Zambian Climate Trailblazer Wows the Crowd in Palo Alto

On September 21, visitors of all ages gathered at the Foster, a Palo Alto art gallery dedicated to the nature landscapes of artist Tony Foster, to hear Hammerskjoeld “Hammer” Simwinga, a renowned Zambian environmentalist, speak about his efforts to preserve wilderness in Africa.

This Climate Change Trailblazer event was hosted by the local nonprofit OliveSeed Foundation, whose mission is to support community-led initiatives through the love of literacy and the natural world. It was co-sponsored by Goldman Environmental Prize, Palo Alto Junior Museum,  and Tikva Grassroots Empowerment Fund.

Who is Hammer Simwinga?

Trained as an agricultural economist by the Zambian government, Simwinga earned national recognition for his success in reducing poaching by helping indigenous low-income households develop alternative means of livelihood. In 2007, he won the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work and has been honored as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and a Time Magazine Hero of the Environment.

Simwinga is currently the Executive Chairperson of the Foundation for Wildlife and Habitat Conservation in Mpika, Zambia and planted the seeds for what is now Zambia’s first community-managed nature conservancy, Mukungule Community Nature Conservancy.

He was most recently recognized as one of the twenty-two Climate Trailblazers invited by Governor Brown to attend the Global Action Climate Summit in San Francisco for his work in agroforestry, conserving wildlife, protecting the climate, and providing sustainable livelihoods in Africa.

An insightful look at local and international conservation

The event also featured John Aikin, the Executive Director of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and former Director of Conservation for the San Francisco Zoological Society. Aikin gave a short look at conservation efforts in the United States over the past few decades, focusing on preserving species such as oysters, bison, bald eagles, egrets and mountain lions.

Aiken then turned the microphone over to Simwinga for a conversation about the Mukungule Community Nature Conservancy,  which works with indigenous communities to protect wildlife without government intervention. Unlike National Parks, Simwinga explained how this unique conservation effort honors both indigenous culture and Zambian wildlife by engaging local villages, training women to be involved in effort, building new libraries and investing in programs  to store environmental data.

Perhaps most importantly, the Mukugule Community Nature Conservancy wants to offer a viable economic alternative to poaching by training and employing young people in the effort to preserve nature. 

5 big takeaways 

• “The small saplings shall grow into the forest.” Referring to this traditional African idiom, Simwinga argued that youth are the guardians of all natural and cultural heritage. His advice? Communities must make conservation more attractive, “not only as a course, but a career option.” In Zambia, currently, the government is planning to send Zambian Forest College students to the Mukungule Conservancy annually to learn and protect a unique blend of scientific and traditional wildlife protection.
• Empathy – and economic opportunity- are critical: Instead of simply criminalizing poachers, it is crucial to provide them alternative means of living. Using free small machines to press seeds into cooking oil, indigenous communities are able to generate income and can refuse commercial traders who once traded such machines for bushmeat and ivory. Encouraging community-based agriculture–of beans, groundnuts, sunflowers–and growing chicken has reduced the need for hunting among low-income communities. By promoting the co-existence of nature and humans–instead of running thousands off their land to create national parks–conservation becomes a sustainable way to support both communities and wildlife.
• Conservation needs a plan: Simwinga recognized that, “Land in Africa is volatile without a plan.” Creating management plans with community members in the Mukungule Conservancy has helped decrease the poaching and reckless land development, as now indigenous members can ensure that outside commercial poachers and businesses comply with local conservation benchmarks and protect indigenous culture.
• Making progress on climate change is challenging, but worthwhile: Though Simwinga is hopeful after policies from the Paris Agreement, he recognizes that it is much harder to implement climate change mitigation than to create policies. “On the ground, I see reduced crop usage, and lower yield due to the use of hybrid crops. There are unexplained crop diseases, which decrease food security.” As a result, his indigenous community has begun reverting to traditional mixed crop farming, creating community seed banks.

What’s next: a future where nature and people co-exist in peace

In the future, Simwinga’s dream is to see a Zambia where, “People appreciate the beauty of nature through ecotourism, where rivers flow and trees rustle, where there are more conservancies, people coexist with nature, and where there are hospitals, clinics and roads.”

How can you help?

1. Learn more about the Mukungule Conservancy, and support its efforts to promote conservation-based communities.
2. Visit the Foster to discover how this local gallery is educating and inspiring people to care for our natural world.
3. Support OliveSeed Foundation, a Palo Alto nonprofit that promotes  literacy, environment, and conservation programs to inspire the next generation of ethical leaders and changemakers.
4. Take action in your personal life to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Love this article? Check out this one about a photo show that is raising awareness about preserving wildlife in Africa, and subscribe to Palo Alto Pulse!