A new generation of African conservation filmmakers for African biodiversity conservation

Purpose

To make 300+ short (5-25 minute) films that link biodiversity conservation to sustainable livelihoods of local communities on issues which are also embedded in the national curricula, in digital laboratories in two pilot countries; to disseminate these films through a regional network of existing Education Centres in each country; to evaluate the effectiveness of these films at primary/secondary school, college/university & wider community and to share the best practices globally.

Highlights

CBCF started in October 2007, and had trained its first filmmakers - 3 Tanzanian and 3 Kenyan - by the end of that year. Now (October 2009) the training is entirely run by Kenyans, and over 75 young people from both countries have been trained and over 100 short films highlighting current issues in biodiversity conservation and livelihoods have been made. We have strong partnerships with conservation bodies such as Nature Kenya and WCST (the two national partners of Birdlife International) and ALIN the Arid Lands Information Network. We make films for and with them about major issues, such as the current threats to the Tana Delta (Kenya) and Lake Natron (Tanzania).

Our films have been shown on both Kenyan and Tanzanian television.

Project Achievements 2008-9

Over 75 young conservationists have been trained in filmmaking in seven film-making workshops at field camps in East Africa – Olkiramatian (Kenya’s South Rift), Mkuru (in the shadow of Tanzania’s Mt Meru), Lake Bogoria and Lake Naivasha (two lakes in Kenya’s Rift Valley; each twice). The training pattern is for two weeks intensive fieldwork teaching the principals of camera work and digital editing, using Final Cut Pro on Apple Macintosh laptops, to be followed a few weeks later by an intensive further week’s classroom editing. All the 2008 trainees were given a further week of intensive training in storytelling/ script writing, which will be repeated later in 2009.

Training was undertaken variously by Ben Please, Erin Moore, Sandy Watt, Sarah Matthews, Camilla Turner, Adrian Seymour and Helene Ganichaud.

These young European and American professionals also mentored selected trainees to become trainers themselves, thus enabling all continued training to be done by locals. Kenya trainers are Jackson Komen, Elsie Kariuki, Elija Chege, Mary Mwendwa, Grace Mwaura and Mary Mbenge. Training the second half of 2009 will be done by Tanzanians. In the process we/they have produced seven Film Series about biodiversity conservation and livelihoods in the training locations.

Project Future 2009-10

The seven Film Series completed as part of our training camps and now being prepared for distribution are as follows:-

• Maasai Pride (the remarkable conservation progress made in Kenya’s South Rift Valley);
• Camels & Communities (livelihood & wildlife issues for Tanzania’s Mt Meru communities);
• Bogoria Livelihoods (issues of sustainability for communities around Lake Bogoria);
• Naivasha’s Challenges (tackling the problems of Lake Naivasha as a result of the global agricultural industry dependent upon its water and the people attracted to jobs there);
• Soda Lake Safari (understanding the links between Kenya and Tanzania for flamingo lives);
• Communities & Climate Change (how communities around Lake Naivasha are dealing with adaptation to climate change).

A second set of five Film Series are being made by individual trainees, expected completion August 2009, from a combination of donated and new footage. Working titles are:-

• Coastal Communities for Conservation (conservation & livelihood issues among fisherfolk on Kenya’s coast);
• Wananchi for Wetlands (the papyrus wetlands in western Kenya, their value to people as well as nature);
• Forest Futures (opportunities for forest conservation under new community-based management);
• Green Queens (the lives of prominent Kenyan women past and present);
• Bees and Trees (the value of bees and honey to conservation and livelihoods).

Trainees have also made films addressing controversial issues in East Africa - Tana Delta and Lake Natron development plans, for example. We have built up a library of films from these and from donated material. We are now in the process of connecting with NGOs/government organisations concerned with conservation and development education to establish distribution channels for these Film Series. We are networking with over 40 Education Centers in East Africa to make CBCF films widely available to schools and communities through their existing avenues.