The Natural Resources (Benefit Sharing) Bill was first introduced in Senate in 2014, re-published in 2018 and 2020. KWCA, on behalf of its member conservancies, developed and submitted a memorandum in December 2022.
This factsheet highlights content of the bill, the issues, what's at stake and what needs to be done.
KWCA in partnership with African Nature-Based Tourism platform collaborated on this survey to assess the degree in which Kenyan conservancies were impacted by COVID-19 and to better understand their involvement in conservation and tourism, how the COVID-19 pandemic affected them, and what their resulting needs were.
This Rangers Code of Conduct was developed by the International Ranger Federation following global, iterative consultation process with rangers, ranger associations, ranger employers, national and regional government bodies, human rights organisations and other relevant stakeholders, to guide behaviour, professionalise the ranger workforce and maintain high standards of practice and ethics. The document provides a common definition for a ranger and working templates for ranger values and codes of conduct.
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife launched the Tourism and Travel Health and Safety Protocols on 1st July 2020 to provide guidance for the tourism sector's proper reopening once it is safe to do so.
KWCA participated in the drafting of the protocols as a member of the National Tourism and Hospitality Protocols Taskforce to provide conservancy related guidelines. The protocols go along way in building confidence of the market in kenya's tourism brand.
The protocols have been endorsed by the World Tourism and Travel Council and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
The Baringo County Conservancies Profile Report demonstrates the current status of community conservancies in Baringo and highlights significant gaps and opportunities to develop the conservancy movement through which ecosystems services will be enhanced and local livelihoods supported.
In our first phase ( 2015-2018), we demonstrated the importance of growing as a network, providing a united voice and raising the national and international profile of conservancies in Kenya’s wildlife industry. We were able to establish the first national state of conservancies report including Kenya’s conservancies map. In our second journey (2019-2023), we realise more is expected from us this time round.
While our ultimate goal remains the same – to help wildlife conservancies in Kenya thrive – our approach and our role in doing that has shifted. Most critically is that KWCA sees our role as that of a ‘catalyst’ in the conservancy movement, helping to create an enabling environment that will allow conservancies and those working with them grow stronger and more effective
From the plan you’ll learn more about our ambitious goals
The National Wildlife Conservation Status Report gives the status of all National Parks and Reserves; Conservancies and Sanctuaries; community wildlife scouts in Conservancies; Management Plans; all listed species in Schedule 6 and 7 and their recovery status. Focus is given to the conservation status of endangered listed species, their habitats and factors that influence their population trends.
The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (WCMA, 2013) Part Vi- Conservation, Protection And Management, section 49 (4) requires the Cabinet Secretary to report biannually to the National Assembly through the National Wildlife Conservation Status Report the status of the efforts to develop and implement recovery plans for all nationally listed species and the status of all species for which such plans have been developed.
Section 87 sub section (b) of the WCMA, 2013 states; “The Service shall maintain registers of- National Parks, National Reserves, Wildlife Conservancies and Sanctuaries established under this Act and management thereof”. In section (c) it notes that; “The Service shall maintain registers of all community scouts involved in the Conservation and management of wildlife”. In section (d) it notes- “The Service will maintain registers of- all management plans developed pursuant to the provisions of this Act”.
World Bank has published a report, When Good Conservation becomes Good Economics: Kenya’s Vanishing Herds. The report determines the contribution of wildlife in the economy mainly through tourism; investigates the primary factors driving the rapid decline in wildlife and recommends win-win policies that simultaneously deliver on development and conservation. In addition, it closely examines the role of wildlife conservancies and recommends ways of leveraging these to address the issue of declining wildlife while generating economic activity.
The Cabinet Secretary Tourism and Wildlife Hon. Najib Balala has appointed members of the Community Wildlife Conservation Committees (CWCC) in all 47 counties as per gazette notice Vol. No CXX- No.105.
The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 18 of 2018, introduced CWCC as an amendment to the County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committee (CWCCC)
On 27th and 28th March 2019 KWCA held its 4th Annual Conservancy Leaders Conference at Multimedia University Conference Centre Nairobi. The conference attended by 121 community and private conservancies leaders from 27 Counties was officially opened by Dr John Waithaka, Chairperson KWS Board of Trustees.
The conference involved engaging presentations by KWCA members and partners, panel discussions during the plenary sessions, as well as thought-provoking group sessions on salient conservancy development issues.
Under the theme ‘Delivering Innovative and Inclusive Solutions for People and Wildlife’, the participants at the conference deliberated on the following;
1. KWCA’s Progress since its inception;
2. KWS role in the establishment and management of conservancies and as a strategic and supportive partner of KWCA;
3. New Laws and policies that impact on conservancies;
4. Achievements and current challenges in the governance and management of conservancies;
5. KWCA’s value to regions and conservancies through a SWOT analysis provided by conservancy representatives to feed into KWCA’s next strategic plan.
The full report is accessible on the link below.
KWCA’s commitment to gender integration is designed in an incremental and phased manner cognisant of the cultural, conservation and biodiversity dynamics. As such it is outlined work towards institutionalising gender mainstreaming in all KWCA’s organisational arrangement, governance and operational processes.
This gender strategy articulates and institutionalises gender mainstreaming within KWCA its Regional Associations and conservancy members.
The strategy anchored on three mutually reinforcing and interconnected objectives that address gender issues identified within conservancies. These are:
- To enhance KWCA’s capacity for gender mainstreaming in its programs and activities
- To promote women’s representation and participation in conservancy governance and management
- To strengthen equitable access to conservation economic benefits (both assets and incomes).
The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 18 of 2018, passed on 31st December 2018 and effective 4th January 2019 substantially amends the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013, focusing on;
- Institutional structures & functions changes;
- New offences and penalties on wildlife crimes
The National Wildlife Strategy 2030 is a roadmap for transforming wildlife conservation in Kenya. It is aligned to Kenya's Vision 2030 and the Government's Big Four Agenda. It identifies a clear set of five (5) year priority goals and strategies around four key pillars: Resilient Ecosystems; Engagement by all Kenyans, Evidence Based Decision Making and Sustainability and Governance. In Addition to these targets, the strategy establishes an implementation framework to enhance communication, coordination and collaboration to inspire engagement and participation, and catalyse conservation actions with all stakeholders.
The 3rd Annual Conservancy Leaders Conference was held on 27th February 2018 and brought together over 100 conservancy leaders drawn from 28 counties to share experiences and lessons from the growing conservancy network and discuss opportunities and challenges regarding the growth of conservancies in Kenya. This report summarises the proceedings of the conference with speeches by the guests and key note speaker; the working group sessions; plenary sessions and a picture gallery. The report also includes a list of participants.
This report provides a comprehensive synthesis of the wildlife dispersal areas and migratory corridors in Kenya’s rangeland and coastal terrestrial ecosystems. It explicitly identifies and maps wildlife habitat connectivity and associated conservation issues and concerns. It also suggests salient recommendations on strategies for securing the dispersal areas and migratory corridors within the specific context of different regions and landscapes.
Kenya’s wildlife is the envy of the world and a key economic asset for the country and the
region. Wildlife is an important driver of economic development and provides irreplaceable cultural and social value to the people of Kenya. For example, the highest returns from wildlife based tourism and photography was in 2011 and it contributed $1.16 billion to national revenue, translating to about 13.7 % of the gross domestic product and generating more than 10% of national formal sector employment.
This summary shares key highlights about Kenya’s wildlife conservancies today. It is based on the 2016
status report, which was prepared by Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) as part of the
implementation of the USAID-Kenya funded Community Conservancy Policy Support program (CCSP)
implemented by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and KWCA.
Since the emergence of the first conservancies in the 1970s, conservancies have grown in number and their institutional complexity broadened beyond wildlife conservation and tourism to include peace and security, livestock management, land and natural resources management. More recently conservancies are demonstrating impacts as a platform for securing rural community livelihoods, developing social infrastructure, promoting peaceful co-existence and building community resilience to environmental shocks.
Conservancies are Kenya’s response to the challenges of poaching, human-wildlife conflict, land degradation and rising poverty. They are based on the premise that given the necessary support, incentives and policy framework, communities and Land-owners can be the stewards of wildlife conservation working together with Count and National Government to protect and benefit from a healthy and productive environment. Since the first few Conservancies began in the 1990s their scope and institutional complexity has grown far beyond just wildlife conservation and tourism to include peace and conflict resolution, land management, income generation, employment, community cohesion and community-led development.
The Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) is a national membership organization that serves the interests and represents the collective desires of Kenyan communities and private landowners living with wildlife.
We believe that with the right laws, incentives, support, information and experience, conservancies have the potential to transform local livelihoods and conservation eforts for Kenya. Our role is to help make this happen.
Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) was formed in 2013 in order to provide a national, landholder-driven organization to coordinate, represent, support, and champion the growing assortment of conservancies and to strengthen their role in conservation and economic development.
This document presents Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for wildlife scouts (also referred to as Conservancy rangers, game scouts, or community rangers) employed in wildlife conservancies, wildlife sanctuaries, regional
associations, community wildlife associations, and conservation NGOs, operating on community or private land in Kenya.
87 wildlife conservancies in Kenya occur on community land. This accounts for 65% of conservancies in the country and cover an area of 15 million acres. With two thirds of land in the country occurring on communally held land and with majority of wildlife being on these landscapes, the opportunity for growth of conservancies is immense.
A conservancy manager doesn’t necessarily need to be a conservation expert, he or she needs to have passion, be a good listener, a lover of wildlife, and be a good community mobiliser.
THE COMMUNITY 528 Community Land LAND ACT, 2016 AN ACT of Parliament to give effect to Article 63 (5) of the Constitution; to provide for the recognition, protection and registration of community land rights; management and administration of community land; to provide for the role of county governments in relation to unregistered community land and for connected purposes.
KWCA is a national landowner-led membership organization representing community and private conservancies in Kenya, We work with conservancy landowners and Regional Wildlife Associations to create an enabling environment for conservancies to deliver environmental and livelihood benefits.
Dickson ole Kaelo has been at the forefront of community-based conservation for the last 18 years. In this interview with Joyce Mbataru he reflects on his journey working for conservancies in the Masai Mara ecosystem and his new role and vision at the helm of the national conservancy body.
When the first conservancies emerged in the 1990s it was not the result of a specific top-down policy, but rather a response to the growing calls to recognize landowners and communities as the custodians of their wildlife. At that time there was no legal framework defining or regulating conservancies, and an interesting mosaic of government, NGOs, and private sector supported the creation and management of conservancies.
The report comprehensively covers the plenary sessions with speeches by the guest and key note speakers; the working group sessions; question and answer sessions and brief introductory remarks by some KWCA Board members. Additionally, it presents annexes that include the workshop programmes for the two days of the conference and a list of participants who attended the workshop.
But conservancies have been more than just space for wildlife. They contribute to Kenya’s Vision 2030 objective of diversifying tourism and tripling the number of visitors. Some 142 iconic high end camps have added 2,397 beds to Kenya's tourism portfolio, and the majority of these camps are winning international awards and leading on Trip Advisor ratings.