The ViewFinder [END OF AN ERA][ RWANDA CARES][GOOD NEWS FOR FILM MAKERS?][CONNECTION][CLIMATE CHANGE] The Amboseli matriarch Echo, probably the most filmed elephant on the planet, has died. On May 3rd, she collapsed near the lodge at Ol Tukai, and seemed to be having trouble breathing. She died the next day, at 2.42 p.m. with the elephant researchers Soila, Norah and Katito at her side. She was thought to be in her mid sixties, and had led her family for more than thirty years. She had starred in many films, including “Echo of the elephants”, in 1989, “Echo of the elephants – the next generation” in 1993, “Echo of the elephants – the final chapter?” in 2000, “An eye for an elephant” in 2005, and most recently the 13-part series “Echo and the elephants of Amboseli” in 2008, and certainly featured in many others. Echo’s sister Ella who is in her forties will now lead the family group of 40.
This stunning photo of Echo is by Martyn Colbeck, the cameraman who knew Echo best In a move which hopefully will be copied by other countries, Rwanda has banned plastic bags of all types. This includes airline “duty free” bags, and anyone entering Rwanda with one of these will have it taken away at the airport. Kenya, along with many other countries, is being strangled with plastic bags, which pose a serious threat to wildlife as well as to the environment. So far the only action that has been taken is to stop the manufacture of the lightest of lightweight plastic, but all other gauges are still being made. Some companies are recycling plastic which in one way is commendable, but in another it exacerbates the problem. There are charities who collect plastic bags, for unemployed women to make into baskets, hats, mats, clothes, etc. But this is only on a very small scale. We think a total ban, such as Rwanda have brought in, is an excellent move. The Minister for Finance, Uhuru Kenyatta, presented his budget on 11 June. He announced that Customs duty and VAT will no longer apply to the film industry. This means that the cost of temporary importation of equipment for overseas crews should become a thing of the past, and should enable local film makers to import equipment far more cheaply. In theory, then, this is very good news. However, the budget has to be passed by Parliament before it becomes law, which hopefully will happen quite soon, although Parliament goes into another recess for a month this week. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, together with the Kenya Film Commission, are also trying to push the Treasury and the Ministry for Local Government to agree to standardisation of local authority filming fees across the country. Currently, local authorities are charging filming fees varying from Sh 15,000 per week to a massive Sh 100,000 per day. Clearly it would be much easier to budget if they all had the same fee structure. STOP PRESS! The right hand gives, but the left hand takes away – the Narok County Council, responsible for most of the Maasai Mara reserve, have in their wisdom announced new filming fees w.e.f. 1st July. US$3,000 to 10,000 per week depending on number of crew ! This represents an increase of 2,185%. Clearly this is not workable for any film crew. We are fighting at the highest level to get this reversed, and in the meantime are sending our crews to the Conservancy side where the new rate is a mere Sh 25,000 per week. Kenya’s fairly fragile road system is always in need of maintenance, but right now people aren’t complaining about it, as there are teams of people digging along the verges all over the country. They are laying a fibre optic cable. This, in theory, will shortly result in improved internet connection speeds and a considerable reduction in price. This is largely due to the vision of the Permanent Secretary for Information, who has been pushing for Kenya to join the 21st century as soon as possible. We are promised that we will be soon able to download videos, photos, Utube movies, and all the rest. At the moment, these things can take several hours to download, so we don’t even bother. We are hoping this will make a difference, when we are connected, which is supposed to be by the end of June. The long rains of April/May have failed in many areas. There is a very serious drought situation, particularly in northern Kenya. In Laikipia, there has been no rain at all. People and animals equally are suffering, with perhaps 2 million people starving and receiving food aid. Elephants and other animals are dying, and crops have failed. This is the third consecutive rainy season that has been, in meteorological terms, “inadequate”. Dams are at all-time low levels, and water everywhere is being rationed. The next major rain isn’t due until October, so the country faces critical times over the next few months.
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