Ofir Drori ( he, 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, democracy and human rights 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. 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 Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
,
Gabon,
Togo,
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
,
Senegal,
Uganda and
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
.
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.
Drori is a co-founder of The
EAGLE
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
Network.
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 survive in the wilderness for two days and reach tribesmen and eventually was evacuated to hospital in
Addis Ababa, and then to a hospital in Israel.
This incident is reminiscent of Australian eco-activist
Val Plumwood
Val Plumwood (11 August 1939 – 29 February 2008) was an Australian philosopher and ecofeminist known for her work on anthropocentrism. From the 1970s she played a central role in the development of radical ecosophy. Working mostly as an indepe ...
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. He also received the Interpol Ecomessage Award, The Clark Bavin Enforcement award and the
Condé Nast Traveler Environment Award for his work, as well as the Future For Nature Award and the Shining World Compassion Award.
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.
References
'Man in black' fights for Cameroon apes''Man in Black Fights, BBC News, June 15, 2007''
''allAfrica.com, March 2007''
Jail for Cameroon chimp trafficker''BBC News, July 25, 2003''
How Saving One Chimp Led to a New Kind of Anti-Poaching Group ''National Geographic, June 2016''
''The New York Times, October 2015''
Tedx Ede 2016
External links
LAGA - The Last Great Ape OrganizationEAGLE Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drori, Ofir
Israeli activists
Living people
1976 births