Dear Friends and Supporters,
There is a growing recognition of the value of indigenous movements and the protection of biodiversity. In the last 20 years, our approach to conservation has shifted from focusing on pristine, human-free landscapes to indigenous-led, inclusive, and sustainable management of nature.
Today, 45 community conservancies, comprising over 10% of Kenya’s landmass and moving into Uganda, are united under the formal partnership of NRT.
Working alongside our network of partners, we are implementing programmes that are catalysing nature-based economic development and driving climate adaptation in our arid and semi-arid lands.
Our key highlights of the year were as follows:
We charted the course for NRT’s future: We conducted a comprehensive, stakeholder-driven process to develop our long-term Vision and 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, which will serve as our guiding blueprint moving forward.
We increased our geographic footprint: We welcomed two new community conservancies, Maiyanat and Shulmai, in Laikipia. The local communities initiated the process, and we are happy with this new addition as it is a critical piece in our mosaic and supports further protection of important elephant migration corridors.
We ran the first Gear Exchange Programme in Kenya: We completed the roll out of our Gear Exchange programme in Kiunga Community Conservancy, with 85% of fishers demonstrating their commitment to safeguarding the ocean by trading their beach seine nets for sustainable fishing gears.
We maintained top-tier protection of our endangered species: We safeguard the second-largest population of elephant in Kenya, the world’s most endangered antelope, and we run the first community-run black rhino sanctuary. We are proud to say we continuously innovate with highly trained mobile teams alongside the latest technologies such as drones. This has enabled us to maintain our remarkable record of zero poaching and even impressively, Sera became the first community conservancy to perform black rhino ear notching.
We generated Ksh 529.8 million (USD 3.9 million) through our soil carbon project: the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project (NKRCP): 14 NRT member conservancies (21 conservancy units) are actively implementing the world's largest soil carbon removal project, which is a game changer in creating nature-based economies. The project benefits more than 205,000 people. We are committed to learning from all the challenges and opportunities that carbon present and hope to be a model for other carbon projects.
We attracted international interest: The community conservation model continues to attract attention from around the world. Last year, we welcomed delegations from Namibia and Uganda, as well as international carbon project supporters from the U.K. and the United States. Presentations and mentions of the model and the carbon project which was awarded the Lighthouse Status by the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance were also made at international forums such as the UN Climate Change Conference COP 27&28, and the 2023 African Climate Summit (ACS). NRT and conservancies' participation at the Summit, organised by the African Union Commission and the Republic of Kenya in Nairobi last year drew a lot of attention to our booth, as did several donor visits to the conservancies to learn about our unique approach to community-based natural resource management.
We continued to make progress in Uganda: We took a significant step forward in conservation efforts for the Morung'ole Community Conservancy in Uganda by advancing the onboarding process with detailed implementation planning, exposure trips, and partnership engagements, demonstrating a commitment to sustainable development and community involvement in conservation efforts.
We invite you to read our Annual Report to learn more about our 2023 milestones and how communities in our 45 member conservancies are driving conservation and development. Our remarkable and long-lasting impact has been made possible by the invaluable support of our donors and partners, as well as the guidance of the NRT Board of Directors and Council of Elders.
Thank you all for supporting our journey to create resilient communities and ecosystems!
Tom Lalampaa
Chief Executive Officer, NRT
Our Vision
Resilient communities and ecosystems.
Our Mission
Develop resilient community conservancies that transform lives, secure peace, and conserve natural resources.
