Management Skills for Wildlife Conservation (MSWC) is pleased to welcome conservation practitioner Richard Vigne to its Advisory Board. Born and raised in Kericho western Kenya as the son of a tea planter, Vigne has more than two decades experience in Africa, where he developed and managed the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia Kenya.
Under Vigne’s forward thinking leadership and innovation, the Conservancy has grown the black rhino population by 100% in 10 years, become financially self-sustaining, and pioneered the integration of a profitable livestock operation with conservation and tourism.
MSWC Founder and CEO Guy Pfeffermann in welcoming Vigne said: “Richard’s leadership put Ol Pejeta well on the path to long-term financial and environmental sustainability, a remarkable achievement. He believes strongly that enhancing local leadership and management skills at the grass-roots level is essential to achieving sustainable wildlife conservation. I am delighted that he agreed to join MSWC’s Advisory Board and welcome him warmly.”
On joining MSWC, Vigne confirmed his firm belief that the future of conservation lies in the engagement of local communities where leadership and management skills have been developed to achieve sustainable conservation. “More and more conservation space will need to be managed by those that live within the landscapes themselves, equipped with the capacity and skills necessary to create value and build natural capital. The days of NGOs and well-meaning philanthropists parachuting in with money for conservation projects are beginning to disappear as conservation starts to become a mainstream activity that is managed by those who are best placed to make it happen. On that basis organizations such as MSWC have a huge role to play in ensuring a long-term future for the wilderness areas of the world” said Vigne.