Lorraine Anyango
22 July 2007
Nairobi — A Chinese wildlife photographer has donated Sh90 million for the conservation of the flamingo habitat in the Rift Valley.
Lou Hong, who visits Kenya twice a year to photograph the birds he refers to as his "beautiful friends," has offered the money to reverse the decline in the population of the flamingos.
Sh9 million of the fund will be used to protect the birds in the lakes in the Rift Valley, which have been dying due to insufficient food and pollution.
Mr Lou recently sponsored a workshop in Nakuru to discuss ways of increasing the flamingo population in the Rift Valley lakes.
The workshop held at Lake Nakuru National Park brought together environmentalists and conservationists.
During his visits the businessman, who runs a baking business in China, spends his time at the park photographing the flamingos.
He runs Holyland Bakery which supplies bread and cakes to more than 700 supermarkets in China.
"I have employed people to take care of the baking business so that I can concentrate on taking pictures and especially of the flamingos," he said.
Mr Lou first visited Lake Nakuru in September 2003 and found the elegance of the flamingo breathtaking.
He says the birds formed "a pink carpet over the lake," which he found it extraordinary.
But every time he visits, he finds that his "beautiful friends" are diminishing in number, and their habitat is being destroyed.
He has noticed the lake has been receding, and this has been a major source of concern for him.
"I rise early in the morning just to get a new shot of the flamingo," he says, adding that there may be no flamingos to photograph if the current trend continues.
"Each time I visit Kenya I find that the number of these birds has decreased, and I don't want them to be extinct," he said.
"I want to show the splendid beauty of the flamingo. I want my great grandchildren to have an opportunity to behold the beauty of the flamingo.
Some of his photographs are displayed in Kenya's prominent hotels.
He says the best photograph he ever took was one of a flamingo with a pelican.
He also takes photographs of other animals, but he has found the beauty of the flamingo irresistible.
Mr Lou, 40, learnt that the flamingos were migrating from the lakes in the Rift Valley from a news story on a Chinese television station.
"I got to know that many flamingos flew away due to various reasons, including insufficient food."
That is when he started thinking of ways in which he could stabilise the conditions in the birds' habitat to keep them from migrating.
Recent studies indicate the population of the lesser flamingos in Africa has declined. In 1974, it stood at 5 million, but last year it was between 1.5 and 2.5 million.
In Kenya, the number of lesser flamingos in the lakes is lower than the count in 1960s. There were 3 million then as opposed to the current 2 million.
As the water level in the lakes fluctuates, so does the population of the birds.
Mr Lou says he uses his photographs to create awareness among communities on the need to protect the environment.
Last year, he held several photo exhibitions in China, including one in Tindu City.
He also held one to celebrate World Environment Day which is observed every June 5 by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of environmental issues and encourage political action. The Chinese government has been urging entrepreneurs to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the environment.
These exhibits also include his photos of other animals and scenery.
The money raised from these ventures goes towards preservation of the environment and particularly the flamingo.
"My pictures are not for sale. I give them for free. I have even mounted some on billboards in China just to advertise Kenya," he said.
He adds that his aim is to display the beauty of the birds to the Chinese people "since we do not have a lot of birds."
Photography has been Mr Lou's hobby since he ws a teenager. He started taking photographs at 14, and after his studies he was employed in a photo studio where he honed his skills.
"I went on with my job, but when my mother turned 50, I was frustrated because I could not get her a good cake for her birthday, so I left my photography work and opened a bakery so that I could bake good and nice cakes," he said.
Mr Lou's interest in environmental conservation was triggered by the 1998 floods in China after the Yangtze, Asia's longest river, burst its banks and destroyed homes and property.
He realised that the floods were caused by the destruction of trees in the upper Yangtze area.
"It was then that I learnt that the environment is important and it has to be taken care of," he said.
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