Using ‘conservancy’ safaris to give Kenya’s communities a brighter future

Using 'conservancy' safaris to give Kenya’s communities a brighter future‘The conservancy concept’ is an approach to wildlife conservation that is being increasingly employed across Kenya in order to create a sustainable future for animals, local communities, the environment and visitors alike. Created to address the increasing loss of indigenous habitats,through the division of land, over-grazing and intensive farming, the idea has recently gained considerable momentum. According to an article in the Independent, “Conservancies mean local communities benefit directly from the use of their land and willingly host and protect wildlife populations, reducing the incidence of human-wildlife conflict, which has been known to arise from poaching, farming and the construction of infrastructure.”

In Brief
  • There are now 140 conservancies across the country operating on land leased from local communities, covering more than 7.5 million acres of conservancy land spread across 22 counties.
  • Tourist numbers are strictly controlled with no more than 12 guest tents per camp and a maximum of 1 tent per 700 acres and 1 tourist vehicle per 1400 acres.
  • The conservancy concept was legally recognised for the first time in the Wildlife Act 2013.
In Depth
In the Future

 

 

Jeremy Smith
Jeremy Smithhttp://www.jmcsmith.com
Jeremy Smith is the editor and co-founder of Travindy. He is a writer and communications consultant working for a more responsible and sustainable tourism industry. He is the author of two books, writes a fortnightly blog on responsible tourism for World Travel Market, and provides consultancy to a wide range of companies and organisations, ranging from National Parks to individual hotels and tour operators.

Related Articles

- Sustainable Tourism Crash Course -spot_img

Useful resources