entailed the creation of awareness on the rapid declining Wildlife populations through poaching and Anthropological activities.

Kenya was identified as the most implicated in elephant poaching and illegal ivory trafficking and trade among other countries  considered as the Gang of 8 .Three of the countries are African where ivory is sourced: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Three are considered transit states: Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. In regards to this issue and the implementation of sdg #15, The WildlifeDirect, Stand Up Shout Out, Kenya Wildlife Service and other stakeholders organized a global march to further mobilize the youth and create awareness on wildlife conservation.

Global March for Elephants,Rhinos & Endangered Species 2019| CITES

The 2019 Global March for Rhinos, Lions, Elephants and other endangered species was focused on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) policy implementation where it seeks to prioritize the tabling of ivory trade ban by lobbying for the Elephant & Rhino poaching as Appendix 1 and 2 to ensure serious deliberations on closure of the market trade in the upcoming CITES convention slated for 18th May 2018 in Colombo, Sri Lanka; using the hashtag #NoMarketNoTrade.

Kenya National Ivory Action Plan

The plight of the Kenyan Wildlife is looking bright however as conservation features that were put in place courtesy of the Kenyan National Ivory Action Plan in 2013 have successfully been implemented. This consecutively led to Kenya being removed from the list of countries with a global concern on Wildlife trafficking by the Conference of Parties at the 2018 CITES Convention in Sochi, Russian Federation confirming that the menace of wildlife poaching is being severely addressed.

Director General, KWS | Brig. (Rtd) John M. Waweru

On April 13 2019 during the global March ceremony at KWS Headquarters in Nairobi; Brig. (Rtd) John M. Waweru; Director General, KWS was quick to confirm that the decline of Elephants emanates from poaching at industrial scale with the poachers use of sophisticated technology such as Night visions, helicopters and automatic weapons making it harder to fight the cause. Additionally, he added that China; the largest Ivory trading market passed a bill to ban ivory trade in the country, which counts as a big step in fighting wildlife poaching.

WildlifeDirect | Dr. Paula Kahumbu

Dr. Paula Kahumbu; CEO WildlifeDirect urged the ministry to provide avenues for internship and job opportunities for the youth interested in Wildlife conservancy, research and implementation of policies to ensure SDG #15 is achieved.

Stand Up Shout Out | Mr. Peter Moll

Mr. Peter Moll ; Chairman Stand Up Shout Out thanked all the parties present for making the march successful ; mobilizing the youth on prioritization of ivory market ban by ensuring Rhinos and elephants top the list on Wildlife conservation talks in the upcoming CITES conference to Appendix 1 and 2 respectively.

CS Tourism & Wildlife|Hon. Najib Balala

Hon. Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for  Tourism & Wildlife ministry was the Chief Guest of Honor at the 2019 Global March. He confirmed the re-introduction of Mabingwa Youth; a platform for youth inclusion on matters pertaining to Wildlife and environment conservation in a bid to actualize SDG #17. Additionally, The CS proposed stringent measures to curb Ivory transportation at the boarders and even tighter repercussions for wildlife traffickers; confirming the bill passed where Wildlife poachers in Kenya will face a death penalty.
'Out of the 90,000 Giraffe population in the world; 30,000 giraffes are found in Kenya and it is our right to ensure that they are conserved as they are our heritage" he remarked.
The March takes place every year; covering approximately 12 Kilometers with the starting point being National Museums of Kenya to the ending point being KWS Langata.

Global March Partners

This year, the march hosted approximately 3000 conservationists and involved stakeholders such as KWS, National Museums of Kenya, WildlifeDirect,Srand Up Shout Out, Safarilink, Wildlife Works, African Wildlife, KWAL, Lewa Conservancy, Mara, EIA, IFAW, Grevys Zebra, African Conservation Centre, Born Free,Save The Elephants amongst others.