Poacher turned Game Keeper
POACHING was all 13-year-old Anderson Mgesi had known. Hunting birds and small antelope was an easy and quick way to earn money to help support his mother and father and eight siblings. Today, though, he is helping to put an end to poaching in Usangu, a vast unspoilt wilderness that is home to elephants, buffalo, lions and leopards.
It is where he now works as a guide, ferrying tourists to see the incredible wildlife in this part of the Ruaha National Park – and the birds are among his favourite.
“Anderson is now one of the top guides in our business in southern Tanzania,” said Brandon Kemp, Country Director Tanzania for Asilia Africa. “I am so proud of him.”
Among those who have benefited from his wisdom and knowledge of the area is INEOS’ Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Over the past six years Jim has been instrumental in helping Asilia Africa change the face of tourism in southern Tanzania to save wildlife threatened by poachers.
And together they are making a difference.
“We now have one of the greatest new wilderness areas for tourism in Africa,” said Brandon.
Since the opening of a new expedition and research camp – again funded by Jim – the number of poachers in the uncharted Usangu wetlands has decreased.
“We just need to keep it up,” said Anderson.
Working at Usangu camp – 180 miles from his family’s home in Tungamalenga – means a lot to Anderson.
For the wetland is where his grandfather lived and his father was born.
“I remember my grandfather telling me how he would often walk long distances in search of salt and food,” said Anderson. “Now I am walking those same paths, guiding tourists.”
The only way into Ruaha National Park used to be on foot, which made it difficult to protect the animals from poachers.
Now there is a 30-mile road to Jim’s research camp in Usangu, which Anderson and 11 others built by hand in two months.
It was during the road’s construction that they encountered a leopard which had breached the perimeter of their temporary camp in search of food.
“We managed to chase it out of our campsite before it became dangerous,” said Anderson.
It was during the construction of the road that Anderson began studying English and started to download inspiring speeches made by former US president Barack Obama.
“I spent a lot of time coaching him because he was so dedicated,” said Brandon.
Anderson had initially worked as an odd-job man at Jabali Ridge – the place where Sir Jim’s joint venture with Asilia began.
“Together, we have made the largest commitment to southern Tanzania of any safari company,” said Brandon.
“And this commitment is crucial because these huge wilderness areas receive only a fraction of the visitors (and revenue) of the more famous northern parks such as the Serengeti and Tarangire.”
So far, Sir Jim has contributed more than $1.5 million in Usangu alone – and also brought in a helicopter which has been a game-changer in the fight against poaching.
“Southern Tanzania is an amazing place, but it is under threat,” he said. “The creation of a sustainable and ecologically friendly safari tourism business will both protect the wildlife and help the people of this amazing region by creating lasting jobs.”
And to Brandon and Sir Jim, that is people like Anderson.
INEOS in the community
INEOS strongly believes in being a good neighbour by supporting local communities around its sites and businesses. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, INEOS established a Community Fund – a £1 million pot to distribute to charities and community groups who were most in need of emergency funding.
At the time, there was a huge response, with the greatest need coming from food banks, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, hospices and care homes.
In the end, the full pot of funding was used, with over 67 sites in 15 countries appealing for help on behalf of their communities.
Now, the INEOS Community Fund has grown to become a bigger business priority, reviewed year on year, and distributed to applicants that best fit its ‘giving criteria’.
For 2023, INEOS has made special donations in honour of its 25th anniversary, with the latest charity to benefit being ‘Bridge Communities’ – a charity nominated by members of the INEOS Aromatics team in Naperville, Illinois.
Bridge Communities has received £25,000 – a donation that will help their team transition families facing homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing mentoring, housing, and support services.
"We are truly grateful for INEOS’ generous donation in support of families facing homelessness in DuPage County," said CEO Amy Van Polen.
"Their support will allow us to better meet the changing needs of our client families in the Bridge programme and provide them with impactful and transformative experiences."
Saving the Atlantic Salmon
INEOS’ desire to help protect the land and pristine rivers in North East Iceland not only threw a lifeline to the endangered North Atlantic salmon. It also gave Sveinn Björnsson and Stefán Hrafnsson hope that they too could make a difference to the place where they grew up. Both men are now carrying out research in Vopnafjordur as part of INEOS’ Six Rivers Iceland project, whose sole aim is to save the North Atlantic salmon from extinction.
“INEOS has brought in all the necessary tools for me to focus on rebuilding the rivers full time,” said Sveinn.
“We have a vision of where we want to be in the future with all the rivers.”
But he does not view the research as a job. “Salmon and nature have been my life since I was a kid,” he said. “It’s not work; it’s a lifestyle.” Stefán is also a keen fly-fishermen and works with Sveinn.
He said INEOS had made a huge difference in raising awareness of the salmon’s desperate plight.
“I feel so privileged to be able to work in a field I’m so passionate about,” he said.
Atlantic salmon have been fished in North East Iceland for hundreds of years but, for those living in the area, the disappearance of the species could also spell the end of their way of life.
To Sveinn and Stefán, that would be unimaginable.
For it is all they have known, with both of them still employed as part-time guides on the rivers, which are one of the last safe havens of the Atlantic salmon.
It is through their work as guides that they first met INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, an expert fly-fisherman.
Jim knew that Iceland was home to some of the best salmon fly-fishing in the world. What he didn’t then know was that the North Atlantic salmon was also a species under threat.
He discovered that Strengur Fishing Club was doing all it could to protect the species, but it needed financial help to do more.
With Jim’s support, salmon ladders have been installed to increase the size of the breeding ground for the fish, which lay their eggs in freshwater, then swim to the ocean.
Botanists have been planting trees to enrich the soil around the rivers because healthier vegetation leads to a healthier environment for the organisms that live in the rivers.
Smolts – maturing salmon – have been tagged so that scientists can track and monitor their behaviour, and millions of salmon eggs have been planted into the gravel in rivers further upstream to help breed a healthier and stronger stock.
All the data will help the angling club to understand why the Atlantic salmon are disappearing – and what needs to be done to stop it.
“Salmon is an amazing species and we need to do everything we can to protect it,” said Stefán.