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Ian Craig Honored for Lifelong Conservation Stewardship
San Diego Zoo Global is honoring the work of one of the most prominent conservationists in Africa, Ian Craig, and his lifelong dedication to the fight against extinction. During an Aug. 3, 2017 ceremony with San Diego Zoo Global staff and close to 600 members and donors, Craig was presented with the San Diego Zoo Global 2017 Lifetime Achievement Medal, in celebration of his long-standing and far-reaching efforts to safeguard the iconic wildlife of Africa.
During the event, organizers shared Craig’s impressive legacy of conservation advocacy. Most of Ian Craig’s life has been spent in northern Kenya, where he and his father David Craig, along with conservationist Anna Merz, converted thousands of acres of their family’s 62,000-acre cattle ranch into Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary in 1983, to protect endangered black rhinos. This was at the height of the rhino poaching crisis, and the sanctuary flourished when few others did.
By 1988, the sanctuary had doubled in size; and in 1995, it was renamed the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, with Ian Craig serving as executive director until 2009. The Conservancy has continued to actively promote conservation on its land, and in partnership with the people who live in the surrounding communities, to ensure that they share in the benefits of protecting endangered species. In 2004, Ian Craig headed the effort to form the Northern Rangelands Trust, which today supports more than 30 community-run wildlife conservancies in northern Kenya. Together, they encompass an area larger than all of the national parks and preserves in Kenya combined.
I love the impact that we, as partners with San Diego Zoo Global, are having, on the ground,” said Ian Craig. “We’re opening up new ground for wildlife, and wildlife is safe in spaces where it was previously exterminated. We’re really changing the future for wildlife on a scale that excites me.”
Global recognition also came to Ian Craig in 2013, when UNESCO extended the boundaries of the Mount Kenya World Heritage Site to include Lewa and the Ngare Ndare Forest. UNESCO called it “a true testament of the hard work and dedication to all who have helped build Lewa into the Conservancy that it is today—a global model for protected area management and a catalyst for conservation.” More recognition came in 2016, when Ian Craig was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to conservation and security to communities in Kenya.”
Since 1966, the Conservation Medal awards program has recognized world leaders and organizations who share San Diego Zoo Global’s vision to end extinction. The recipients exhibit active and important contributions to the conservation and recovery of endangered species, habitats or ecosystems through applied research, breeding and reintroduction programs, community education or the establishment of protected areas.
By 1988, the sanctuary had doubled in size; and in 1995, it was renamed the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, with Ian Craig serving as executive director until 2009. The Conservancy has continued to actively promote conservation on its land, and in partnership with the people who live in the surrounding communities, to ensure that they share in the benefits of protecting endangered species. In 2004, Ian Craig headed the effort to form the Northern Rangelands Trust, which today supports more than 30 community-run wildlife conservancies in northern Kenya. Together, they encompass an area larger than all of the national parks and preserves in Kenya combined.
I love the impact that we, as partners with San Diego Zoo Global, are having, on the ground,” said Ian Craig. “We’re opening up new ground for wildlife, and wildlife is safe in spaces where it was previously exterminated. We’re really changing the future for wildlife on a scale that excites me.”
Global recognition also came to Ian Craig in 2013, when UNESCO extended the boundaries of the Mount Kenya World Heritage Site to include Lewa and the Ngare Ndare Forest. UNESCO called it “a true testament of the hard work and dedication to all who have helped build Lewa into the Conservancy that it is today—a global model for protected area management and a catalyst for conservation.” More recognition came in 2016, when Ian Craig was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to conservation and security to communities in Kenya.”
Since 1966, the Conservation Medal awards program has recognized world leaders and organizations who share San Diego Zoo Global’s vision to end extinction. The recipients exhibit active and important contributions to the conservation and recovery of endangered species, habitats or ecosystems through applied research, breeding and reintroduction programs, community education or the establishment of protected areas.
