Behati Prinsloo, Namibian-born supermodel, joined forces with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to mark World Wildlife Day. 

At the Empire State Building, an iconic feature on the New York skyline, made famous through movies like King Kongand Sleepless in Seattle, Prinsloo flipped the switch to light the building blue, green, and gold, reflecting colors of the oceans, earth and plains to highlight the plight of wildlife, including rare and endangered species, on World Wildlife Day (3 March).

Sharing her commitment to Namibia’s black rhinos, Prinsloo, the Global Ambassador for Save the Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT), also made it possible to have an image of a rhino circling the spire as part of the design.  

“Growing up in Namibia where I was lucky enough to see elephants, lions and rhinos in the wild, I never imagined that their future would be so precarious that we’d need to set aside a day to remind ourselves of what we have to lose if they go extinct. Together we simply cannot let that happen,” said Prinsloo. 

Simson Uri-Khob, CEO of SRT, stressed that the efforts to stop poaching and fight wildlife crime are an ongoing battle with local communities, regional partnership and international allies deeply involved in the fight.  

SRT is part of the USAID-funded initiative, Combatting Wildlife Crime Project (CWCP).  Launched in 2017, the 5-year, 5-country CWCP aims to increase rhino numbers in Namibia; and reduce poaching of elephants and increase the opportunities for their range expansion in select areas of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA).  

“Working closely with our local partners, we have achieved 2 years without a rhino poaching incident in the northwest of Namibia, while, at the same time, helping to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity to the planet and to the lives of local people,” said Uri-Khob. 

“Thanks to Behati and the UNDP, today this message is shown clearly in the night sky of New York City.”  

Chris Weaver, head of WWF Namibia, which coordinates the efforts of 13 CWCP partners, including WWF Namibia, Legal Assistance Centre, Integrated Nature Conservation and Rural Development, Namibia Association of CBNRM Support Organizations, Namibia Development Trust, Namibia Nature Foundation, and Save the Rhino Trust Namibia, said, “The scale of wildlife crime is  vast and sophisticated, requiring many donor-funded wildlife crime support initiatives to work in a collaborative manner to counter it, and all recognize that no single approach will end wildlife crime.  

But, by raising awareness, building capacity, benefitting communities, stopping poaching, and strengthening investigations and prosecution, these initiatives and the CWCP are giving wildlife and communities a fighting chance. 

Today’s event in New York City to mark World Wildlife Day is a fantastic example of the importance of sharing the message to stop poaching and end wildlife crime on a global scale.”