Kajiado county has 60 wildlife conservancies set aside by communities, according to the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust.
The trust’s executive director Jackson Maato says 30 per cent of the wildlife conservancies are in the Amboseli ecosystem. He made the revelation on Saturday after signing a memorandum of understanding with the county government.
Maato said the conservancies are set aside for the protection of wildlife and the environment outside the nationally protected areas.
“Within this county, we have 30 conservancies, bringing a total of nearly a million acres into conservation,” he said.
The trust boss said they requested a partnership with the county government and close involvement in decision-making to safeguard mutually beneficial land use.
“This form of land use in the conservancies will protect the land for both livestock and wildlife use,” Maato said.
This effort is geared towards land conservation and the free movement of wildlife between protected areas, thus minimising human-wildlife conflicts that undermine conservation.
“We'll also make sure the communities, which have set aside these conservation areas, benefit in a big way from conservation initiative and investment,” Maato said.
Governor Joseph Lenku said this is just a step in a long process that requires the county government to come up with a policy to guide natural resource conservation and sustainable land use.
“Our partnership with stakeholders—who are committed to conserving our environment and wildlife to enable our people to adopt alternative sources of livelihoods and sustainable land use—is a key area of our service delivery.
“We are determined to see a healthy co-existence between our people and our wildlife, which is our precious natural heritage,” Lenku said.
Edited by Francis Orieny
