AWF Initiative Strengthens Conservation

Apart from the receptionist and her paraphernalia, the next most conspicuous item at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF's) reception is their mission statement.

It reads: "The African Wildlife Foundation recognises that the wildlife and the wild lands of Africa have no equal. We work with our supporters world-wide and our partners in Africa - to craft and deliver creative solutions for the long-term well being of Africa's remarkable species, their habitats and the people who depend on them."

Kenya, like the rest of Africa, is richly endowed with spectacular wildlife and other natural resources. The Kenya government has designated protected areas in wildlife strongholds countrywide in an attempt to conserve this heritage. However, most of these parks are too small to provide the ecological requirements of large mammal species that often end up venturing outside these designated areas.

AWF beneficiaries celebrate their good fortune with officials.

In many cases, these animals spend a large part of their annual seasonal cycle or are resident outside these protected lands. Private property often gets destroyed, crops are trampled, livestock killed and worse, human lives are sometimes lost.

This has resulted in heavy costs on the poor rural communities and an escalation in the human-wildlife conflict for survival. If this were to go on, one of them will have to give way and going by what has happened elsewhere in the world, it's the wildlife.

Quick "creative solutions for the long-term well being" of these remarkable species, their habitat and human neighbours are necessary. The AWF and her partners are at the forefront in crafting and delivering these "creative solutions" that will help to strike a balance between humans and wildlife.

They have developed symbiotic solutions that will certainly help to reduce the antagonism. Their "creative solutions" have placed the local community at the centre of the whole process that is unquestionably a win-win formula. "In recognition of the primary role that communities play in conservation," pointed out Christine Guchu-Katee, a Senior Programme Officer, "USAID provided support to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and a coalition of partners to form the Conservation of Resources through Enterprise (CORE) program. The goal of the program is to improve conservation and management of natural resources through increased benefits to communities and landowners in areas critical to parks and reserves."

Strengthening or establishing businesses has been the main thrust of the program, working on the hypothesis that if people can benefit from their wildlife-based businesses, then they will take action to conserve the wildlife and other natural resources. The community has been encouraged to view wildlife as "their tea or coffee bushes" that need to be protected and nurtured.

To realise this, they ensured that they brought everyone concerned on board. "The program started slowly, with much of the first year spent in aligning the coalition membership of seven to ensure a common vision, shared understanding of the objectives as well as the results expected under our common goal," she added.

"Countless meetings were held and numerous visits to selected focal areas undertaken to introduce the Core program to community groups and stakeholders. We also took time with Kenya Wildlife Service to work through the project management structure, which now comprises the Program Management Team and a Program Steering Committee." Other AWF/Core partners include the African Conservation Centre and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

When this was done, AWF's team was deployed to the field to begin exploring business potentials, to undertake more thorough consultations with communities, all the while learning about the context in which these businesses would operate. Once they hit the ground, the process was initiated and painstakingly nurtured.

The response has been was great. AWF and its coalition partners have surpassed the expected outputs of the project by reaching twelve group ranches, putting more than 60,000 hectares under conservation - all within the first two years of the program.

Some of these communities have received training on the management of these areas and programs to monitor the status of vegetation and wildlife. With their help, communities have created the institutions that will be necessary to run and manage these areas along with the enterprises associated with them.

However, in instances where they have set up businesses that they don't have the necessary manpower to run, the programme has attracted partners in the private sector to collaborate with the communities.

"This is the focus of AWF's Core program," the Programme Officer explained. "The main aim is to help create successful business ventures by bringing partners together. Core provides expertise in community development, law and business development to ensure that communities receive fair returns, steady income and jobs - and room for wildlife."

Using the expertise of African Wildlife Foundation with strong support and funding from USAID, different types of enterprises have been established and strengthened. Deals have been structured between the private sector and communities to help market and run some of the bigger business ventures that are owned by communities which may lack the expertise to run the businesses.

In the last two years, AWF with its coalition partners have been working to establish 14 enterprises - some are eco-lodges and others are tented camps. A number have been completed and others are still under construction - all structured as partnerships between private sector companies and the community. Three are bee-keeping projects, two cultural centres, one beads for conservation project, one campsite and one student bandas.

The process of empowering the community is still going on and they are set to launch a campaign to market these ventures next week.

A sample of the projects:

Koija Group Ranch, Laikipia: Based in northern Kenya, the Koija Group Ranch hosts a 500-hectare conservation area surrounding an eight-bed, rustic but luxury facility branded as the "StarBeds" due to its unique features. It serves 1,500 residents.

Kasigau, Taita: The Taita Ranches lie in the wildlife corridor between Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks. The corridor is under threat from poaching, charcoal burning and uncontrolled settlements. AWF has facilitated a partnership between community resource owners and the private investor - Savannah Camps & Lodges - to develop and market low cost student guest houses or bandas. There is also a honey-keeping project going on.

Lumo, Taita: Three group ranches in Taita, Lualenyi, Mramba and Oza have come together to form the Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary so as to exploit the natural resources on their land sustainably. The sanctuary's 2,250 members benefit from it, ensuring that the wildlife corridor between Tsavo East and West is maintained.