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I'm a lion conservationist.

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Sounds cool, doesn't it?

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Some people may have no idea
what that means.

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But I'm sure you've all heard
about Cecil the Lion.

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[Cecil the Lion (2002-2015)]

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(Lion roaring)

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He rose no more on July 2, 2015.

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His life was cut short
when he was killed by a trophy hunter.

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They say that you can become attached
to the animals you study.

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That was the case for me
with Cecil the Lion.

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Having known him
and studied him for three years

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in Hwange National Park.

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I was heartbroken at his death.

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But the good thing to come
out of this tragedy

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is the attention that this story brought

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towards the plight
of threatened wild animals.

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After Cecil's death,

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I began to ask myself these questions:

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What if the community
that lived next to Cecil the Lion

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was involved in protecting him?

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What if I had met Cecil
when I was 10 years old, instead of 29?

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Could I or my classmates
have changed his fate?

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Many people are working
to stop lions from disappearing,

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but very few of these people
are native to these countries,

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or from the communities most affected.

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But the communities
that live with the lions

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are the ones best positioned
to help lions the most.

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Local people should be at the forefront

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of the solutions to the challenges
facing the wildlife.

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Sometimes, change can only come

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when the people most affected
and impacted take charge.

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Local communities play an important role

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in fighting poaching
and illegal wildlife trade,

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which are major threats
affecting lions and other wildlife.

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Being a black African woman
in the sciences,

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the people I meet
are always curious to know

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if I've always wanted
to be a conservationist,

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because they don't meet
a lot of conservationists

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who look like me.

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When I was growing up,

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I didn't even know that wildlife
conservation was a career.

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The first time that I saw
a wild animal in my home country

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was when I was 25 years old,

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even though lions and African wild dogs

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lived just a few miles away from my home.

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This is quite common in Zimbabwe,

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as many people
are not exposed to wildlife,

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even though it's part of our heritage.

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When I was growing up,

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I didn't even know
that lions lived in my backyard,

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when I stepped into
Savé Valley Conservancy

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on a cold winter morning 10 years ago,

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to study African wild dogs
for my master's research project.

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I was mesmerized by the beauty
and the tranquility that surrounded me.

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I felt like I had found my passion
and my purpose in life.

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I made a commitment that day

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that I was going to dedicate my life
to protecting animals.

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I think of my childhood
school days in Zimbabwe,

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and the other kids I was in school with.

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Perhaps, if we had a chance
to interact with wildlife,

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more of my classmates
would be working alongside me now.

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Unless the local communities
want to protect and coexist with wildlife,

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all conservation efforts might be in vain.

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These are the communities
that live with the wild animals

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in the same ecosystem,

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and bear the cost of doing so.

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If they don't have a direct connection,

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or benefit from the animals,

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they have no reason
to want to protect them.

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And if local communities
don't protect their wildlife,

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no amount of outside
intervention will work.

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So, what needs to be done?

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Conservationists must prioritize
environmental education

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and help expand the community's skills
to conserve their wildlife.

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School children and communities
must be taken to national parks,

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so they get a chance
to connect with the wildlife.

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At every effort and every level,

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conservation must include
the economies of the people

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who share the land with the wild animals.

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It is also critical
that local conservationists

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be part of every conservation effort,

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if we are to build trust and really embed
conservation into communities.

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As local conservationists,
we face many hurdles,

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from outright discrimination
to barriers because of cultural norms.

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But I will not give up my efforts

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to bring indigenous
communities to this fight

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for the survival of our planet.

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I'm asking you to come
and stand together with me.

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We must actively dismantle
the hurdles we have created,

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which are leaving indigenous populations
out of conservation efforts.

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I've dedicated my life
to protecting lions,

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and I know my neighbor would too,

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if only they knew the animals
that lived next door to them.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)