This five-year project is implemented by IFAW in partnership with Big Life Limited, Tsavo Trust, Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (AET) and Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (TTWCA). The project seeks to promote locally led conservation for improved livelihoods, wildlife, and biodiversity conservation in Amboseli and Tsavo landscapes. The project supports regional umbrella organizations (AET, TTWCA) to improve their governance and management skills in implementing conservation actions in the landscapes. The umbrella organizations then transfer better governance practices to member conservancies to help them more effectively manage wildlife and biodiversity in their jurisdictions.
The four project objectives are:
● Improving governance of Tsavo and Amboseli landscapes.
● Reducing threats and improving biodiversity conservation.
● Increasing partnerships for landscape-level economic growth and sustainability.
● Increasing community and ecosystem resilience
OUR WORK
Several activities are being implemented aimed at supporting the project objectives:
I. To strengthen governance, technical capacities, infrastructure, and equipment for AET and TTWCA, activities are developing an integrated, inclusive approach to biodiversity and wildlife management and helping derive more benefits from landscape resources.
II. To improve wildlife and human well-being, the project aims to enhance ecosystembased planning, coordinated community-led law enforcement (anti-poaching, bylaws, and community dialogues), and human-wildlife conflict mitigation.
III. To increase partnerships for landscape-level economic growth and sustainability, targeted interventions have been lined up to improve coordination, planning, and smart partnerships between local institutions, county government, and private sector players across the anchor economic value chains (tourism, livestock, carbon, and green energy).
IV. To increase community and ecosystem resilience, the project strengthens and supports initiatives to develop sustainable livelihoods for the local community.
These efforts aim to improve wildlife and rangelands management. Current achievements The project has:
● Provided five vehicles and 21 motorcycles to increase response to human-wildlife conflicts and improve management of over 1 million acres under community conservation.
● Trained 15 magistrates from Tana River, Taita Taveta, Kajiado, Makueni, and Kwale Counties in adjudication of wildlife crime cases. The training identified bottlenecks for prosecuting and sentencing in wildlife crime cases as well as gaps in deterring future crimes.
● Provided climate smart agriculture skills to 120 farmers in Kamungi and Shirango conservancies to increase productivity in areas that had experienced three failed seasons.
● Supported strategic plan development for TTWCA to guide a conservation agenda for conservancies and ranches covering 1 million acres of community land (Taita Taveta County).
● Supported recruitment of seven community rangers in Eselenkei Conservancy to enhance ranger coverage and help minimize human-wildlife conflict and anti-poaching activities in the southern wildlife migratory corridor and dispersal area connecting Olgulului Ololarashi Group Ranch, Amboseli National Park, and Eselenkei Wildlife Conservancy.
● Supported automation AET’s financial systems to increase efficiency, accountability, integrity, and overall management.
Original source can be found here.