Landscape-Scale Conservation Planning of the Ewaso Nyiro: A Model for Land Use Planning in Kenya?

Abstract

The unique wildlife of the Ewaso Nyiro and valuable services that the ecosystem provides for humans (e.g., clean water and productive grasslands) cannot be conserved by working solely on traditional conservation strongholds such as the national reserves and private ranches of central Laikipia. To reach objectives for conserving wildlife, stakeholders must work to preserve wildlife habitat and corridors in the surrounding human-dominated landscape—a daunting task considering the complexity of working at large spatial scales (e.g., many landowners, competing land uses) and limited conservation resources available. Systematic, landscape-scale conservation planning helps stakeholders set meaningful and transparent objectives, identify where to work to meet those objectives, and prioritize areas for immediate investment. We describe results and implications of an initial landscape-scale planning exercise for the Ewaso Nyiro that culminated in a workshop in January 2006. Forty participants selected nine focal features, set quantitative objectives for four of them (elephants, Grevy’s zebra, lions, wild dogs), and set spatial conservation priorities for the entire landscape on the basis of complementary needs of critical species. The modest objectives for these species (e.g., maintaining a population of 300 wild dogs) cannot be met by conservation focused solely on traditional strongholds. The exercise indicated that nearly 84% of the landscape needs conservation investment, and it identified three near-term priorities: (1) maintain current investments in conservation strongholds, (2) increase investment to secure the narrow corridor between Samburu and Laikipia Districts, and (3) increase investment to secure portions of Samburu District, including the Matthews Range. The results we describe represent the initiation of a land use planning process that, if continued, can help meet both biodiversity and livelihood development objectives. We recommend this process be carried forward in the Ewaso Nyiro and then in similar ecosystems in Kenya and eastern Africa.