The Government has launched a Sh20.8 billion, Thamani Asili   conservation Programme targeting 22,800 direct and indirect jobs over the next decade.

The programme seeks to link wildlife protection with economic opportunities for communities living alongside natural ecosystems.

The Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative, brings together US$80 million in government funding and an equivalent amount in philanthropic support to finance conservation and community development across 31 counties.

Led by the Government in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Enduring Earth and other conservation partners, the programme is expected to directly benefit 1.6 million people, with a further 3.9 million potentially benefiting from improved land governance, natural resource management and nature-based economic opportunities.

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano, who represented President William Ruto at the launch, said the programme would prioritise communities in conservation areas, particularly young people and women, through employment and livelihood opportunities.

“Kenya is on a trajectory not seen before, and Thamani Asili is yet another project to continue our story of people-benefitting initiatives, to put money and dignity in local communities,” she said.

In his speech read by the CS, President Ruto described the programme as a cornerstone of efforts to protect wildlife, safeguard Kenya’s natural heritage, improve livelihoods and strengthen local economies.

He singled out Taita Taveta, Makueni and Kajiado counties, saying the sacrifices made by communities living alongside wildlife, deserved reciprocal investment and economic opportunities.

The programme is expected to support 7,800 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs in ecotourism, sustainable grazing, carbon initiatives and other nature-based enterprises over its ten-year implementation period.

Governor Andrew Mwadime, said Taita Taveta was uniquely positioned to benefit from the initiative, given the extensive land occupied by the Tsavo ecosystem and community conservancies.

He said more than 60 per cent of the County’s landmass fell within the Tsavo ecosystem, with a further 24 per cent under conservancies, underscoring the need for long-term investments, that also benefit local residents.

“We’re glad that Thamani Asili offers something long-term and comprehensively beneficial to our people,” Mwadime said.

The Programme comes amid persistent human-wildlife conflict in the Tsavo landscape, where wildlife movement, farming and human settlement, bring people and animals into contact.

A peer-reviewed study analysing human-elephant conflict incidents in Taita Taveta between 2004 and 2018, found that threats to people, crop raiding and property damage accounted for 97 per cent of reported incidents.

Threats to people represented 62.46 per cent of the incidents, while crop raiding accounted for 32.46 per cent.

The historical findings underscore the challenge of balancing wildlife conservation with the safety and livelihoods of communities sharing the landscape with elephants and other wildlife.

Council of Governors Chairperson and Tharaka Nithi Governor, Muthomi Njuki, said the Programme addressed a longstanding gap in conservation, by placing communities living alongside wildlife at the centre of conservation efforts.

“For so long, we’ve ignored the most important part of the conservation story: the people who live alongside our wildlife,” Njuki said, adding that the Programme aligned with the national agenda for socioeconomic progress.

KWS Director General, Prof. Erustus Kanga, said the initiative demonstrated the value of partnerships between government agencies, conservation organisations and communities in safeguarding Kenya’s natural heritage.

“Our communities are not separate from conservation; they are its heart,” Kanga said in the programme’s launch statement, emphasising that residents living alongside wildlife should benefit from the value of conservation.

The initiative will initially focus on four priority landscapes: Tsavo to Coastal, Greater Ewaso, Greater Rift to Western, and Southern Kenya.

In the Tsavo-to-Coastal landscape, interventions will include improved ecosystem management, stronger responses to human-wildlife conflict, protection of critical water sources and support for sustainable community enterprises.

The Programme will also contribute to Kenya’s ambition to bring at least 30 per cent of its terrestrial, inland water and near-shore ecosystems under effective conservation and management.

It is expected to support the establishment of approximately 2.7 million hectares of conserved areas, improve management across 11 million hectares of existing conservation areas and enable communities to better manage a further six million hectares.

For the local residents of the 31 counties, the success of the initiative will ultimately depend on translating the funding commitments into measurable improvements in wildlife protection, community livelihoods and employment.

by Arnold Linga Masila