Samson Parashina: “This award means great things to me. It energizes me and enables me in the pursuit of the ideal that we stand for. The Maasai have been here for centuries. They have to adapt to a changing climate, by creating new green jobs and protect the flora and fauna to create a future for the generation to come.”

Mr. Parashina, whose Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) takes a grassroots approach to conservation in Kenya, said the award “energized” him to push on with his work.

At a time where poaching of elephants and rhino is on the rise in Kenya, leading to deadly gun battles with wildlife rangers, Mr. Parashina’s organization is using a community-led approach to prevent poaching through education and patrols. Mr. Parashina is also head guide at Campi ya Kanzi, started in 1996 by his long-term collaborators Luca Belpietro and Antonella Bonomi. The hotel was named by CNN as one of ten top luxury eco-hotels around the world.

Mr. Parashina was nominated for the award by actor Edward Norton, who serves on the board of MWCT and is the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.

“He’s one of my heroes and I’m in this role to celebrate people like him,” said Mr. Norton in his nomination. “The work he has achieved is nothing short of inspirational and a truly authentic example of an indigenous community addressing the sustainability question within the context of deep commitment to traditional cultural values.”

2012 Champion of the Earth for Grassroots Initiatives Winner Profile:

Samson Parashina, a Maasai warrior, son of a local chief and respected safari guide, has shown amazing commitment to developing sustainable green economy models for Kenya’s Kuku Group Ranch, land communally owned by the Maasai community.

Parashina started as a waiter at an ecotourism lodge, but swiftly rose to become the President of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) – a grass-roots community trust preserving the wilderness, wildlife and cultural heritage of the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem. The ecosystem is recognized for its high biodiversity, significant tourism revenues and as a vital watershed providing freshwater to millions of Kenyans. Three national parks - Tsavo, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills - lie within a human-dominated landscape and the overall health of this ecosystem is reliant on the sustainable management of the lands between the protected areas by the local communities that own them.

The trust’s success has taken its profile global, with actor Edward Norton, the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, a board member. Parashina, Norton and two other Maasai completed the 2009 New York marathon to raise awareness and funding for the trust.

Under Parashina’s strong leadership, the community agreed to appoint MWCT as the community’s manager of natural resources. The trust ensures that the community is protected through sustainable management of their natural resources, protecting the long-term viability of the ecosystem and traditional community livelihoods.

The trust, which employs over 200 locals and has an annual budget of over US$1 million, is developing sustainable financing mechanisms and partnering with Conservation International and Wildlife Works to carry out a REDD+ carbon feasibility study. MWCT is also coordinating a landmark collaboration to protect the Chyulu Forest-Mizima Springs watershed, which provides fresh water for millions of Kenyans. Finally, in an area where human-wildlife conflicts are a major problem, MWCT is pioneering a model where tourism surcharges are used to fund Wildlife Pays, a programme that compensates livestock herders for losses to wildlife predation in exchange for full protection of predators.