Saving the world's wildlife is not just 'a white person thing'

The conservation sector is dominated by white faces, and for many people it looks a bit like colonialism. It's time for new voices to take up the fight

In a few days it will be the 18th anniversary of the death of Michael Werikhe, the enigmatic African conservationist. You don't hear or read much of him these days.

Nicknamed "the Rhino Man" because his work and campaigns focused on the critically endangered black rhino, Werikhe's main campaign tactic of choice was walking to raise awareness. His first walk, starting on Christmas Day 1982, took him from Mombasa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi - a distance of 484 kilometres - and lasted for 27 days. He later walked in East Africa, Europe and North America to raise awareness and money, raising nearly $1m and covering nearly 5,000km.