Eliud Kipchoge Contributes to Biodiversity Research, Calls for Unified Climate Action

• The Living Planet Report 2022 Media Briefing (LPR2022) exposed the level of environmental degradation that has inturn affected the ecosystem
• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in partnership with renowned marathoner Eliud Kipchoge advocated for environmental initiatives to increase forest cover
• The world wide fund called on government to support environmental improvement efforts that can pay off in the long run

When he is not training in the high altitude Kaptagat Forest ecosystem in Kenya’s Elgeyo Marakwet county, renowned marathoner Eliud Kipchoge is winning another Marathon somewhere in the world, breaking his world records or planting trees on the degraded gazetted forest blocs.

Eliud Kipchoge, Environmental champion

The two-time Olympic Champion, who has won 15 out of his 16 career marathons, added his voice to research to advocate for action-led interventions backed by science, data, and the indigenous knowledge from communities, to help restore and protect Kenya’s disappearing forests.

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In the ‘Living Planet Report, 2022’ launched on Thursday, October 13, Kipchoge featured in the biennial scientific publication by the Global Conservation Organisation, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The publication painted a grim picture, a devastating 69% drop in wildlife populations on average in less than a lifetime.

The report disclosed that nature was sending an indicator that all was not good for humanity, our businesses and everything that is important to humanity because the existence of people depended fully on a healthy planet.

The report also argued that if the planet is sick, so are the wildlife and the people in it.

“The Living Planet Report 2022 reflects the continued decline of key species and biodiversity loss. Africa recorded a decline of 66% in wildlife populations since 1970, with Kenya falling in the threat hotspots region because of the decline of key species and degradation of key habitats. When you see a 66% decline in Africa, it doesn’t mean we are doing better. It means we are not as badly affected as in some places,” said Drew McVey, Wildlife Crime Initiative Technical Advisor for East Africa, WWF.

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A majority of speakers during the report exposed the devastating impact of nature loss, Kipchoge in his signature inspiring voice brought the message of hope saying that we can still collectively do something to bring an impact.

According to the articles in the report he co-authored, a story was told of how Kipchoge led Kenyans in tree-planting initiatives at a time when the world was at a standstill occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Separating human, domestic and wildlife population

Scientist classified COVID-19 as zoonotic disease, an ailment that spreads from wild or domestic animals to humans through spillovers.

The proceedings claimed that in the case of the coronavirus, the disease existed in bats then moved to another host animal before spilling over to the human population.

The research stated that protecting nature by making sure wildlife stay in their natural habitat is fundamental to reducing the risk of future pandemic outbreaks.

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For the above to be achieved, WWF recommended that there needs to be an overhaul of attitudes and behaviour that will bring the destruction of the few remaining natural habitats to a cropper.

WWF explained that zoonotic diseases pose little danger to people in their natural habitats because it was circulating within wildlife populations but bringing people, livestock and wildlife into unnaturally close contact increased the risk of killer diseases spreading among the human population.

The report recommended that to help curb the spread of such diseases, a buffer zone between the wild and people settlements as well as protect water resources should have been created to avert the impacts of climate change.

The greening of Kaptagat Forest

The Ineos champion signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to adopt 50.8 hectares of the degraded Kaptagat forest.

The adopted site will be part of ‘WWF- Kenya’s UK Pact Greening Kaptagat Project and Landscape Restoration Programme’, a project implemented with the government of Kenya, local communities and Eliud Kipchoge Foundation and was funded by UK Aid and Trillion Trees.

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“We are the generation who inherited the world from pioneers of yesteryears and our great contribution will be anchored on sustainability. It is a race against time to save what is left of our home. Every minute counts. Just like in a marathon,” the long distance races maestro explained.

Jackson Kiplagat, Head of Conservation Programmes at WWF-Kenya, opined that it was important for everyone to take an initiative to become change agents in their spheres of influence.

“We need to create and move from dealing with events to addressing system tipping dynamics where we have agents of change and a mix of interventions that can trigger and potentially accelerate transformative pathways to sustainable use and production.

“The Living Planet Report proposes that we create enabling conditions and look for leveraged points that can help drive the agents of change to deliver more.

“To reverse nature loss and achieve recovery of key species, we will require ambitious commitments nationally and more importantly from world leaders at the next 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in Montreal, Canada and The 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,” Kiplagat analysed.

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World leaders are due to meet at the COP15 in December for a once-in-a-decade opportunity to course-correct for the sake of people and the planet.

WWF advocated for leaders to commit to a ‘Paris-style’ agreement capable of reversing biodiversity loss to secure a nature-positive world by 2030.

WWF-International Africa Regional Director Alice Ruhweza argued that it was important to incorporate everyone in environmental initiatives, especially the local community.

“The LPR report makes clear that delivering a nature-positive future will not be possible without recognising and respecting the rights, governance, and conservation leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world,” Ruhweza stated.

The report explained that increasing conservation and restoration efforts, producing and consuming food, in particular, more sustainably, and rapidly and deeply decarbonising all sectors can mitigate the twin crises.

The report called on policymakers to transform economies to value natural resources properly.

Source: TUKO.co.ke