Ofir Drori

Ofir Drori (Hebrew: אופיר דרורי‎‎; born 26 April 1976) is an Israeli writer and activist based in Central Africa. He started as an activist against wildlife trafficking, and expanded to anti-corruption activism throughout Africa.

Activism

He is the founder of LAGA – the Last Great Ape Organisation, an enforcement non-governmental organization that fights corruption in order to bring about to the arrests and prosecutions of major wildlife criminals dealing in endangered animal species.[1] LAGA's award winning model for a wildlife law enforcement NGO has started in Cameroon and is now replicated in the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Gabon. The model has already been set up under the PALF project in Congo–Brazzaville and the RALF project in Central Africa Republic with arrests and prosecutions carried out. In Gabon, the AALF project is responsible for replication under the NGO Conservation Justice. Apart of Central Africa, the model is on-going in Togo under the TALFF project and in Guinea-Conakry under the GALF project.

In 2005, based on the experience of fighting corruption in the judiciary and the forces of law and order, he has founded another NGO, called Anti Corruption in Cameroon, or AC–Cameroon, which focuses on establishing Anti-Corruption law enforcement in Cameroon, and involving citizens in the fight against corruption through direct legal action.

Crocodile attack

In December 2013, Drori was attacked by a 3-meter long Nile crocodile while vacationing along the Omo River in Ethiopia, but he managed to escape death. Despite his injuries Drori was able to reach a village and eventually was moved to hospital in Adis Ababa, and then to a hospital in Israel.[2] This incident is reminiscent of Australian eco-activist Val Plumwood who also survived a crocodile attack in 1985, and she subsequently wrote of it in her landmark 1996 essay "Being Prey".

Honors and awards

In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious World Wildlife Fund Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal for his work.[3] He also received the Interpol Ecomessage Award and the Condé Nast Traveler Environment Award for his work.[1]

Published works

Drori co-wrote The Last Great Ape: A Journey Through Africa and a Fight for the Heart of the Continent with David McDannald (ISBN 978-1605983271).

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.israel21c.org/israeli-activist-hunts-down-african-wildlife-traffickers/
  2. ↑ http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Award-winning-Israeli-wildlife-conservationist-survives-Ethiopian-crocodile-attack-337546
  3. ↑ http://wwf.panda.org/?206508/Champion-wildlife-crime-opponent-awarded-top-WWF-honours


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