The Great African Crisis

I am thrilled to be in Africa currently, visiting my parents after three long years. Although I have been to this continent many times previously, its majestic wildlife, beaches and cheerful people never fail to delight me. I consider myself very lucky to have been on great African safaris many times before and am beyond ecstatic about visiting the Serengeti National Park end of this month. I think Africa is one of the few places left on Earth where people can feel truly connected to the beauty of nature and our fellow beings that roam the planet. 

This is why it saddens me that the very essence of this beautiful land is threatened by the inhumane and gruesome act of poaching. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, at the current rate, elephants, rhinos and other iconic African wildlife might be gone in our lifetime. This is simply unacceptable. 

Ivory, from elephant tusks and the rhino horn are sold in the black market for $1,000 and $50,000 per pound, respectively. To put things into perspective gold is sold for about $22,000 per pound. The significant money involved in the trade lures poachers into getting involved in such activities. A pair of tusks can be worth a few years' salaries in most African countries. This is the strength of the organised criminal gangs that are thriving on the money generated from this illegal trade. It is easy for them to bribe rangers and tempt local people into getting what they want. What makes them more dangerous is their use of high powered technology and weapons which enables them to kill many animals at once, without being detected. 

Apart from the endangerment of precious animal species, poaching poses a significant threat to Africa's tourism industry. In 2014, tourism contributed close to 5% of Kenya and Tanzania's GDP. Adding pressure to the problem is the growing evidence that suggests that wildlife poaching is funding criminal and terrorist organisations in several parts of Africa. Thus suggesting that the situation at hand must not just be treated as a conservation issue but also a security issue. 

There is no one solution to tackle this complex problem but several measures that need to be taken to bring the situation under control. The first would be to educate and create awareness among the consumers themselves. China alone accounts for about 70% of global ivory demand. The African governments will need to invest heavily in more sophisticated technology such as surveillance equipment, even drones have been proposed as a possible tool to assist in this task. All the countries that have been known to providing a market for these animal products need to take a tougher stand on the subject. In addition sustainable livelihoods need to be created in areas affected by wildlife crime.

Do we really want our children to grow up in a world where there are no elephants, no rhinos? Do we want them to learn about them in a museum and then explain to them that they were killed over something as trivial as trinkets and jewelry? Definitely not. 

Let's restore Africa's majestic wildlife and let our children enjoy it in all its glory! 

Creativity vs Drought by Clemenger BBDO, Vivid Ideas

It was a GREAT honour to be a part of the judging panel for Clemenger's "Creativity vs Drought" event, as part of Vivid Ideas. The event beautifully captures how creativity can tackle real problems we face today. Primary school children came forward with their ideas on how to combat drought in Australia. I was absolutely blown away by their creative thinking and enjoyed every minute of engaging with them.

Macro Problems Caused by Microbeads

Microbeads are minute pieces of plastic which can be found in toothpastes, body scrubs, face washes and many other products. They are added to products for exfoliation purposes. Would be fair to say that the advantages of softer skin far outweighs the ecological devastation they are causing. These tiny pieces of plastic are so tiny that our filtration systems can't pick them up and they go straight from our bathroom drains into the oceans, rivers and lakes.

Microbeads absorb all the toxins from the water around them and become one giant, tiny toxic nuisance. Then of course they are consumed by marine life and probably end up back on your dining table.

There is also no scientific evidence that these microbeads have any benefits at all. As far as exfoliation goes, products that contain natural ingredients such as almonds, apricots and others are much more effective and don't need to be used more than once a week. Products that contain plastic microbeads on the other hand can be used on a daily basis, which means consumers run out faster and buy the product more regularly.

If you see any of the following ingredients:polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polymethyl methacrylate in the products you use, you're unknowingly contributing to this environmental problem. If you're in Australia, this list contains all the products that you should probably boycott.

The personal care products industry loves this ingredient because it works out great for them. It is cheap, easily available and gives a "silky" texture to their products. Of course it's smooth and silky! It's plastic. Silky texture exfoliants aren't really exfoliating at all, it only makes them less effective so you use them daily and pay more money.

Nevertheless the good news is that leading supermarket chains such as Coles and Woolworths have committed to not using microbeads in their own products from 2017. The United States has already passed legislation to ban use of microbeads in cosmetics, which will come into effect this year.

Environmental Minister Greg Hunt has said that Australia is pushing for a voluntary phase-out by July, 2018.