A moment with ... Dr. Richard Leakey

Richard Leakey will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on "Climate Change and the Future of Life on Earth" at the University of Washington's Meany Hall, sponsored by the Burke Museum.

For tickets or more information, call 800-733-1789 or visit focusonplanetearth.com.

		Dan DeLong / P-I
	Richard Leakey discusses his views on aid to Africa and climate change during an interview Monday at a University District hotel.

Tickets are $40 general, $35 for museum members and $20 for students.

For more information about Leakey, go to leakeyfoundation.org

Richard Leakey's life sounds like one of those wild African adventure movies.

Given all of the things he's accomplished and experienced, this is perhaps the simplest way to describe Leakey. The world-renowned and controversial Kenyan paleontologist, whose discoveries have contributed to the grand story of human origins, learned his science as a son of the equally famed fossil hunters Louis and Mary Leakey.

Also an ardent conservationist, Leakey in 1989 was made head of the Kenyan wildlife conservation department by Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi. One of his methods, which proved successful but also created enemies, was to instruct his men to simply shoot poachers on sight. In 1993, he survived a plane crash -- in which sabotage was suspected -- but lost both of his legs below the knees.

In 1995, Leakey formed a new Kenyan political party, the Safina Party, to challenge Moi's political dominance. Supporters of Moi routinely harassed Leakey and even beat him up once in an effort to discourage the movement. The scientist-conservationist eventually was appointed to serve in various government positions (at the urging of international donors) and remains active, though unofficially, in Kenyan politics and civic movements. He was recently named chairman of Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization.

Leakey is now directing his damn-the-torpedoes approach to the issue of climate change. The Seattle P-I caught up with him at his hotel Monday.

Before we get to the issue of global warming, your story indicates that trying to do good in Africa can get you killed. For many Americans, aid to Africa often seems like a waste of money -- because of corruption, entrenched dysfunction and so on. How do you see it?

"I see it very differently. If I may say so, a lot of the current crises and poor governance that pervades our political systems in Africa are direct results of the Cold War -- the struggle between the West and the Soviet Union. We don't necessarily want you to help us fix things now. Africa's problems can only be solved by Africans. The way Europe and the U.S. could help would be to actually stop interfering, take more of a hands-off approach, and just support those who want to help themselves -- rather than always try to run the show."

You've had a bit of an eclectic approach to life -- doing cutting-edge paleontology, pursuing poachers at gunpoint, getting thumped in politics and now taking on climate change. Why climate change?

"All the critical stages of evolution, and in the paleontological record, have been brought about by climate change. The disappearance of the dinosaurs, the development of our large brains, the expansion of agriculture and civilizations, all have been due to major changes in climate. When people say it's happened before, damn right it has. And the climate change that's happening now has all the hallmarks of being another massive change."

But losing the dinosaurs, getting bigger brains and starting agriculture sound like benefits. Isn't it possible climate change won't be that bad?

"It's true that some areas, such as in the temperate regions, may see some short-term benefits. The negative impacts will be more likely in the tropical and subtropical regions. But what's happening now is happening at a speed that's unprecedented. The decline in species is astounding. When you lose 60 to 70 percent of all life forms, there will be consequences."

What can people do to prevent this?

"Well, it's really too late to hope this won't happen. It's happening. Mount Kilimanjaro has had ice on top for the last 12,000 years and, within the next 10 years or so, there will be no ice left. This isn't rocket science. If people care about wildlife, we need a strategy to deal with this now. Many of these animals already have nowhere else to go. I'm speaking out about climate change because it's a far bigger threat than poachers or anything else to the survival of species -- to life as we know it, really."

-- Tom Paulson