In August, the Government of Kenya announced it would introduce revenue-sharing arrangements and pass control of some of its most famous national parks to local county governments. On the list of parks to be handed over to the counties is Amboseli National Park, a gem in the country’s south that’s believed to be one of the most biodiverse habitats in Africa.
Now, a non-profit supporting Kenya’s push for greater local control of its national parks is taking a step to follow in the government’s footsteps.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare says it has reached agreements with Maasai landowners to return control of a vast elephant migration corridor to them.
The Kitenden Conservancy, which straddles Kenya’s border with Tanzania and lies between Amboseli and Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, has been under IFAW’s control since 2012.
IFAW said it initially set up the special reserve to prevent farming interests from threatening a prime elephant migratory corridor. Confident that they’ve since succeeded, the organization says it will now leave the management of the conservancy to the Olgulului-Ololorashi Group Ranch (OOGR), the landowners it’s been leasing the expanse from.
“As farming increased, it would have increased elephant-human conflict, closing elephant access to dispersal areas and migratory corridors in Tsavo and Mount Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania,” IFAW Africa Director James Isiche explained. “Both are crucial for sustaining animal and plant populations’ distribution, genetic diversity, and health within the ecosystem.”
IFAW says it also signed a memorandum of understanding with Kajiado county government authorities to ensure that Kitenden will be maintained as a special protected zone. Kajiado’s government is expected to take over much of the operation of Amboseli National Park in the coming weeks and months.
Kitenden is described as a “26,000-hectare critical wildlife dispersal and transboundary elephant migration corridor for Amboseli National Park bordering Tanzania.”
Officials in Nairobi announced on August 22 the Kenyan government’s decision to hand over control of some parks, including Amboseli, to county governments. Kajiado’s government will assume control of Amboseli.
Some years ago, Public Parks spent many days at Amboseli investigating drought conditions there. A drought was leading to rising conflicts between Maasai ranchers and lions. Hundreds of elephants were seen at that time roaming the park’s dusty, grassy expanses as they drifted between watering holes.
Amboseli boasts not only large herds of elephants, but also lions, zebras, giraffes, hyenas, and more. The region is also world-famous for the annual mass migration of wildebeest from Tanzania.
Mount Kilimanjaro is easily visible from Amboseli. The naturally hot and semi-arid conditions leave the region particularly vulnerable to climate change.
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Park Info
Park Name:
Amboseli National Park
Location:
Kenya
More Information:
