Council of Elders Forum Charts the Future of Community Conservation

A session of the second bi-annual Council of Elders Forum of 2025

On September 29 and 30, the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) convened its second bi-annual Council of Elders forum in Nanyuki. The two-day meeting brought together the leadership of 47 NRT-member conservancies from Kenya and Uganda, alongside community elders, local legislators, and key government officials.

Also in attendance were representatives from the Royal Danish Embassy, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the French Development Agency (AFD), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and regional conservancy associations — underscoring the breadth of collaboration and the collective commitment to securing the future of NRT and community-led conservation.

Reflections and Discussions

The forum opened with candid conversations on the urgent need for sustainable and innovative financing models for community-led conservation. In recent times, conservation funding has experienced increasing contraction, driven by geopolitical crises, changing donor priorities and global economic turbulence. While participants acknowledged these challenges, they also emphasized the opportunities for partners to play a greater role in shaping resilient, homegrown solutions.

Delegates further expressed gratitude for initiatives like the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project (NKRCP), which has been operating successfully across 22 conservancy units. The project continues to generate vital income for communities, restore degraded rangelands, protect wildlife habitats, and build climate resilience — serving as a model of what community-owned solutions can achieve.

In the afternoon sessions, participants broke into six regional groups to share lessons and develop practical steps to strengthen NRT’s community conservancy model. These recommendations were presented in plenary, fostering open dialogue and reinforcing shared ownership of the path forward.

Resolutions

At the close of the meeting, participants adopted the Council of Elders Resolutions 2025, affirming their commitment to:

  • Unity: The 47 conservancies under NRT will continue to speak and act as a united front in advancing community-led conservation and development.

  • Governance: Strengthening governance frameworks through inclusive consultation between the Council of Elders, the NRT Board, conservancy leadership, and partners.

  • NRT 2.0: Full endorsement of 𝗡𝗥𝗧 𝟮.𝟬 — a model designed to boost resilience, resource mobilization, and effective management of priorities.

  • Financing: Recognition of financial pressures and the need for diversified, innovative financing — including the transition of the carbon project to a special-purpose vehicle.

  • Wildlife Protection and Safety: A warm welcome to KWS for its renewed commitment to operationalising the JOCC, and for securing all existing staff and logistical capacity to strengthen conservation and safety efforts.

  • Partnerships: A call to partners, government, and the private sector to align with this vision and continue walking alongside communities in this transformative journey.

Looking Ahead

The forum closed with a spirit of unity and renewed purpose. Participants reaffirmed their collective commitment to building resilience, strengthening conservancies, and ensuring that people and nature thrive together for generations to come.

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for facilitating this crucial forum and for their steadfast support of our work.

Daniel Njihia