China’s Paradise Foundation Holds First Annual African Ranger Awards
Aug 7th, 2018 matthew vanschalkwyk 1183 Views
Awards honor 50 African rangers with financial grants for their service protecting wildlife
August 7, 2018, CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The Alibaba Foundation and The Paradise Foundation, a Chinese not-for-profit environmental conservation organization, today hold the first annual African Ranger Awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. The Awards recognize 50 wildlife rangers working in 17 African countries, and aim to raise global awareness about the need to conserve Africa’s wildlife and the critical role that front-line rangers play in conservation.
In addition to a selection of the award winners, the event is to be attended by Jack Ma, Paradise Foundation co-chair and Alibaba Group Executive Chairman; Erik Solheim, UN Environment Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs of the Republic of South Africa; and Songtian Lin, Chinese Ambassador to South Africa. Representatives of local and international NGOs and enterprises from China and Africa also took part.
The African Ranger Awards honor 50 frontline staff, awarding each ranger with a $3,000 grant. The honorees were selected from 146 nominations drawn from 21 African countries. Among the selected rangers, many have been injured or faced significant danger in confrontations with wildlife criminals. Five rangers who lost their lives in the course of their work were among the 50 award winners. Their families received their prize grants. Video Matthew van Schalkwyk/African News Agency/ANA