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Growing-up and schooling in Zimbabwe, Johannesburg-based international award-winning journalist Emmanuel Koro read books written by British writer and conservationist, Gerald Durrel.

It was then that he was inspired to write environmental stories.

“What a humorous writer!  He (Gerald Durrel) inspired me to write essays on nature’s interaction with humans. One of my essays on how man discovered fire, was read out to my high school class. My teacher said that it was an “excellent essay”. The seeds of my environmental writing were sown!” said Koro, who is also a published author.

He has not stopped since then and now writes independently on environmental and developmental issues in Africa.

Chronicle Features Editor Yoliswa Moyo (YM) spoke to Koro (EK) who briefs about his work and its impact across the African continent and beyond.

YM: You have been writing extensively about environmental issues for years now; what is your motivation?

EK: I love the environment. It is the source of our livelihoods and recreation. Without win-win environmental conservation, there is no chance for both human and environmental wellbeing today and tomorrow.

I keep writing about environmental issues because the environment underpins human survival.  It provides us with all our bread-and-butter needs to survive. Therefore, my motivation to continue writing on environmental issues is focused on the need to make the public aware that no one should deny them rights to use the environmental goods and services (food, water, minerals, wildlife and plants etc.). In turn, the people must logically see the need to look after the environment because it is their source of survival.

YM: What got you interested in environmental issues specifically?

EK: I am interested in international environmental management politics and the developed and developing countries mismatch power-relations at play.

Developed countries dictate to developing countries on how they should manage and use their natural resources but not vice-versa!

We are worlds apart. There is a lot of controversy. There is nothing more newsworthy in journalism than controversy. Also, I like writing about these issues disruptively so that no one misses the message.

The professional shaping of my environmental journalism started at the Harare Polytechnic where I studied Mass Communication.  I then worked as an intern for the Harare City Council’s newspaper, The City Observer. There were a lot of environmental issues that I covered from water, air and land pollution, working with the city’s scientists such as the Chief Chemist and Chief Engineer and arboriculturists (tree management specialists). While there I was head-hunted by a local environmental organisation, Environment 2 000, now called Environment Africa and worked as its Head of Communications and Public Relations.

Many doors of academic and professional opportunities later swung open from Zimbabwe at the Africa Resources Trust, to Washington where I studied science/environmental communication and South Africa where I did my Master’s degree in Journalism and Media studies and am permanently based.

YM: What do you hope to achieve through your work?

EK: To expose the harmful forces that are unjustifiably limiting Africa from escaping from the poverty grip by banning international trade in its natural resources, including ivory, and rhino horn. To show that this is a missed trade and economic opportunity for Africa.

Also, to continue protesting the forces of darkness’ restriction and attempt to ban international hunting that generates income that supports conservation and development initiatives in African wildlife-producer communities.

I want to ensure that no African goes to bed hungry and walks barefoot in a natural-resource-rich continent. Africa’s estimated value of stockpiled ivory and rhino horn runs into trillions of United States dollars but it’s big for nothing, wealth that remains untraded.

I hope my written work continuously reveals existing opportunities to grow southern Africa’s wildlife economy. Then whet the appetite of decision-makers to grow and use the wildlife economy as a vehicle to create cross-cutting business opportunities, jobs and effectively dump African poverty in the dustbin of history.

Raising public awareness against the animal rights extremists fundraising industry NGOs that are the number one cause of African poverty is one of my objectives. They cause African poverty by needlessly influencing the ban on international trade in wildlife products, including ivory and rhino horn. They lie to the world that ‘let’s continue with the ban on international trade in ivory trade because the African elephant is endangered’. Yet, southern Africa is elephant over-populated with huge and untraded ivory stockpiles.

Be it known to the world that when these extremists and anti-trade NGOs ban legal trade in wildlife products, they scandalously create a black market ivory and rhino horn demand. Then it triggers poaching and illegal international trade in ivory and rhino horn. This threatens rhino and elephant populations and causes poaching that they profit from. Africa doesn’t benefit from this but anti-trade NGOs benefit.  They make about US$1 billion annually by asking for public donations to stop a poaching crisis that they knowingly create through influencing international ivory and rhino horn trade bans! Their actions show that they are worse than poachers! They are harmful to both African people and wildlife and must be prosecuted at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the Netherlands.

My wish is to let Africa know that it will never be free economically, as long as some forces restrict its opportunity to grow and benefit from its wildlife economy.

YM: Tell us more about your book, Western Celebration of African Poverty: Animal Rights Versus Human Rights.

EK: I wrote this book in order to truthfully tell Africa, who and what is blocking it from implementing successful conservation and development initiatives that generate income to support the well-being of African people and wildlife.

This book focuses on one of the most frustrating realities in Africa. The continent is resource-rich but poor. Despite Africa’s poverty challenges, the book illustrates glimpses of poverty-reducing possibilities in rural Southern Africa, under the programme called Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM).  The CBNRM initiative enables rural communities to benefit from wildlife. It is a mind-set changing development approach whose benefits have transformed former poachers into absolute wildlife conservationists.

The former UN Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) Secretary-General (1982-1990) and Switzerland-based IWMC-World Conservation Trust President, Mr Eugene Lapointe, wrote an excellent foreword. He highly recommends that the book is a must-read for everyone.

“Western Celebration of African Poverty has something for everyone who cares about wildlife, wild places and human dignity in the developing world,” said Lapointe. “I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”

The book concludes that trade not aid will save the African people and their wildlife from poverty and extinction, respectively.

YM: What inspired you to write the book?

EK: The urge to share with the world little-known information on why Africa is resource-rich but poor inspired me to write the book Western Celebration of African Poverty: Animal Rights Versus Human Rights.

YM: What do you do when you’re not writing?

EK: I spend time with my family, watch sports, travel and go to church. Also, I keep fit, keep up to date with current affairs, reading newspapers and follow developments on social media. – @Yolisswa