Northern Rangelands Trust
Background
There is a quiet revolution happening in northern Kenya, where over 60,000 people have decided to dedicate their land, 1.6 million acres in total, to wildlife conservation. This is a first in East Africa, if not across the whole continent and the movement, the Northern Rangelands Trust, forms the basis for Tusk’s support to community conservation.
The aim of the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) is to improve the livelihoods of communities within the Trust area of over 1.6 million acres through the conservation of biodiversity on their land and the management and sustainable use of natural resources.
NRT has an expanding membership of 15 Community Conservancies (community-led conservation initiatives), across northern Kenya of diverse ethnicity including Samburu, Rendille, Pokot, Laikipiak Maasai and Meru. A growing network of government, community and private owned conservancies are currently emerging as part of a mega-conservation area that includes Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba Nature Reserves, Meru National Park, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and NRT Conservancies among others.
Started in 2004 with backing from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy this non-government organisation has the backing of the Government of Kenya, with the Speaker of the National Assembly, as its Chair. Download an NRT map(PDF 240k) showing the location of the Northern Rangelands Trust community conservancies in northern Kenya.
NRT has developed a highly successful model for conservation that is centred around local communities. Each project is led by the community has developed on similar lines:
- Installation of communications system and community game scouts to provide security for the people, wildlife and livestock
- Establish simple and effective monitoring of the key wildlife species by community scouts
- Improve conservation awareness amongst the community
- Expose community leaders to other community-based conservation initiatives in order to understand potential benefits to conservancy development
- Provide a mechanism and foundation for development of sustainable and equitable partnerships between the community and private sector tourism
Tusk Trust believes that the engagement and facilitation of local communities in the development of sustainable conservation programmes is the key to successful wildlife conservation. Tusk has been a long-term supporter of both the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and the conservancies now encompassed under the Northern Rangelands Trust umbrella.
The charity has provided support to
- Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust
- Lekurruki Conservation Trust
- Il Ngwesi Group Ranch
- Sera Conservation Trust
- Ruko Community Wildlife Trust
- Mpus Kutuk Community Conservancy
Comments from the field
Tusk is undoubtedly one of NRT's most important and longstanding supporters, and this partnership has been a key driver of the success of community conservation in northern Kenya. Through Tusk community conservancies are witnessing improved security for wildlife and people; increasing wildlife numbers; re-establishment of wildlife range; an integration of wildlife and livestock management; a platform for tourism and other related business; growing revenues for communities; and community institutions that will take conservation well into the future. There are, and always be challenges, but Tusk's support has, and will enable NRT and its member conservancies to address these. Tusk is reliable, flexible and willing to react rapidly to immediate conservation needs and priorities. These are valuable attributes that need to be maintained and cherished.
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