Supporting sustainable market-based conservation-friendly enterprises that benefit both people and wildlife

Wildlife conservancies in Kenya present a promising avenue through which the community can become direct beneficiaries of wildlife and tourism.

Participation is perhaps the best incentive for communities to conserve and take care of wildlife and other tourism resources. More importantly, the benefits of the Wildlife Conservancies go way beyond conservation and tourism alone to yielding multiple local, national and even international benefits for people by stabilizing regions, improving security, building local capacity, diversifying livelihoods, increasing community resilience, generating prosperity, reducing donor reliance, protecting the natural environment, facilitating access to social services and enhancing local governance. However, the strength, success and sustainability of any conservancy lies within the community that lives therein, and not with any outside agency. Therefore, any effort to empower the local communities whether through capacity building, investments in alternative livelihoods or effective participation in decision making has a direct benefit to sustainability of any wildlife conservancy.

As part INTASAVE Africa's project "Capacity Building for Community Managed Wildlife Areas in Kenya", a collaborative project undertaken with Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), INTASAVE climate and wildlife experts undertook a community baseline survey field trip to Baringo County. They were visit two community conservancies, undertaking a baseline survey of their existing status, and then develop a business plan for each of them for their future purposes of fundraising from the county government, private investors, and targeted Calls for Proposals.

James Mwangi, Senior Project Officer in the Kenya office, tells us about the trip…

The journey from Nairobi to Bogoria in Baringo County commenced on the hot, sweltering afternoon of Tuesday 10th February 2015. We traversed the breathtaking views of the Rift Valley, bypassing the Rift Valley Lakes of Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha, and Lake Nakuru before finally arriving at the Lake Bogoria Spa Resort which would be our rest stop for the night. Lake Bogoria Spa Resort is the only Resort in Kenya with a naturally heated Spa pool derived from the natural hot water springs of Lake Bogoria. As such, the temperatures in the environs of the Spa Resort are between 30 - 35 degrees centigrade, and we were to bear testimony to the authenticity of this temperature estimate the next day.

The following morning we set out for the nearby Kapkuikui shopping center where we would be holding our focus group discussion meeting.

The meeting commenced with us seated on some well-worn rocks underneath a tree on the edge of the shopping centre where we were able to speak to the chairman of the Kapkuikui Livestock Improvement Self Help Group, Mr Kiprop. He provided us with information pertaining to the groups' sustainable acacia honey, which has received acclaim in Baringo County and even in the adjacent Nakuru County. The honey has received Kenya Bureau of Standards certification which speaks volumes as pertains to quality assurance. Through partnership, the Group has been able to market their honey at the nearby Lake Bogoria Spa, Kabarak University in Nakuru County, and a number of retail outlets. The acacia honey will constitute one of the products being marketed by Irong Community Conservancy.

The meeting with members of the Irong Communty Conservancy, comprised of the Endorois ethnic community, as well as stakeholders from Lake Bogoria National Reserve, and Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), thankfully moved from the baking sun into the much cooler office of the local administrative chief, and revealed ongoing plans to establish the Conservancy as a fully-fledged enterprise.  The conservancy is home to the Greater Kudu and the elusive leopard, zebra, and giraffe. Several species of birds are also found in this pristine location which makes it a bird lover's haven. The conservancy has abundant flora and fauna, some endemic to the conservancy, which will serve as a major attraction to tourists, both domestic and international. Its close proximity to Lake Bogoria National Reserve and Lake Bogoria Spa Resort means it is well placed as being part of a package tour within the greater Lake Bogoria ecosystem. The community members were very enthusiastic pertaining to the establishment of the Conservancy and looked forward to the completion of the business plan which they would then actualize through partnership development and marketing.

We then left the humid Lake Bogoria ecosystem in the afternoon and proceeded to Rugus which is adjacent to Lake Baringo, the site of the next conservancy on our itinerary, Ruko Community Wildlife Conservancy. The Conservancy was established in 2006 and falls under the stewardship of Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), which is an umbrella organisation for a number of conservancies in Northern Kenya, whose mission is to develop resilient community conservancies which transform people's lives, secure peace and conserve natural resources. The following morning, we clambered into a boat and sped across the turquoise blue waters of Lake Baringo headed for the island of Komolion where we would have our focus group discussion with fishermen from the surrounding communities.

Ruko is home to the Njemps and Pokot ethnic communities. The Njemps are pastoralists and fishermen, while the Pokot are pastoralists and cultivators. The business plan to be developed in this conservancy will involve a fish-to-market enterprise which will entail the setting up of a fish processing and refrigeration plant at one of the beach landing sites on the shores of Lake Baringo, with the objective of engaging in value addition of the fish caught by the fishermen, as well as refrigeration of fish. This model would allow the fishermen, who are organised as beach management units (BMUs), to attract better prices for their catch through elimination of exploitative middlemen. The enterprise would also make it possible for the fishermen to procure smart fishing gear, safety equipment such as life jackets, and better boats in the mid-term. Once again the community members were overly enthusiastic about the proposed enterprise and eagerly awaited the business plan so as to propel it to the next level.

This meeting served as the culmination of our baseline surveys and we then bid farewell to our loquacious hosts and returned to the mainland from whence we embarked on the journey back to Nairobi, in awe of Mother Nature's beauty and the important role we, as part of humanity, play as the custodians of the global commons for the benefit of posterity.