INCEF in Southern Sudan
I have always been a big fan of INCEF and have tried to support the organization’s work from afar – dog-sitting back when I lived in DC and Cyn would head to Congo, creating and managing the INCEF website, etc. But I recently had a chance to experience the INCEF model firsthand and wanted to report back from Juba, soon to be the capital of the Republic of South Sudan, where the INCEF team is working on an exciting collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society.
WCS is the only environmental conservation group working in Southern Sudan – they set up shop just after the peace agreement in 2005 and they have been conducting wildlife research and working with the government on landscape planning and protection since then. Despite decades of civil war, massive wildlife migrations still cross Southern Sudan, from the Ethiopian border to the Nile River. The landscape is a mix of surprises: stunning forest-covered mountains, great stretches of flat savannah, and vast wetlands.
In Juba it is a time of new beginnings, with the energy and excitement of independence in the air. For those with a long-term vision, wildlife conservation and eco-tourism are clearly pieces of the country’s economic development puzzle. But poaching and encroachment into protected areas for agriculture, cattle grazing and oil exploration threaten the South’s natural resources, and unless the communities that neighbor wildlife equitably share in the benefits, any conservation gains may be fleeting.
Realizing the power of video to communicate the value of protecting wildlife to various audiences – from government officials to development NGOs to villagers living next to the national parks – WCS partnered with INCEF. While the work of Cynthia and Seamus (and now me) in Juba is a variation on the standard INCEF model, a lot of the same ingredients exist. Cynthia brought her extensive experience in filmmaking and development to the role of Executive Producer, planning a suite of videos covering important aspects of conservation in the country. Seamus trained the WCS communications and community-outreach staff in the education model INCEF has perfected, leaving them with the simple kits of iPods and digital projectors that travel from village to village bringing information to those who need it most.
I joined the project to help build the capacity of a WCS employee to shoot and edit videos. Charles Tiba grew up in Southern Sudan and went to the University of Juba where he studied wildlife. When he started at WCS as a field assistant a few years back, they noticed his technical capacity, and he started helping with GIS (geographic information systems – basically computer mapping) and video projects. After carefully watching and supporting earlier WCS-INCEF video production and editing efforts, he has stepped into the role of in-house video producer. During my ten days in Juba, we dove into the details of the Sony Z1U camera and advanced editing with Final Cut Pro.
I also had the chance to get out and do a little production with Charles. We interviewed the Minister of Agriculture in her office with Charles, with the calm confidence of a talk show host, leading the interview of this high-ranking government official. Late in my trip, Seamus arrived to oversee the completion of the video on wildlife and protected areas in time for the independence celebrations on July 9th. The three of us drove up to Badingilo National Park with the Chief Park Warden and a truckload of wildlife rangers – Charles capturing some great footage of the wildlife patrol in action and the new headquarters for the park being built.
Juba was definitely an exciting, interesting place to be – lots of NGOs trying to guide this new country’s first steps as the city transforms into an international capital. With WCS and INCEF working together, hopefully the nation’s invaluable natural resources will be conserved for future generations in South Sudan. And INCEF’s important work – grassroots education harnessing the power of digital media – has touched another corner of Africa.
Bill Finnegan is a partner at Tamarack Media, a multimedia production company and web design firm specializing in environmental communication. Tamarack supports the work of many leading environmental groups, including National Audubon Society, University of Vermont, and Switzer Foundation, and has worked with INCEF since 2004. Bill teaches video production at Champlain College and his work has appeared on public television and BBC-Radio 4 and won awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival. He is currently producing a documentary with Yale University on architecture that connects people and nature. Find out more at tamarackmedia.com.
