🐘 Walking Together for Elephants — Service Above Self! This morning in Oakland, California along along side with my Nephew John Waithaka Ruo , I had the privilege of joining the weekly fellowship of the Rotary Club of Oakland. Founded in 1909, Rotary Club of Oakland is Rotary Club No. 3, following Chicago No. 1 and San Francisco No. 2. I felt proud and inspired to join fellow Rotarians and have the opportunity to network with a diverse group of professionals committed to service, fellowship, and positive change. I was also honored to share about my Rotary club’s activities, projects, and vision, as well as my U.S. Elephant Conservation and Awareness Campaign. During the fellowship, Rotarian Dr. Joel Parrott, former CEO of Oakland Zoo, encouraged my work with these powerful words: “What you are doing should be respected and supported.”

Those words mean a great deal to me and strengthen my determination to continue walking, speaking, sensitizing communities, and building support for elephants and their habitats. 🐘🌍 Rotary’s vision says: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” This is what I believe: we must stand and walk together for change—Service Above Self.

My request to fellow Rotarians 🤝🐘 To every Rotary Club along my route and beyond: Your fellow Rotarian is on the road, walking from community to community, raising awareness and appealing for collective global action and policies to protect elephants and their habitats. As I prepare for the 20th Edition of the “Ivory Belongs to Elephants” Campaign Walk, I am asking for your hand, your voice, your partnership, and your support. Let us walk together—not only for elephants, but for the ecosystems, communities, and future generations that depend on them. Ivory belongs to elephants—not markets. 🐘 I invite Rotary Clubs and fellow Rotarians along my route and around the world to join this movement and help amplify the message. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can protect elephants. Together, we can create lasting change.

Service Above Self. 💙💛🐘 #Rotary #RotaryInternational #ServiceAboveSelf #RotaryClubOfOakland #ElephantConservation #IvoryBelongsToElephants #SaveElephants #ProtectElephants #WildlifeConservation #ElephantAwareness #Conservation #RotariansForChange #20thEdition

Global Conservationist Jim Justus Nyamu Launches 3,700 miles U.S .Walk for Elephant Protection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Global Conservationist Jim Justus Nyamu Launches Historic 3,700-Mile U.S. Walk for Elephant Protection.

OAKLAND, CA — August 15, 2026 — Marking World Elephant Day 2026, renowned Kenyan conservationist Jim Justus Nyamu officially commenced the 20th edition of his "Ivory Belongs to Elephants" campaign with a successful launch at the Oakland Zoo in California.

Addressing fellow conservationists under this year's global theme, “Bringing the world together to help elephants,” Nyamu highlighted the critical threats facing African elephants, including habitat loss, rampant poaching, and climate change. As a vital keystone species, elephants are foundational to their ecosystems; Nyamu emphasized that conserving elephants is essential to protecting all surrounding wildlife and their natural habitats.

Following his address, Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Director Nik Dehejia, alongside board members, staff, and international conservation allies, officially flagged off Nyamu for his ambitious 150-day awareness campaign walk across the United States. The 3,700-mile journey will traverse diverse eco-climatical regions, passing through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, before concluding in New York.

The primary objective of this historic walk is to mobilize global diplomatic and financial support for the 29 African Elephant Range States (AERS). These nations face shared crises in wildlife management, underscored by severe funding shortages for local wildlife agencies. This campaign serves as an urgent international appeal to protect the remaining 415,000 elephants left on the African continent.

Key Policy Recommendations for the United States Government

To ensure the survival of African elephants for the next century, Nyamu is presenting a strategic framework outlining seven key actions for the U.S. government:

• Completely Close the U.S. Domestic Market: Eliminate remaining commercial loopholes, tighten documentation mandates for antiques, and aggressively prosecute illegal ivory trade.
• Lead Global Diplomatic Bans: Partner with major transit and consumer nations—such as China, Vietnam, and Thailand—to permanently shut down legal domestic ivory markets and standardize international legal penalties.
• Target High-Level Trafficking Networks: Pivot enforcement focus from local poachers to international syndicates by investing in intelligence, cross-border financial investigations, DNA/forensic analysis, and customs oversight.
• Deploy U.S. Technology Along Transit Routes: Provide African and Asian customs agencies with advanced risk-based container screening, data analysis tools, and canine units to intercept massive ivory shipments still moving through global transit hubs.
• Expand Direct Conservation Funding: Increase financial resources for African ranger programs, protected sanctuaries, community-led conservation, and human-elephant conflict mitigation. The U.S. African Elephant Conservation Fund’s FY2024 allocation of $8 million represents a vital foundation that must be expanded.
• Aggressively Reduce Consumer Demand: Subsidize long-term public awareness campaigns in key ivory-consuming countries to stigmatize ivory ownership and expose its direct ties to international organized crime.
• Utilize Trade and Diplomatic Leverage: Enforce diplomatic pressure and targeted trade restrictions against nations that consistently fail to meet their CITES obligations, building on current U.S. import verification successes.

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