Laikipia Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Conservation Program
The Laikipia Biodiversity Conservation Program supports the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, a membership-based organization established to conserve Laikipia’s wildlife and ecosystem integrity. The program improves the lives of Laikipia’s people by bringing communities together to conserve and sustainably use the natural resources on which they depend. The program also promotes innovative strategies for rangeland management, river and wetland management, conservation enterprise development, and forest management.
Activity Description
The program supports the Laikipia Wildlife Forum to work with pastoralist communities and small-scale farmers in four critical areas: rangeland management, rivers and wetlands management, conservation enterprise development and forest management.
The goal is to increase understanding of the value of effective conservation and natural resource management, and to maintain a healthy and productive natural environment that benefits communities.
- Rangeland management supports restoration and preservation of pastoral land and promotes environmentally sound decision-making to improve relationships between grazing animals, predators, and grasslands.
- Rivers and wetlands management builds awareness between upstream community water users and users at the downstream level along 24 rivers in Laikipia.
- Conservation enterprise development promotes ethical trade in indigenous plants by building producer capacity, promoting enterprise partnerships, and supporting infrastructure development. The enterprise program focuses on aloes, stinging nettle and other medicinal plants, essential oils, and bee products.
- Forest management builds capacity among forest users to participate in the management of their land through development of community organizations that design and implement forest management plans.
Expected Outcomes
- Improve the lives of the Laikipia people
- Protect the biodiversity of Laikipia
- Promote rangeland management, rivers and wetland management, conservation enterprise development and forest management
Actual Outcomes
- Two out of three community members across the Laikipia group ranches now recognize the importance of planned grazing as being key for good rangeland management
- 4 group ranches are implementing land and water restoration community learning sites
- 24 river resource-user associations, 10 community-forest associations and13 community conservancies and grazing management committees support the sustainable use of resources
- More than 500 households have adopted improved natural resource and management practices
- 340 schools reached with targeted environmental education and eco-literacy programs
- An estimated 38,000 hectares (91,000 acres) under improved land management practice
- Wildlife in Laikipia has increased by 15 percent
