NEW PLACES - NASUULU COMMUNITY CONSERVANCY

Community conservation is growing fast in Africa and more so in the northern parts of Kenya where the communities use environmental governance approaches to change the way natural resources are managed outside the formally protected areas.

The formation of the Nasuulu conservancies by the five warring communities in northern Kenyan region of Isiolo has not only reduced poaching but helped in embracing peace and cohesion between the formerly hostile Borana, Turkana, Somali and Samburu communities.

Nasuulu is part of the Laikipia ecosystem, which contains important populations of the endangered Grevy’s zebra as well as being home to vast numbers of elephant and other herbivores. The Ewaso Nyiro River runs along part of its northern border, providing a vital and constant water supply to communities and wildlife alike

Nasuulu Community Conservancy,  is an example of how hard work and commitment can protect wildlife while building peace and creating jobs. Thousands of people have better lives and new hope while many animals–including elephants, rhinos and the elegant Grevy’s zebra–are thriving. All as the result of local people coming together to make a difference.

 

Nasuulu is the newest of the 27 conservancies that form the Northern Rangelands Trust. The trust uses a community conservation model that brings together villages and groups historically at odds with one another in a democratic, multi-ethnic forum to manage their own resources. Everyone involved has a stake in the outcome of their conservation efforts. The model has been extraordinarily successful in a part of the country where a harsh environment and distance mean communities feel marginalized. Now local residents benefit from greater investment in the area and in turn feel less sidelined. When asked what this has brought to their communities, leaders answer, “peace, jobs and wildlife.”

The community at Nasuulu has demonstrated the commitment of the community and how fully it understands the value of wildlife. The people of Nasuulu recognize how protecting animals can bring jobs, roads and schools where there were none before. They were grateful for the peace the conservancy has brought and value wildlife as part of their heritage. They are justly proud of what they are doing for themselves, and for the world.