Conservation: A Love Story | Elsaphan Njora | TED

0:08 (Music) (Singing in Swahili) Hii safari ni ya mapenzi

0:20 Nina haja ya kuenzi

0:26 (Singing in English) Here’s my hand.

0:28 Take me now.

0:32 Don't resist.

0:33 Don't ask me how.

0:38 For the last three and a half years,

0:40 I have travelled more than I have ever done in all my years.

0:44 I have interacted with cultures, landscapes and legends across the land.

0:49 And I've been enriched by these vast experiences

0:52 that I'm so fortunate to have.

0:54 So much so that some of my songs

0:56 are starting to sound like travel journals.

0:59 “Hii safari ni ya mapenzi” means “this journey is of love.”

1:03 From the crater in Silali to the springs at Mzima.

1:07 The cool blue waters of Lake Challa to the sandy beaches of Robinson Island.

1:13 The waterfalls at Ruskebe to the island of Sumba.

1:17 The small elephants of Aberdares to the giants in Amboseli.

1:22 The sometimes feisty buffaloes of Mount Kilimambogo

1:26 to the lilac-breasted roller in the plains.

1:28 The rivers, the valleys, the people.

1:31 I am in awe of what this country has to offer.

1:35 This wealth, this beauty is meant to be shared.

1:38 It is meant to be passed on.

1:40 After all, we too found it here.

1:43 And we are direct beneficiaries

1:45 of the intentional or accidental conservation efforts of the past.

1:50 The question is: What shall we leave for those who are coming after us?

1:54 Allow me to take you on a journey.

1:57 Let us start in a county called Nyahururu,

2:00 in a peculiar water body called Lake Ol' Bolossat,

2:03 which is both a salty and fresh water lake.

2:07 It is possible that one day we might not have it anymore.

2:12 Delaying to take measures to curb cultivation

2:14 around riparian land near the lake

2:17 will most certainly lead to its destruction.

2:20 And in a few years time, it might as well never have existed.

2:24 But a lake is not just a lake.

2:27 Now let's go to Machakos County.

2:31 The land of the long-distance traders.

2:34 The flat landscape of enchantment and the crescendo music lovers.

2:39 (Singing in Swahili) The home of the great

2:49 seer who prophesied the coming of the British.

2:52 And once home to a vast indigenous forest

2:54 whose remnants can be found at Kiima Kimwe,

2:57 which means "one hill."

2:59 There, at the sacred hill of the Akamba,

3:02 you'll see there was evidence that this was a vast forest.

3:05 However, Machakos today stands in contrast

3:09 to what our ancestors once called home.

3:12 Massive deforestation has transformed a large section of it

3:16 into a semi-arid expanse where water is scarce.

3:19 Now the forest and the legends, and the stories

3:22 might as well never have existed.

3:24 But the forest is not just a forest.

3:27 These are ecosystems that support a great number of species

3:31 from birds, land animals, fish, insects, plants,

3:35 some of which are endemic to the area

3:37 and serve as nature's order in the great equation of balance.

3:41 The very same balance that we are here to discuss.

3:44 But our farmers need land to till.

3:47 And when we need wood, don't we?

3:50 But pause.

3:52 This is not a piece to patronize.

3:55 Instead, it's to paint a picture

3:57 of perhaps what could be possible if we took action,

4:01 and to bear the news of the efforts that have been taken so far.

4:05 The proverbial what if,

4:07 but now with a motive to reconsider, reconfigure and recruit.

4:12 What if there is another way to go about it?

4:15 What if there's another way to coexist with nature,

4:18 make a living and leave an inheritance for those who are coming after us?

4:24 Let us go to Kilifi County, right next to the Indian Ocean.

4:29 Somewhere at the shores of Watamu

4:32 stands a testament of what could be if we reimagined conservation.

4:38 A group called Dabaso, through research and collaboration,

4:42 began planting mangroves 20 years ago

4:45 in an effort to conserve.

4:46 20 years of insults and ridicule, doubts and second thoughts.

4:52 But now the shores breathe more life into the world

4:56 and give better sanctuary for sea life.

4:58 And an establishment called Crab Shack Hotel

5:02 stands as a tourist attraction,

5:04 a pillar of conservation and commerce,

5:08 merging nature, community and profit in an eco-friendly existence.

5:15 And back in Machakos,

5:17 they are making better use of the land,

5:19 and they are repopulating the indigenous seedlings.

5:23 With the efforts of conservationists,

5:24 we might just see the return of the trees of old.

5:27 And at Lake Ol’ Bolossat they are resettling the farmers,

5:30 and they are saving the lake.

5:32 It is no longer a thing of what if.

5:35 It's a possibility.

5:37 We can save our ecosystems, our species and our futures.

5:42 We can.

5:42 The evidence is clear across the world.

5:46 So what is taking us so long?

5:49 I've never understood why it takes so much effort

5:52 to do what we know we need to do.

5:56 Maybe it is a human condition

5:57 to procrastinate until it is too late

6:00 in order to catch that edge,

6:02 that elusive high of uncertainty, thinking we have some kind of control.

6:06 Only problem is, there is no control.

6:10 However, I believe that if we search deep inside for something bigger,

6:14 something bigger than ourselves,

6:17 then we light a fire that can take us all the way to a better world.

6:23 Now I'm no expert,

6:25 but I believe at the core of conservation is love.

6:30 Love for the land,

6:32 love for the people of the land

6:33 and most importantly, love for those who will come after us.

6:39 And with this, I think we can find a way

6:41 to work together in a manner that will benefit nature and community,

6:45 in a manner that will give honor and dignity.

6:48 And so this journey has to be a journey of love.

6:53 And while that may take longer,

6:55 the effects are profound and far-reaching enough

6:58 to keep the world breathing.

7:01 Finally, let me complete this journey with imagination.

7:05 I will ask you to indulge me.

7:07 Close your eyes.

7:09 I'm talking to you guys.

7:11 Close your eyes.

7:12 I want you to envision that place that you want transformed.

7:17 Do you have it?

7:19 You have it?

7:20 So I want us to take this journey together.

7:23 On the count of three, I want you to say it out loud.

7:27 One.

7:28 Two.

7:29 Three.

7:30 (Audience speaks) (Singing in Swahili) Hii safari ni ya mapenzi

7:41 Nina haja ya kuenzi

7:47 (Singing in English) Here’s my hand.

7:50 Take me now.

7:53 Don't resist.

7:54 Don't ask me how.

7:58 Ooh!

8:03 I'm on fire for you.

8:08 I'm on fire.

8:10 Ooh!

8:14 I'm on fire for you.

8:20 I'm on fire.

8:22 Ooh!

8:26 I'm on fire for you.

8:32 I'm on fire.

8:36 (Applause)