What endangered natural substance is as sought after and illegally trafficked as ivory or rhino horn?

HINT: It’s not from an animal. The answer is sandalwood, a word you are likely familiar with from using candles, incense, or essential oils. Although there are a number of beneficial uses of this special tree, including the obvious use as firewood, it also can be used for tea, medicinal and cultural purposes, and as a natural red dye. In its ecological niche, sandalwood is an incredibly important species for wildlife habitat during hot seasons.

Because of the high global demand for sandalwood and its many uses, combined with the fact that sandalwood grows rather slowly, it is increasingly as desirable on the black market as ivory.

Over the course of the past decade, Big Life rangers have curbed nearly all instances of wildlife poaching in our area of operation (AOO), but “poaching” a tree is a more challenging event to track or prevent.  Unlike the poaching of a rhino or elephant, illegally harvesting sandalwood involves significantly less risk to those involved, both physically and legally. But that doesn’t mean stopping illegal sandalwood harvesting isn’t as important.

The good news is that Big Life rangers are making progress in cracking down on it. Since April, they have made 12 arrests in 5 incidents and confiscated nearly 3,000 kgs of sandalwood.  That’s roughly equivalent to the weight of 25 newborn elephants. While this is an alarming amount of sandalwood to confiscate in our AOO, the busts that have been made were at the source, while harvesters were actively illegally taking sandalwood, as well as higher up the chain involving the buyers and brokers.

And while we will continue to work to prevent illegal harvesting at the source, and keep these trees alive in the first place, Big Life’s intelligence network has been highly successful at dismantling the larger supply chain.

Regardless of the species, we remain committed to protecting the wildlife and wild lands in the Greater Amboseli ecosystem for the benefit of all.

We’re ending the week on a high note! For the third year in a row since Big Life became eligible for review by Charity Navigator, we have earned their esteemed 4-star rating.

This is Charity Navigator’s highest possible rating and indicates that Big Life Foundation USA adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way. Only 26% of the charities evaluated have received at least 3 consecutive 4-star evaluations. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Big Life apart in demonstrating our trustworthiness and effectiveness.

In other words, we actually use your donations for the critical conservation work in East Africa that we say we’re going to use it for. And that’s no small feat. In fact, 88¢ out of every $1 donated goes directly to our mission protecting African wildlife and wild lands for the benefit of all.

THANK YOU for all of your support as we continue to protect wildlife and wild lands in East Africa, and know that your donations make a truly meaningful impact.

This year, honor the head of your pride with a custom Father’s Day card.

For a donation of $50 or more we will send a personalized card, or if you prefer, we can send a digital copy via email. Our Father’s Day card features an impressive male lion on the cover, and an elephant from Big Life’s area of operation with an acknowledgment of your generous donation in their honor on the inside.

Place your order before June 11 to ensure timely delivery.

I am writing to you today on the cusp of some seriously good news: the National Environmental Tribunal has just ruled against KiliAvo, the owners of the avocado farm being developed in the middle of the Kimana Wildlife Corridor. The company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license has subsequently been revoked as a result of this decision.

We’ve been fighting this development along with our partners since last fall, watching as irrigation and fencing were erected in contradiction of all the established land-use plans for the area. Big Life is not against farming, but it needs to be done in the right areas that won’t cause harm, not in the midst of a wildlife corridor zoned for conservation and heavily utilized by elephants and livestock alike.

This is likely not the end of this battle, but this case sets an important precedent. Which is particularly important as we are facing some serious challenges in the Greater Amboseli ecosystem as development expands and communities begin the process of subdividing into private parcels what was previously communally owned land.

In the meantime, the first quarter of the year has flown by and our rangers continue their critical work protecting the ecosystem at large. They’ve patrolled more than 129,000 km, arrested 15 suspects, and confiscated ivory and other illegal items, without a single elephant lost to poachers. They’ve also prevented elephants from raiding crops no less than 28 times.

But we did face some tragic losses this quarter as well. A young girl was killed in an incident with an elephant, a devastating blow for her family and the community. While we were able to cover funeral expenses for her family and education costs for one of her siblings in secondary school, it will never replace the life of their child.

These conflicts, especially the ones that end tragically, highlight the need to designate space for wildlife, where human development is limited. We will continue to do all we can to make sure that everyone’s best interests – human and animal alike – are taken into account.

In the meantime, thank you, as always, for your support.

Richard Bonham

Director of Operations in Kenya and Co-Founder

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