New Headquarters for One of Africa's Best Reserves

AWF completed the construction of new headquarters and staff housing for the wardens and rangers of Samburu National Reserve in late April. Located in the Kenya's northern frontier, Samburu National Reserve is one of Kenya's most spectacular protected areas. The arid landscape is home to reticulated giraffes, Grevy's zebras, beisa oryxes, and gerenuks - specialized species which can only be found north of the equator. They share the landscape with elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, and other species that thrive in the grasslands and acacia woodlands of the reserve.

Samburu is also home to the rangers who work day and night to protect these animals from poachers. In 2003, AWF began a multi-year initiative to enhance the management and infrastructure of Samburu National Reserve (SNR) to enable the long-term conservation of this important ecosystem and its wildlife. Without adequate funding, accommodation for the reserve's wardens and rangers was in a state of complete disrepair. With assistance from USAID, the Dutch government (DGIS), and a private donor, AWF launched a three-phase renovation project to improve the staff housing and offices, beginning with reconstruction of six ranger houses at the Archer's Post entrance. Phase two consisted of the renovation of eight ranger houses at West Gate entrance, which was completed in 2005.

April 2006 marked the completion of phase three of the renovation project with the opening of the new reserve headquarters, four new ranger houses, and four blocks of staff quarters. The renovated housing has not only enhanced the rangers' quality of life, it has boosted morale tremendously. When asked why proper housing was important, Mr. Abdi Boru, Senior Warden of Samburu National Reserve, responded, "Before we had new houses our families struggled. We were not happy and spirit was low. We spent much of our time fetching water, fixing leaks, doing repairs ourselves when we could have been patrolling the park, doing our job."

AWF provides support to protected areas like Samburu National Reserve as part of our landscape-level conservation strategy called the African Heartlands Program. In AWF's Samburu Heartland, the housing renovation project is just one part of our mission to work with reserve managers to improve the ecological integrity and management infrastructure of the reserve.

To date, AWF has guided the development of the reserve's General Management Plan, improved signs and visibility for increased tourism revenue, provided park staff with a radio communication network, and renovated staff housing. Over the course of the next two years AWF will work with the reserve to control alien and invasive plant species, develop a tourism plan, and increase socio-economic benefits to the reserve's neighboring communities. Ultimately, Samburu National Reserve will become one of the best run protected areas within Africa, and a key area for wildlife which can be sustained indefinitely into the future.

"To the entire AWF family we have no words to express our asante to you for all the support you have given us. It is your total commitment to AWF's mission that makes us proud talking to our friends and partners about AWF and its wonderful work all the time. Please, please keep up the excellent work," said Mr. Abdi Boru, Senior Warden of SNR.