Chinese participation contributes to wildlife protection: conservationist

Fourteen-year-old Wang Jingyi volunteered at Ol Kinyei last summer.

"I will make sure that nobody in my family or any of my friends consume wildlife products," she said at the event on Sunday. "Really, the lions are not scary. Humans are more frightening to them than they are to us."

Zhuo's wildlife protection work in Kenya had not gone smoothly at the beginning.

"When I first arrived and told people that I had come to protect wildlife, nobody believed me, as Chinese men were often linked to poaching and consumption of wildlife, not the defending of it," Zhuo told Xinhua.

Zhuo's work includes patrolling across the conservancy to prevent poaching and illicit grazing, monitoring, observing of wildlife, as well as rescuing injured animals.

Through years of hard work, he has gained trust and respect from the local tribes and the international community as well.

But wildlife conservation is not a single man's journey, Zhuo said. "It can only be achieved by a united community."

Zhuo places priority on mainstream education. He went door to door to talk with the local Maasai pastors, explaining to them the importance of protecting and restoring the ecosystem, and training young volunteers to become guardians of the habitat.

Eco-friendly tourism has proven to be an effective alternative to developing the local economy and can help the Maasai people earn a better life without having to kill the animals, he said.

On the other hand, he speaks of the threats, challenges, progression and solutions on local, regional and international stages, and calls for solidarity and joint efforts of all nations and all people.

He said he looks forward to making his own contribution to deepening cooperation and exchanges between China and Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative.

"I hope to share my experience and lessons learnt from operating a conservancy project in Africa with my colleagues in China, to improve wildlife protection in the country and build our own national parks in the future," he said.