Securing the Kitenden Wildlife Corridor
A Major Highway for Elephants and Others
One of the great problems facing wildlife in Africa is the increasing isolation of viable wildlife habitat. As the human population grows and converts land into agriculture, national parks and reserves are becoming more and more like isolated islands. One of AWF’s priorities is to maintain – and restore when necessary – landscape connectivity. In 2002, AWF made a huge leap in this effort by helping officially define and designate the Kitenden corridor in southern Kenya.
Born to Wander
To survive, wildlife need room to roam. And, the animals in the Kilimanjaro Heartland are no exception. This Heartland’s rich variety of ecosystems – from semi-arid savanna to wetlands – is home to the world’s best known and most studied population of African elephants as well as endangered species of cheetah and wild dogs.
Keeping these species around depends on maintaining large, unbroken landscape habitat for them. AWF identified the Kitenden Corridor – a stretch of land between Kilimanjaro Forest Reserve in Tanzania and Amboseli National Park in Kenya – as a vital linkage that allows the natural movements of over 300 elephants and other wildlife.
Keeping Landscapes Together
As is the case with all its work, AWF turns to research to guide its identification of key corridors to conserve. First, potential corridors have to be identified. Then extensive research must be done to track actual animal movement patterns, land-use vegetation, and water resources. Once the corridors are identified, AWF must negotiate deals between government, private and community stakeholders along the corridor’s path.
In the past, high demand for arable land compelled people to encroach on the Kitenden corridor, with prices fetching up to the equivalent of $1000 per acre. As a result, the width of the Kitenden corridor was reduced from 10 km in 1990 to 5 km in 2000. The rate at which the corridor was disappearing compelled AWF to mobilize government officials and communities to demarcate the corridor.
A Model of Connectivity
The Kitenden corridor is a working model of connectivity in the Kilimanjaro Heartland, providing vital space for migrating elephants and helping to minimize human-wildlife conflict.
