Heartland Coordinators Visit Kilimanjaro Heartland

Amboseli National Park - in the AWF-designated Kilimanjaro Heartland - hosts an amazing profusion of diverse wildlife. The park is a stunning mosaic of grassy plains, clear springs, mud pans, and Phoenix palm woodland framed by the presence of Mount Kilimanjaro. After an intellectually rigorous, yet stimulating week in Nairobi, the first comprehensive meeting of AWF's Heartland Program staff transferred the meeting to the living conference facilities of Amboseli. The Heartland Coordinators meeting provided a stellar opportunity to discuss, and refine, Heartland Program strategies and approaches. The complement of diverse views and consistently high capacity represented throughout each Heartland contributed to a charged discussion of continental Heartland Strategy.

The aim of the Heartland Coordinator's trip to Kilimanjaro Heartland was to discuss and share experiences regarding trans-boundary natural resource management (TBNRM). Interconnectivity was a central theme to these discussions: between eco-systems, communities, species, and even AWF's Heartland Program. The juxtaposition of southern African Heartlands perspectives from Zambezi and Kazungula provided a lively infusion to these discussions and an opportunity for AWF staff to work with colleagues in the field.

The coordinators observed several interactions which highlighted the species richness of this landscape. A juvenile hyena deviated off course across the plains towards a grazing warthog with impressive scimitar shaped tusks. The hyena took note of this and a mutual lack of interest ensued and the warthog continued to graze with the hyena resting three feet away.

The herd of elephants were standing still, subdued, and somberly facing in the same direction in the full sun on the plains. Jonathan Lekanaiya, AWF's Community Conservation Officer in the Kilimanjaro Heartland had already sensed this and remarked: "Why do they seem like they are in mourning?" Only when we approached did the reality of this dawn upon the rest of us: a small gray figure lay at the center of the herd, a trunk trying to prod the elephant to its feet. As we moved away, we passed a number of hyenas already trotting across the bleached mud flats and plains towards the herd of elephant. A bend in the track revealed a vervet monkey picking softened seeds from steaming elephant droppings between two phoenix palms.

These interactions, however subtle or empathy inducing, stressed that this web of life is dependent upon the interconnectivity of this landscape. For elephant, the Kitendeni corridor is vitally important in linking Amboseli with Mt. Kilimanjaro's rich forests, and for predators, the group ranches bordering Amboseli provide the expanses needed for predator home ranges. The Kitendeni corridor was visited on both sides of the border where its fragility was evident with increasing land subdivision for agriculture.

The Tanzanian side of the Kilimanjaro Heartland has magical views of three key mountains: Kilimanjaro, Meru and Longido. This triangular basin with intact wildlife habitat, prolific wildlife abundance, rich game birdlife is prime for tourism development. At present the area is only used for wildlife hunting, but AWF's Kilimanjaro team is working to try and diversify the revenue base of this area for the benefit of communities.

The overview of conservation targets, threats, strategies and enterprise options in this landscape provided solid exposure to visiting Heartland Coordinators. The Kilimanjaro Heartland Team was also able to benefit from the insight and experience of the Coordinators. Increased cross-site exposure and input could become an important facet of the Heartland Program in terms of providing field staff with a suite of lessons learned in relevant Heartlands.