bild
PHUNDUNDU WILDLIFE AREA, ZIMBABWE, JUNE 2018: Petronella Chigumbura, 30, an elite member of the all female conservation ranger force known as Akashinga undergoes sniper movement and concealment training in the bush near their base. Akashinga (meaning the ‘Brave Ones' in local dialect) is a community-driven conservation model, empowering disadvantaged women to restore and manage a network of wilderness areas as an alternative to trophy hunting. Many current western-conceived solutions to conserve wilderness areas struggle to gain traction across the African continent. Predominately male forces are hampered by ongoing corruption, nepotism, drunkenness, aggressiveness towards local communities and a sense of entitlement. The I.A.P.F, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation led by former Australian Special Forces soldier Damien Mander, was created as a direct action conservation organisation to be used as a surgical instrument in targeting wildlife crime. In 2017 they decided to innovate, using an all- female team to manage an entire nature reserve in Zimbabwe. The program builds an alternative approach to the militarized paradigm of "fortress conservation" which defends colonial boundaries between nature and humans. While still trained to deal with any situation they may face, the team has a community-driven interpersonal focus, working with rather than against the local population for the long-term benefits of their own communities and nature. (Brent Stirton, Getty Images) NO SALES, THIS MATERIAL IS FOR SINGLE USE PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT OR FOR A TEMPORARY ONLINE PUBLICATION, AND MAY BE USED EXCLUSIVELY TO PUBLICIZE THE 2019 WORLD PRESS CONTEST AND EXHIBITION. IT MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED AS PART OF AN ARTICLE OR ANY OTHER ITEM THAT CONTAINS NO DIRECT LINK TO WORLD PRESS PHOTO AND ITS ACTIVITIES. THE PICTURE MAY NOT BE CROPPED OR MANIPULATED IN ANY WAY. KEYSTONE PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS PUBLICLY DISTRIBUTED HANDOUT PHOTO. THE COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY A THIRD PARTY.