Kenya’s tourism industry contributes 12% of the gross domestic product and 90% of funding for nature conservation, and the sector employs many young people of indigenous origin. Mara conservancies generate income from lease payments for the landowners and employ community scouts to monitor wildlife. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lost their incomes. Mara conservancies could suffer total losses of EUR 2-10 million in the next two years and landowners could abandon the conservation-based form of land use. Therefore, the project will provide direct financial support to the conservancies and capacity building for state and nonstate actors, linked to a transformation to ensure that they can “build back better”.
Pool management of short-term experts for the project COVID-19 emergency support to conservancies in Maasai Mara region
Context
Project description
The project aims at promoting a better link between wildlife conservation strategies and sustainable livestock use models by conservancy owners. It is also advising on the development and diversification of the conservancy business model to develop alternative sources of income for landowners and make the model more sustainable, gender-sensitive, as it will no longer rely exclusively on income from tourism. The capacities of the state’s partner institutions amongst which the Women’s Forum will be strengthened so that they can fulfil their mandate to support private and communal conservation areas, which are a key component of the national system of protected areas and reserves.
Direct beneficiaries are the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA), the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife (MoTW) as well as Kenya Wildlife Service (KES) and involved County Governments.
Services
The consortium of AMBERO Consulting and NIRAS-IP Consult GmbH provides advisory, training and coaching services along the following key tasks:
- Crisis coordination and fund management: Advise MMWCA to maintain its crisis coordination efforts, fund administration and monitoring of services.
- Governance: Advise MMWCA in its advisory role on the implementation of governance improvement plans of the 16 associated Conservancies, and implementation of a gender strategy. Accompaniment & coaching of the MMWCA Women’s Forum empowering women for participation & decision-making. Qualify MMWCA to meet relevant standards concerning project management, safeguards, and gender.
- Business development: Advice MMWCA developing a conservancy management strategy; human capacity development in conservancy management; review of contracts with landowners and tourism companies and advice negotiations; develop strategies, conduct studies and pilots for income diversification; support partnerships on sustainable economic development & employment.
- Strengthening gov. bodies: Advise the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife (MoTW) establishing a nature conservation fund, and designing an information/monitoring system for conservancies; Training for Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) staff on human rights, rule of law, conflict management, etc.; Advise state institutions on awareness-raising campaigns on wildlife conservation and human-animal conflict, as well as on monitoring wild/problem animals in collaboration with non-state actors.
