Types of conservancies in Kenya

Types of conservancies in Kenya : In the last 30 years, Kenya’s wildlife has decreased by around 70%. Kenya’s iconic wildlife, its multibillion-dollar tourism sector, and the lives of rural communities are under threat due to factors such as loss of space and connectivity, growing development pressures, and the effects of climate change.

Hope is provided by conservatories. A wildlife conservancy is an area of land that is maintained for the benefit of wildlife conservation and other suitable land uses that improve livelihoods by an individual landowner, corporation, group of owners, or community.

 Since 65% of Kenya’s wildlife is found on private and community lands, conservancies offer linked landscapes that enhance national parks and reserves. They also give communities the opportunity to gain from wildlife management, which in turn puts them at the centre of efforts to promote conservation. Because they provide better land and resource rights as well as access to incentives, conservancies are becoming a popular land use choice for communities and land owners in Kenya. This is because the Wildlife Act of 2013 recognises them as a legitimate land use.

Kenyan conservancies are preserving livelihoods and halting the deterioration of the country’s famous wildlife for future generations by putting communities at the core of wildlife conservation and strengthening conservation incentives.

 For the great Serengeti-Mara wildebeest migration, for instance, over 450,000 acres of vital habitat are safeguarded by 15 conservancies in the Maasai Mara. As a result, the number of lions has doubled over the past ten years, and 3,000 households make more than $4 million in revenue from tourism each year. Since 65% of Kenya’s wildlife is found on private and community lands, conservancies offer linked landscapes that enhance national parks and reserves. They also give communities the opportunity to gain from wildlife management, which in turn puts them at the centre of efforts to promote conservation.

 Because they provide better land and resource rights as well as access to incentives, conservancies are becoming a popular land use choice for communities and land owners in Kenya. This is because the Wildlife Act of 2013 recognises them as a legitimate land use.

Kenyan conservancies are preserving livelihoods and halting the deterioration of the country’s famous wildlife for future generations by putting communities at the core of wildlife conservation and strengthening conservation incentives. For the vast Serengeti-Mara wildebeest migration, for instance, approximately 450,000 acres of vital habitat are safeguarded by 15 conservancies in the Maasai Mara. As a result, the number of lions has doubled over the past ten years, and 3,000 households make more than $4 million in revenue from tourists each year.

 A comparable success story is emerging in Kenya’s coastal region, where local people are defending threatened species, such the Hirola antelope, which has seen its population double in only three years (from 48 in 2012 to 97 in 2015).

Types of conservancies in Kenya

Community conservancy

Conservancies created by a community on its own land are known as communal conservancies. These make up 51% of the KWCA membership.

The decision-makers and enforcers in communities are usually in charge. They choose a community representation board democratically.

Ex-officio board members from government organisations including the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), as well as partners in tourism and conservation, are represented on some of the boards. The Board elected during Annual General Meetings (AGMs) determines benefit-sharing mechanisms, drives the conservancy’s strategic development, and oversees operational management. The largest community conservancy in Kenya is Melako Conservancy (546,777ha), followed by Malkahalaku Conservancy (480,380ha) and Lokichar (453,659ha). The smallest is Oldonyo Waus Conservancy (243ha), which is located within Imbirikani in Amboseli.

Group conservancies

For the aim of conserving wildlife, private landowners who share a similar boundary pooled their resources to form this reserve.

Group conservancies, which make approximately 16% of the KWCA membership, are registered as private land-holding corporations that are co-owned by all landowners and operate similarly to private conservancies.

The registered private land-holding business, a combined management company with a tourism investor, or a hired management company are in charge of conservancy management. Each tier’s board members are chosen democratically, with nominees from each stakeholder group who are representative of the group. In order to preserve equity and transparency, benefits are frequently distributed through trusts.

The Pardamat Conservation Area (28,992ha), Mara Naboisho (21,472ha), and Mara North (28,010ha) are Kenya’s largest group conservancies.

Private conservancies

This is a conservancy that has been established on private property for the protection of wildlife by an individual or corporate entity.

36% of the KWCA’s members are private conservancies, which own or manage land that is either freehold or subject to a lease.

Corporate entities, non-profit groups, and single people or families may be in charge of the region they manage.

In Kenya, renting the land to conservation NGOs, non-profit private firms, or for-profit private companies is one of the more common ways to manage private conservancies. Some are run by the proprietors directly. Every conservancy sets its own policies regarding board composition, hiring, fundraising, financial stability, openness, expenses, and political lobbying power.

It is important to emphasise that the governance strategy is dependent on a number of other elements and is contextual. Private conservancies are primarily located in Taita Taveta (25 of them comprising 358,337ha), Laikipia (9 of them covering 156,494ha), and Nakuru (15 of them covering 49,013ha).

Kenya’s largest private conservancies are Laikipia Nature Conservancy (36,500ha), Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy and Rukinga (34,398ha), and Lentolia Farm (44ha), which is the smallest private conservancy in the nation.

Co Managed conservancies

A deal to preserve particular public land that is made between a community or private person or people and a government body or authority.

There are four Co-Managed Conservancies in Kenya.