KALAMA COMMUNITY WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY

Background

Kalama Community Wildlife Conservancy lies in an area of over 95,000 hectares within the Gir Gir Group Ranch in the Waso Division of Samburu East District. The conservancy borders the Samburu National Reserve to the south and the Samburu County Council has historically shared tourism revenue with Gir Gir Group Ranch members as compensation for their contribution for wildlife conservation in areas bordering the National Reserve. The conservancy was established in 2002 in an effort to draw increasing numbers of wildlife into the area by providing water sources and improved security through community scout patrols.

The mission of Kalama Community Wildlife Conservancy is to diversify socio-economic opportunities for Group Ranch members, improve livelihoods through sustainable enterprise development based on environmental and wildlife conservation, encourage community capacity building (as evinced through the grazing management and resource management schemes) and uphold the traditions of the Samburu culture.

Species Conservation

Conservation of wildlife entails: provision of security, water provision, grazing management and monitoring of wildlife trends both inside and outside conservation area. The monitoring of wildlife trends has continued to improve over the years, thanks to NRT’s Research and Monitoring Department in designing and training the scouts on anti-poaching techniques, as well as simple and appropriate wildlife monitoring systems that encompass data collection, data input and analysis. Community scouts provide a critical security link to neighbouring NRT conservancies and Samburu National Reserve.      

The conservancy is home to numerous populations of giraffe, cheetah, lion and the endangered Grevy’s zebra. It is also strategically located bordering the Samburu National Reserve to the south, West Gate Community Conservancy to the east and parts of Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust to the north. With a core conservation area of 3,150 hectares, it is a critical migratory corridor between northern and southern conservation areas in northern Kenya. In fact, during the 2009 drought, elephant numbers within the conservancy increased, owing to the availability of water in the established water hole near the recently built eco-lodge, as well as the reduced impact of livestock grazing in the area.

The Grevy’s Zebra Trust

The Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) was established to conserve Grevy’s zebra in collaboration with local communities. It recognises and supports the critical role played by pastoral people whose livelihoods are inextricably linked to the same fragile ecosystem. The Grevy’s zebra has undergone a catastrophic decline in the past 30 years and now only occurs in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian population is less than 100 and still declining, whereas in Kenya the population is believed to be 2,500 and stable, largely as a result of the establishment of the NRT community conservancies and grass roots awareness campaigns. GZT works closely with NRT and the community conservancies in collaborative conservations efforts, including Grevy’s zebra research and monitoring, habitat restoration, improving resource access, disease mitigation, and awareness creation. Management actions that are taken to help Grevy’s zebra also help other endangered, threatened and migratory species including African elephants, African wild dogs and cheetahs. Find out more at www.grevyszebratrust.org.

Diversification of Livelihoods

The establishment of the conservancy has increased employment among community members of the Girgir Group Ranch and consequently increased the diversity of livelihoods.

Business Development
Opened in 2008, Saruni Samburu has been a vitally important part of Kalama’s conservation and community development efforts. The tourism operation provides many employment opportunities for members of the local community. and the conservancy receives income from the operation through conservation and bednight fees charged to guests. In 2009, revenue to the conservancy from Saruni totalled more than $70,000. From this income, 60% is used to fund community projects (such as school bursaries and water projects) while 40% is used to fund annual operating costs of the conservancy. The lodge also employs 18 community members. To find out more about Saruni Samburu, visit www.sarunisamburu.com.

Enterprise development
Women’s groups in Kalama are working to produce unique crafts and gift items for guests staying at the lodge and for sale in regional and international markets facilitated through NRT Training. Women have gained access to formal and informal training sessions on business and product development, accounting skills, understanding markets and loan repayment schedules. Through the support of ICEP, a micro-credit programme, these women have been given access to micro-loans to support business development, product diversification and purchasing raw materials. Kalama conservancy has made arrangements with the lodge management to set aside a space where women’s products can be sold. This will increase the market for women’s groups’ products and thus increase income for the members.

Natural Resources Management
Natural resource management refers to a holistic approach that integrates the management of wildlife, vegetation, soil, water and human activities for the benefits of current and future generations. Through an established and trained grazing committee, the community members are empowered to create synergy between the traditional ecological knowledge and modern science for better utilisation and management of natural resources.

Environmental Education
Through established environmental clubs in schools around Kalama, environmental education has been strengthened and intensified amongst all community members. The outcome of this programme has been fruitful in that many community members have stopped cutting vegetation unnecessarily and seen the importance of planting trees in their own surroundings.

The Future of Kalama Community Wildlife Conservancy

• Support conservancy efforts to secure a reliable water source to meet the needs of the conservancy headquarters, Saruni Samburu Lodge, local communities and wildlife;
• Continue to educate the surrounding communities of the benefits of  conservation efforts;
• Continue to support community scout operations and provide relevant anti-poaching and wildlife monitoring training;
• Continue to support enterprise development, such as the establishment of a curio shop at the Lodge;
• Continue to raise funds for the various community education programmes;
• Develop and renovate existing infrastructures to accommodate more staff.