The guest blog is by Amber Zhou, a 19 year old student in Zhejiang Province China who loves elephants. This is her story in her own words about the situation in China regarding elephant protection.

My name is Amber Zhou and I am a Chinese student. I watched a Chinese reality TV program one week ago, fortuitous meeting in life, the content of the first episode deeply touched me. The host went to Zambia with the guests to see elephants. In this episode, local breeder and animal protector told us the dangerous situation about elephants and endangered death threat. The cruel killings and the huge number of dead elephants per month surprised me. I immediately decided to join in the conservation of elephants.

In Africa, 100 elephants are killed every day for their ivory. That number is increasing yearly. African elephants are endangered. In Asia, elephants are killed because of their skin. Asian elephants are also facing an increasingly dangerous situation due to the growing demand for elephant skin.

The elephants’ dangerous situation is caused by human beings, not only the killer, but also the public. In China, the issue of animal protection is hard to get attention, but an environmental problem can catch people’s eyes easily. A few days ago, McDonald and Starbucks canceled the supply of straws, this news became the headlines of Weibo (the most popular social media in China). We can find that environmental problems can easily get attention among the public, though it faced the same cold treatment ten years ago. Nowadays, the issue of elephant faces the same cold treatment, most people do not know the status of elephants being hunted, most people do not understand the cruel killing methods of poachers. People choose to ignore.

Let us see how the government handled environmental issues in the past year. Environmental issues must be maintained based on people’s awareness. In recent years, waste sorting was a government-focused project, because it is meaningful for saving sources. The government had infiltrated environmental protection into every primary and secondary school, every living community, even everyone’s doorstep. The information can reach everyone’s mind, this awareness can be communicated from the child to the parents, can be communicated from the family to the society. With strong publicity and effective supervision, awareness of environmental protection was accepted by people of all ages. Besides, it strengthened the awareness of garbage classification. From this example, we can realize that raising awareness of elephant protection requires an organization which can infiltrate into every aspect of people’s lives. Every child and every adult need to have awareness of elephant protection, and every individual can drive people around them. “A single spark can start a prairie fire.” A famous saying in China conveys the same faith to us in the present.

A major news happened a few days ago, in Chongqing. The bus crashed into the river and caused casualties. The cause of this incident was that the passenger in the car had a dispute with the driver. The driver lost temperature so that caused the bus to fall into the river. Most people blamed the passenger who provoked the quarrel, but if the other passengers on the bus can stand out and stopped the conflict, the result would change. When they chose to ignore, they chose death. This sad story told us when it was a difficulty, we need to stand up. Keeping silence has no effect, only standing up and speaking out can stop the tragedy from happening.

The relationship between human beings and the elephant is the same as the other passengers and the driver. If human beings choose to ignore the tragic status of elephants, they also choose the unhealthy ecological relationship, choose the hopeless future of the relationship between man and nature.

I have watched a TED before, the speaker told the audience, “When it's time to say these hard things, I ask myself three things. One, did you mean it? Two, can you defend it? Three, did you say it with love? If the answer is yes to all three, I say it and let the chips fall.” Her speech encouraged me a lot. When I hesitated whether should I yell for elephants, I realized my silence served nothing. So, just like she said, it is our obligation, it is our duty to speak, to break the silence, not just when it's difficult-- especially when it's difficult.

Elephants are not able to speak, they can’t express their anxiety and pain. So I choose to speak for them.

I hope everyone who is reading this article, join us, speak in front of the public, protect elephants. Your force is important to us.

New ideas, new solutions, and a new future. This should not be just a slogan, it should be a goal, it should be a direction of our actions.

The Elephant Project is looking for people to tell their stories about why they love elephants. These personal narratives are a great way to educate people about the plight of elephants.

So how do you value an elephant? Do you see elephants as intrinsically valuable, intelligent and majestic in their own right? Do you base an elephant’s value on how much someone is willing to pay for one? How much someone is willing to pay to see one? To kill one?

There are many ways to value animals, and the value we assign to animals tends to determine how far we are willing to go to protect them. When animal advocates made it clear earlier this year that the current administration wasn’t doing enough to protect elephants, Trump responded by creating the International Wildlife Conservation Commission, established to report on the benefits of hunting wild elephants in certain African countries. Every member of the IWCC is pro-hunting, and nearly all of the members have strong ties to organizations like Safari Club International or the National Rifle Association - one of the members, Peter Horn, even co-owns a private hunting reserve in upstate New York with Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. These groups value animals, and elephants in particular, based on the size of their trophies.

Evidence of this can be found in the group’s most recent meeting transcript, in which the majority of input from IWCC members centered on how to get trophies through border control quickly and easily, and how to convince the public that ending hunting operations in some African countries would be the end of the world for those villages (in the process, openly mocking true animal advocates). Sadly, the Associated Press reported one member, Cameron Hanes, as stating that “hunting allows animals such as elephants to ‘have value,’” indicating that an elephant’s only value is its trophy.

From the beginning, the IWCC has focused only on the monetary value of an elephant hunt, not the value of the elephant itself. The IWCC fails to consider what would happen if true conservation measures, aiming to keep elephants alive, were implemented. It also fails to account for the fact that an elephant can only be killed once, giving it a one-time, finite fiscal worth in terms of hunting. An elephant can be photographed, studied, glimpsed, washed or fed in some sanctuaries, and otherwise enjoyed over and over during its lifetime, but it can only be killed once.

So, assuming the only way to value an elephant is in terms of how much money it will bring to the surrounding community, how do we compare the value of a living elephant to a dead one?

In African countries, elephants are typically allowed to roam, either in the wild, or in national parks, or reserves. They are suffering due to poaching, hunting, and human-elephant conflict. Because wild lands where elephants once roamed free are being taken over by human development, elephants and humans are increasingly at odds with one another. Elephants pose a safety hazard to villagers and can also pose an economic one when they eat or trample crops.

In Zambia, 42 communities have coalesced to allow “consumptive tourism,” meaning hunting, where fees from hunting are split. A large percentage, 50% as of 2002, remits to the national government “through the Department of National Park and Wildlife Services.” That money would then be used for “natural resource management.” The individual community would receive the other 50%. The community’s 50% share would be further split up between the community leader, or “patron;” the Community Resource Board administration; assault protection; and the rest to community development projects. Assuming a hunter would be able to return to the U.S. with a trophy, he or she would pay, in rare cases, up to $100,000. (If the US bans trophy imports, the amount a hunter is willing to pay plummets).

The iWorry campaign by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust estimated that a living elephant brought in almost $1.6 million over its lifetime in ecotourism dollars through places like Kruger National Park in South Africa or Amboseli National Park in Kenya. That’s because, while each photo-snapping tourist may pay fewer dollars to potentially see an elephant than a hunter would to kill an elephant, that income can be repeated as long as the elephant is alive. A hunted elephant, in contrast, means a one-time injection of cash into a community.

Big game hunters, like the ones that make up the IWCC, want us to think that hunting is the best way to save elephants, because of the money that is injected into the communities. The reality is that these communities are often poor, and lack the resources that more developed, tourist-friendly countries have. Compare Zambia and Zimbabwe, which allow hunting, to South Africa and Kenya, who have huge national parks and reputable tourism industries. For example, in Botswana, the president issued a moratorium on elephant hunting and demanded that villages transform into tourist-friendly places instead, but the government failed to provide money with which to make this happen. Of course, his plan failed. But with proper investment, these communities could have seen exponentially more income from their live elephants from tourism, rather than a few one-time payments from elephant hunters. It just takes investment.

In poor communities, the environment is rough, which is exciting for a hunter but uncomfortable and intimidating for a tourist. It takes money for communities to become tourist-friendly, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible or that it’s not worth doing. It should also be noted that many times, the elephants that are hunted are older bull elephants, who are no longer breeding and therefore would not contribute to population growth. That’s what the IWCC said, anyway. I don’t know about you, but I would be thrilled to pay to see a bull elephant roaming in the wild, as many times as I could afford to. So, the argument that hunting an elephant is somehow more understandable just because the lone male elephant is past breeding age, is not convincing. Should all elephants not be valued equally?

Even assuming a hunter pays the highest price to hunt an elephant, $100,000, that still pales in comparison to the $1.6 million a living elephant can bring in over its lifetime.

Elephants in southeast Asian countries like Myanmar and Thailand have a much different story. These countries have both wild and domestic elephant populations, and both are in trouble. In Thailand, there are three times as many elephants in domesticity as in the wild. And domestic elephants need to be cared for by humans, which costs money.

Domestic elephants traditionally had a working relationship with humans until very recently. For example, in Thailand, elephants were historically used as logging animals, until timber logging was outlawed in 1989. As logging animals, they were privately owned and cared for by mahouts. When logging was outlawed, the elephants and mahouts were put out of work, and had to resort to tourism, show business, or begging to make ends meet. This often leads to abusive training practices, poor nutrition and medical care, and overworked elephants. Most of these elephants cannot be returned to the wild, mostly because there is almost no “wild” left for them to inhabit, and because they have been domesticated and therefore need human care.

While caring for elephants used to be a respectable career, passed down from father to son, it is now considered a low-skilled job and it doesn’t pay well. However, these mahouts often aren’t trained to do anything else, and furthermore, they don’t want to abandon their elephants. Thus, the choice is not so much between hunting dollars and eco-tourism dollars, as it is between eco-tourism dollars and abusive and harmful tourism dollars.

This is why funding sanctuaries is so important. While many experts say elephant rides and other instances of elephants working are not inherently evil, the low profits from these activities sometimes lead mahouts and other employers to overwork the elephants to make more money. When the sanctuary’s focus is the proper treatment of and care for the elephants, facilitated by paid mahouts, both the elephant and mahout benefit.

But, as is becoming brutally clear, economic and political instability makes it difficult to establish a healthy tourism industry. This is globally applicable. Consider a hunter, who expects to wade through marshes and experience a little bit of danger on his or her expedition, versus a tourist with a camera, who is likely expecting to feel safe and relatively comfortable on his or her journey. Eco-friendly tourism requires reliable infrastructure, something many of these politically and economically unstable countries don’t have.

Stability, infrastructure, safety – all of these aspects depend on the state of the human population in these places. We can’t make the animals safer unless we invest in the people. In African countries, villagers won’t care about protecting elephants if they can’t feed their families. In Asian countries, mahouts can’t give elephants proper nutrition and medical care if they can’t feed themselves or their families. To protect elephants and other wild animals, we have to invest in the people who interact with them. Not because we have to, but because we want to, and we can’t assume someone else will. The first priority is always people. But where people and elephants live in close proximity, these dueling priorities can form one, shared priority.

That’s why The Elephant Project is the answer, world-wide. Villagers won’t need to rely on hunting dollars or the meat from elephant kills when The Elephant Project invests in every aspect of their lives, building on the five pillars, including Communities/Sanctuaries, Research, Retail, Education, and Collaboration. The Elephant Project values elephants based on how a sustainable elephant population can benefit the people and environment. Sustainability is key, and hunting elephants simply doesn’t compare to lasting, humane economic  investment in the land, people, and wildlife in these countries.

Creating a safe haven for elephants, where they are heavily guarded against poachers, where hunting isn’t necessary, and where human-elephant conflict is rare, if not eradicated, elephant families will flourish, exponentially increasing their value to the community. The denser the elephant population in an area, the more tourists are willing to spend for a chance to see them in their natural habitat. The more elephants we can monitor, the more we can learn about them. The faster we can stop poaching. The faster we can make the relationship between elephants and humans a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship. But that comes from investing in the people as much as in the elephants, which is what The Elephant Project is doing. We want, and the world needs, living, breathing, majestic elephants, and we need the IWCC to change its valuation metric to consider the best options rather than putting their hobbies first. A live elephant is more valuable, intrinsically and economically, than a dead one.

By: Laura Beth Jackson, Staff Counsel

So I encourage each of you to send us your stories - your personal narratives about your experiences with elephants. Send us stories about your childhood memories when you first bonded with an elephant or about the day your kids or grandchildren came to you wanting to hear more about the first time you saw an elephant. We want to hear from moms, dads, children, scientists, activists and anyone on the front lines helping these magnificent creatures for there is a reason you do what you do. No matter the country or the language - we want to hear from all.  Send us the stories about why you believe that we as humans must be their voice. No matter how short or long send your words, your photos and your videos. We will publish your story through our website, blog, podcast, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Let us help spread YOUR word and YOUR vision for saving these elephants and why. 

Let this World Elephant Day be the day that you take action by telling your story and I am certain that the next time you see an elephant and you look in their eyes you will feel their gratitude and hear in some inexplicable voice a thank you for being THEIR voice.

To send us your stories please email them to us at info@theelephantproject.net. We look forward to learning more about your experiences and sharing them with the rest of the world.

Nigeria is a country facing many challenges. Although it is one of the largest oil-producers in the world, it is estimated that there is almost 50% unemployment not to mention limited access to quality health care and education. There are really two economic classes – the wealthy, and those living in poverty. There is a middle-class, but just a small percentage when compared to Nigeria’s busting at the seams population of 165 million. Safety and security threats both in the heavily Muslim north and predominantly Christian south - are more prevalent than ever, and the list of challenges goes on and on. But Nigeria is a country rich in beauty and history and filled with amazing hardworking and proud people who have the fortitude and desire to make Nigeria a better place to live and prosper given the right opportunities.

But let’s go back to the question – does Nigeria have elephants?

Although Paul Allen’s great elephant census (which is truly an amazing effort) doesn't list Nigeria as a country with elephants, it is estimated that there are 250 in the country with the largest concentration (100-150) being in Bauchi State in the Yankari Game Reserve. Yankari, under the management of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and its amazing Country Director Andrew Dunn, has been able save these elephants even while faced with what many believe is a very challenging political, economic, and security environment. Their success is a true testament to their dedication to elephant and wildlife conservation.

And, there are many others in both the public and private sectors working in Nigeria to protect this forgotten herd - which if not given continued protection and care will reach a point where their survival is certainly in doubt.

While I was in Nigeria I was fortunate to meet with officials from the Federal Department of Forestry – the key agency responsible for the protection of elephants. Director Michael Osakude and Deputy Director Elizabeth E. Ehi-Ebewele were generous with their time explaining to me not only the challenges they face in protecting these animals but also their ideas on how to address some of the fundamental problems facing wildlife in the country. They are making amazing progress to ensure Nigeria doesn’t lose some of the few remaining elephants in West Africa. I enjoyed tremendously our discussions and can say without doubt they are truly dedicated to doing all they can to protect and defend these defenseless animals.

Then there is our Advisory Board member Nigerian Senator Ben Murray-Bruce who is an amazing advocate for the protection of wildlife and especially elephants. We are hopeful that his efforts will help build a consensus within the National Assembly to secure greater protections for elephants – including instituting one of the toughest bans on the import and sale of ivory anywhere in the world.

But the younger generation of Nigerians are also joining the fight to save these animals. Their support, given their growing influence in the country, is critical to any successful effort. Abba Abubakar, a very prominent young businessman and the son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has joined The Elephant Project's Advisory Board and is working with companies to help in the fight by raising funds and awareness that will support elephant protection efforts. He is an amazing advocate and his support will help energize the youth and young entrepreneurs around the world to engage in this critical fight.

But there is more to be done in Nigeria than just saving their own elephant population. Lagos has become one of Africa’s largest exporters of illegal elephant trophies and other endangered wildlife. Shutting down the Lagos port’s role in feeding the seemingly insatiable appetite for ivory and other elephant parts will go a long way in helping save these animals.

But the key to solving these issues, both in Nigeria and around the world, is to prove that a live elephant is much more valuable that a dead elephant.  Sadly, not everyone is convinced this is the case, and many view killing elephants and selling them for parts as a way to survive financially.   Given the widespread poverty in Nigeria, it is understandable that people will prioritize feeding their families over protecting elephants.  But there is a solution. Once governments in elephant range countries, like Nigeria, embrace the benefits of establishing a humane economy – which is simply an economy that thrives on saving and protecting wildlife and not destroying it - people will see the value of saving elephants and the senseless killing will be greatly diminished.  The results of building a humane economy will include growth in jobs, eco-tourism, tax revenue, international recognition and support, and greater safety and security within their borders and the continent as a whole. Not only is saving elephants a moral imperative, the facts are clear that saving an elephant has a greater positive fiscal impact to a country than allowing for their senseless killing.

This is the mission of The Elephant Project – to ensure the long-term survival of elephants by developing humane and socially responsible economies through the creation of sustainable free and fair market solutions. There is no doubt that there are immense challenges to implementing this solution in Nigeria, but it is achievable. I have seen with my own eyes the passion and dedication in the country from those who truly want to save these animals. The potential of what can be accomplished by all those I mentioned above is great - and their success could be transformational for the country and certainly the elephants. But their ability to succeed lies in getting support from all those who are committed to protecting this imperiled species - they cannot do it alone. The international elephant protection and conservation groups must commit more critical resources to Nigeria before this forgotten herd becomes yet another entry in academic journals and in news articles noting WHERE elephants once existed. 

The Elephant Project is committed to doing what we can, because we believe that no elephant should be forgotten - no matter the challenge. If we all join forces and work together, the next time we tweet out about elephants in Nigeria, we will read – “I am glad we have elephants in Nigeria – saving them saved my life.”

But as I have these conversations both with people and myself, I struggle to find a commonality that would inspire people around the world to act for a common good. This is a question that I have written on before: What motivates people to take action and what is the emotional tipping point that leads them to act? In many cases people are motivated based on some unknown feeling deep within themselves – it defies logic, explanation or rationalization and can be triggered at any moment.  I believe these emotions are bubbling up and the people are in search of a reason to act and come together for a common purpose.

That purpose, I believe, will be the protection of animals and more specifically elephants.

One has never been able to fully explain the true bond between humans and animals. Some people try and explain it by quoting scripture, Gandhi or a hundred other famous people whose words we have quoted in some cases for millennia. But it is one of those things that truly can’t be explained. A few years ago, I had a job interview to run an elephant sanctuary, and during the interview, they asked why I loved elephants so much.  In some ways, it was the toughest question during the interview to answer because the only response I could muster was that there is an inexplicable bond between me and these majestic and gracious creatures. I think most people who have an animal in their life can relate to that response – and there are a lot of us.

According to a 2013 global survey by Live Science magazine, 57 percent of consumers own pets. In the United States, that number is 68 percent. The number of pets is staggering:

• 142 million freshwater fish
• 88.3 million cats
• 74.8 million dogs
• 16 million birds
• 24.3 million small animals
• 13.8 million horses
• 13.4 million reptiles
• 9.6 million saltwater fish

These are just the responses from 22 countries, and I can personally attest to the fact that in every one of the 138 countries I have visited, people have and love their pets. And this feeling for animals carries over into all animals and especially those that are endangered around the world – like elephants.

Once I was driving with a colleague on a cold and snowy night.  Suddenly, without warning, she darted out of the car and began running into the darkness. I didn’t know what was happening.  Then I noticed, faint in the distance, a dog running through the snow near a busy intersection. She must have possessed some magical sixth sense to have noticed the dog, but at risk to her safety, she did what she could to help this defenseless animal. I have seen this behavior over and over again. I have seen people stop in the middle of freeways to help a flock of geese cross the road, or risk their lives to help a shark get untangled from a fisherman’s net. I have seen, as probably most of us have, the impact a pet can have on a person. I have seen the hardest of people break into a smile at the sight of their dog, cat, horse or another companion animal. It is well-documented that, during some of the darkest periods in the world’s history, leaders turned to their pets for comfort. Abraham Lincoln had his dog Fido. Winston Churchill had his wartime cat Nelson, and marmalade cat, Jock, and Franklin Roosevelt had his black terrier Fala.

But in addition to being a comfort, animals have been a political unifier around the world. This is evidenced in the United States by the fact that animal welfare issues have won via direct democracy more than any other issue – regardless of whether the voters are in a conservative or progressive area. It is an issue that unites voters of all political persuasions. As Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States wrote for the upcoming Initiative and Referendum Almanac, “[t]he ballot initiative process has been central to the progress of the contemporary animal protection movement, driving reforms concerning the use of animals in agriculture, entertainment, the pet trade, and wildlife management, among other sectors of the economy, and dramatically and favorably reshaping political perceptions of the cause. Between 1990 and 2016, animal protection advocates squared off against factory farmers, trophy hunters, and other animal-use industries in 56 statewide ballot measure campaigns, winning 38 campaigns – a 68% success rate.”

I am a believer in direct democracy and its ability to empower the people. I have seen how animal welfare advocates have used direct democracy to unite people at the ballot box. I am a believer in the protection of animals as well and particularly elephants. I feel strongly that saving this majestic, iconic, keystone species is a testament to our humanity and if we fail, then, in my opinion, we have failed as humans – and I am not alone in those beliefs. As I have traveled the world, the welfare of elephants seems to be the only true unifying cause that I can find. Billions of dollars are donated by people on every continent every year to help elephants, and these efforts have been met with various levels of success.

One of the biggest obstacles has been governments and their unwillingness in many cases to address the issues that are causing the death and inhumane treatment of elephants. But there is a way to address this: to use the tool that has empowered the people for generations to bring change when lawmakers have chosen, for whatever reason, to ignore reforms that the people want. A tool that has a proven track record in helping animals. We should build on that track record AND the undeniable commitment of people around the world to help elephants. The plan would be to collect signatures on elephant protection petitions and place them on ballots around the world over a specified period. Our goal would be to make elephant protection a global issue and to become the true elephant in the room – so it can no longer be ignored by governments. What better way to show our universal humanity than by working to protect this amazing animal via the power of direct democracy?

During these challenging times, the world needs a unifying purpose. Though we might think the grand issues -- the environment, human rights, universal living wage, military reduction, and government accountability — would be that unifier. But such issues actually divide us – everyone has their own definition of what the answer is to these challenges.

What we are lacking is an idea that unifies us, helps restore our humanity, and brings about tangible reform. Elephant protection can be that issue. And direct democracy provides the tool to change the geo-politics of the world to save these animals – and ourselves.

Recently, I was talking about The Elephant Project with a potential donor and this was my opening line. I went on to say that these are new ideas and new solutions that will address the threats to the long-term viability of elephants. We discussed how our innovative free and fair market solutions will foster new dynamic and humane economies that will create a safe new future for elephants and by extension other imperiled species. I closed the discussion by saying that our efforts will create sustainable revenue streams which will fund solutions that address the short and long-term needs of elephants, the communities in which they live, and their environment - fostering an economy where a protected elephant is worth more than a dead one.

After the pitch and on the way out of the building, I turned to Adam Roberts, one of our Advisory Board members who was with me and asked what he thought. In Adam’s typical funny yet serious manner he simply said – “Dane, people can’t see inside your head. You know the idea but you can’t assume others do. You have to do a better job of explaining the complexity and innovative aspect of your vision and the transformative impact that it can have. You must connect the dots.” It was a great point and forced me to take a long and hard look at how to explain The Elephant Project – a project that has never been done on this scale before.

But what else I realized is that when talking about The Elephant Project, there are really two distinct audiences. The first are the people who understand the plight of elephants and the importance of finding solutions to end this epic struggle and who know that finding a model that can bring a fiscally sustainable solution is critical. The second are those who simply have no idea why it is important to invest such substantial time and money into protecting elephants. Though through our educational component, The Elephant Times, we will work to educate people on why they should care, this initial blog regarding our efforts will focus on those that already are sold on the need to protect and not if they should be protected.

But let’s take a step back and look at how this all began since I believe it will help explain the underlying premise of the project. I have been lucky to have an amazing life filled with phenomenal people and experiences. I have worked in politics, animal welfare, democracy building, architectural design, residential development, was a builder and a carpenter, have traveled the world, have a strong belief that a great cause should be able to fund itself (my inner fiscal conservatism showing through) and most importantly love elephants and feel strongly that saving them is the ultimate test of our humanity. These experiences and guiding principles were the driving force behind the creation of The Elephant Project - a project that allowed me to use my diverse experience to help protect one of the most amazing animals ever to walk on this earth. It is a project that is immense in scope and will require the support of people of many disciplines – architects, environmentalists, builders, land planners, city planners, elephant care experts – both captive and wild, anthropologists, elected officials, retail experts, veterinarians, health care experts, and educators. We aren’t building a traditional elephant sanctuary that is funded by ongoing donations and ecotourism. We are building a sanctuary that is fiscally supported by a community that will be built in proximity to the sanctuary where 100% of all the net profits generated by the developing, building, and operating of that community and the businesses within it will go into a perpetual trust that will cover the cost of protecting the elephants within the sanctuary. We will build upon five pillars: Communities/Sanctuaries, Research, Retail, Education, and Collaboration.

In literal terms:

We will build sanctuaries where there is a need and communities consisting of high-end residences, commercial property, and resort facilities in proximity to the sanctuaries when conditions allow based on economic, security, environmental, and market studies. The size of the sanctuaries will be developed by elephant care experts who understand the needs of elephants and the carrying capacity of the land. We will make certain they have the land they need to live, grow, and prosper.

As to the community, it will be small compared to the overall size of the sanctuary and will only encompass 100 - 300 acres (40 – 100 hectares) so that it will have minimal impact on the environment and existing communities in the area. Seaside in Florida; Depoe Bay in Oregon; Southlands in British Columbia, Canada; Bolshaya Izhora in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Jindee in Perth, Australia are just a few examples.

Some great books that will help give you a better understanding of the underlying philosophy of how the community will be designed can be found in Garden Cities: Theory & Practice of Agrarian Urbanism by DPZ, The Smart Growth Manual by Andres Duany, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon, and Africa Drawn a book taking a look at the urban design of Africa’s top 100 cities.

We will build sewer and water systems, housing, schools and medical facilities for those already living in the area. We will work with the existing inhabitants, villagers, and communities to ensure that every stakeholder is involved in the design and implementation of the project. This project is about empowering the people and bettering their lives and this can only be done by engaging them and listening and understanding their needs. This is a critical component of this project - in order for it to succeed, it is imperative that all the people impacted by this project are supportive.

We will design the project from the ground up working with experts from around the world who know people, elephants, and the environment and who will ensure that the elephants are protected, the environment is preserved, and the people who live there have a better life. We will do this while building a world class community whose economy will generate sustainable revenue to support the people and the elephants.

We will develop extensive retail operations around the world, both through e-commerce and brick and mortar stores, that will sell products produced within the countries we operate in. We will build world-class markets within the new community, like the Indianapolis City Market, that will give local artisans and farmers opportunities to show and sell their products.

We will create skills training programs for the mahouts and their families to increase their opportunities for employment.

We will promote collaboration by providing free office space and housing within the community to the various NGOs and their staff who are dedicated to the protection of elephants and their environment. 

We will establish non-invasive research facilities that will develop systems that will help diminish human-elephant conflicts. Not only will we ensure that people who invest in the new community are protected, we will develop systems that will protect existing communities from elephant incursions. Our goal is to build strong relationships between the people and the elephants and addressing the issue of human-elephant conflicts is a critical step in building those relationships.

We will develop cutting edge technologies that provide solutions to end poaching and address the impact climate change has on their ability for long term survival.

This project is designed to be replicated around the world and will be tailored based on the needs and challenges of each country, and there will certainly be challenges – everything from land ownership issues, local ethnic conflicts, governmental restrictions to name a few. But every challenge is simply an opportunity for a solution.

But the question that most people ask, is how do we actually generate the revenue for all of this. In short, we will derive income from the development, construction, sale and leasing of residences, commercial properties, and resort facilities that make up the community; business revenue from the operation of ecotourism businesses that are part of the sanctuaries and communities, including restaurants, hotels, shops, and ancillary businesses; revenue from property taxes, dues and assessments collected from the owners of the residences and businesses located within the communities; and profits from the sell of goods manufactured in host countries through our retail operations.

We will simply use existing business models that are used by real estate developers all over the world when making the decision to invest millions of dollars in a project - but instead of a developer making the money, The Elephant Project will make those profits and invest them in the perpetual trust. We will give 100% of the net profits generated by our retail operations and community development back to programs in the host country to support the establishment and retention of a humane economy within that country.  This is in contrast to retail companies that sell elephant-themed merchandise and give an average of 10% of their profits to elephant protection efforts. In short, every profit dollar we get goes 100% back into our conservation efforts in that country.

This project is innovative in so many ways and those who donate or invest in a residence or business in the community will have the unique opportunity to not only live near the natural habitat of elephants and other wildlife, but actually witness the impact of their investment. They will see their investment protect elephants and other imperiled species, foster collaboration and fund research that will address the short and long-term needs of elephants, better the lives of the citizens of the host country through the building of a humane economy, and weaken the ability of terrorists to carry out their heinous acts by eliminating poaching as a funding source. 

Our goal is to replicate this model around the world, thus lessening the reliance on the unsustainable donor-based funding models currently used for animal welfare and other conservation efforts. Donor dollars will go further since the need to donate annually to solve the same problem will be diminished.

We are currently exploring opportunities in numerous countries to implement our plan including Malawi, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Even though each of these countries represent a chance to save and protect elephants, Myanmar is unique in that it is an unprecedented opportunity to help protect 3,000 timber elephants. It is also a perfect location – economically, environmentally, politically and geographically – to implement our plan. We have developed a great relationship with the Myanmar government and our efforts in the country will be the subject of my next blog.

The opportunity that exists in Myanmar is the reason that The Elephant Project was created – to be able to protect elephants on a scale that has not been possible before because of funding constraints. But even if the funding is available, this can only be accomplished collaborating with the right people. Since I started this journey, what has truly made it possible is the selfless support of so many. My goal has always been to create an opportunity to help elephants and then bring together the people who have the expertise to build a long-term solution from that opportunity. I am honored and humbled by the support of visionary leaders from all segments of society who have agreed to help The Elephant Project implement our vision to help end the senseless slaughter and cruelty of this majestic, iconic, and keystone species - and the list of supporters continues to grow longer and stronger. I encourage you to learn more about the people who are really making this happen by visiting the TEAM section of our website.

In these 2125 words, I hope that I have done a better job of connecting the dots and giving you a clearer understanding of what The Elephant Project is and what we are hoping to accomplish. Our tag line of New Ideas. New Solutions. A New Future sums up our efforts. But in addition to that, I hope you have a better idea of how we are actually going to do it. Our goal is not to talk about solutions but to create them, make them real, and by all of us working together we can connect the two most important dots - the elephants to a new safe and secure future.

But today provides more than just the opportunity to reflect on the plight of the elephant, but also to thank those who have committed their lives to ending this epic struggle. The number of individuals and organizations around the world who serve as the bulwark against the evil that drives people to inflict unspeakable cruelty against these magnificent creatures seems limitless - and though sadly they toil in many cases in obscurity, there are victories that prove that their struggles are making a difference. But the victories aren’t just those derived from individuals, organizations and NGOs. Sometimes, the victory is achieved by the action of a government and there is no better example than what is currently unfolding in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).

As Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” As the founder and President of The Elephant Project, I was honored to have met this last June with individuals from the highest levels of Myanmar’s government down to the mahouts who wake up every morning to the sight of these majestic animals. At every level, the belief and desire in protecting these iconic animals, both those in the wild and those under the care of the government, was absolute. There is no greater example than their commitment to the continued care of the approximately 3,000 government owned timber elephants and the thousands of mahouts and their families who care for them every day – a situation that was created when the government chose to end the devastation of their forests caused by excessive logging - putting these elephants and their mahouts out of work. Many governments, especially those faced with tremendous economic and political challenges like Myanmar, would have simply walked away from any commitment to continue to help these elephants and the people who care for them, but they didn’t. To the contrary, the government has continued their support and are being proactive in ensuring the long-term viability of the elephants that reside within this beautiful and mystical nation. The Elephant Project is proud to be working with the government to implement innovative solutions to end the challenges these elephants face.

On this important day, we should take solace in the fact that despite the immense challenges of protecting elephants globally from extinction, there is hope that the bulwark is growing stronger as evidenced by what is happening in Myanmar – a country at the precipice of a frontier of uncertainties. But the fact that the government and its diverse population of 51 million have chosen to walk side-by-side with the elephants as it writes the newest chapter in its quest to free itself from their current struggles and ghosts of the past, is a testament to their humanity and the greatness of their nation. That is just one example of the progress being made through the selfless acts of so many. Let’s use today to not only raise the trumpets of alarm in this epic struggle, but to also thank those who give us hope that soon those trumpets will be sounding in celebration and not to give notice that the evil that resides in some of our fellow humans has yet to be extinguished by the moral code that defines humanity.