NAIROBI, Kenya, March 4 – American actor and environmental conservationist, Edward Norton has been named the Magical Kenya Tembo naming festival brand ambassador.
He was unveiled by Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Friday during an event held at the Nairobi National Park.
Norton has featured in various movies including Incredible Hulk, Bourne Legacy, Red dragon among others.
“We are proud to announce Edward Norton as the MagicalKenya Tembo Naming brand ambassador who has a life-long commitment to environmental conservation.”
The Tembo naming festival is a conservation project which seeks to raise Sh100 million by allowing individuals to adopt and give names to selected elephants after donating funds towards the program.
Balala lauded his appointment as a timely one that will bring value through innovation on conservation projects.
“We have had several discussions on how to boost Kenya’s biodiversity through conservation. Thank you for allowing to join us today and I am positive we will have a positive engagement going forward,” he said.
In his remarks, Morton emphasized the need to intertwine biodiversity with the economic system and livelihoods of the community.
“We cannot put the needs of millions of people below the needs of wildlife conservation, there is need to intertwine the two and meet the needs for both human and wildlife,”
” We have to create a model where the community are stewards of conservation whereby they can build more resilience,” he added.
He lauded the naming festival as a good partnership which brings together various organisations that provide an opportunity to create value.
“I am excited to join this, I know we will get many organisations and individuals to take part in this initiative and meet our target of Sh100 million by the end of the year,” he said.
