Community Conservancies can be more profitable than farming. This depends upon where they are located and what they offer.

I personally feel radical measures should be adopted by the County Government of Taita Taveta in order to stop the rampant cases of Human-wildlife conflict. One of the best measures is setting up community conservancies or helping the existing ones achieve their intended goals, and start seeing the benefits from them.

Kipalo Hills Lodge Main Area

The new Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013, has already recognized community conservancies as a positive form of land use which can be adopted by communities or a group of land owners living in areas where wildlife naturally occurs. This makes me wonder why political leaders in the areas prone to human wildlife conflict don’t support such initiatives? Surely, supporting these kinds of projects would be more profitable than growing corn in such areas with unreliable rainfall.

One of the room tents at Kipalo Hills

The Mbulia Conservancy electric fence is being completed thanks to US Fish and Wildlife African Elephant Conservation Fund, the Eden Trust, Disney Conservation Fund, and private donors. The fence will make the land continuous with Tsavo West National Park creating a safe haven for the wild animals, and mitigate conflicts experienced in the area. The lodge will bring in money and create more jobs for the community.