When the exploration of the wildlife here started, there was rapid loss of the wildlife. Over the last 70 years, Kenya has lost over 30 percent of its wildlife due to many factors. Some of the factors are due to climate change while others are to human activity ns poaching.
It is due to these factors that there have been efforts to set up conservancies in the area.
Placing the conservation efforts of the wildlife in Kenya into the hands of the community is also an incentive to also improve the livelihoods of the people in the community. There are over 15 conservancies in the Masai Mara National park with over 450,000 acres of land. The conservancies bring in over $4 million every year into the community.
Participating in local conservation initiatives also helps the community become less involved in the illicit wildlife trade because they get to profit from tourism, which is the positive aspect of the wildlife trade.
Nyekweri Kimintet
This community forest conservation trust was started in the year 2004 and is also a community based organization with its chair being Mr.Peter Tompoy. It has partnerships with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA), Indigenous Information Network (IIN) & Africa Foundation (AF). This conservancy words on the co existence of wildlife together with the humans and their live stock. It’s part of the Siria plateau which is the best habitant for the pangolins in the area.
Mount Suswa Conservancy
This conservancy was established in the year 2008 as a tust. The conservancy operates with in the entire country of Kenya but is sub divided into village clusters in Narok and Kaiado. The villages all contribute to the board and are well represented. This particular conservancy works on the slopes of the mountain and works to protect the various wildlife here and the scenic caldera of the mountain and mout Suswa lava tube caves.
Enarau Conservancy
This conservancy is one of the new ones and was established in the year 2022. The main reason for this conservancy was to reclaim the lost lands of the Masai Mara. This is to restore the degraded areas of the park. The protect the remaining areas of the park, to promote afforestation and growing or more vegetation. The northern part of Masai Mara where this conservancy is located already has several conservancies like Lemek, Ol Chorro, and Enonkishu; Covers 866 2140 acres. This will bring the total of conservancy area to 3,140 acres. Most of it’s portioned of about 1000 acres used for maintaining a green cover.
The Olerai Conservancy
It’s believed that over 65 percent of the wildlife in Africa lives in areas that belong to the community. This conservancy looks and making sure the community offers for space. This is to the the protection of wildlife n the Masai Mara. In the year 2017, over 20 and owner offered the conservancy ownership of their land to the Masai Mara conservation area. It’s believed that they lease over 1,361 acres of land to this conservancy. Olerai is a Maasai name for the Yellow barked acacia.
Mbokishi Mara Conservation
This conservancy is located in the north Eastern area of the Northern sector of the Masai Mara National Park. This conservancy is to help people in the area adapt to the model of conservancies. Like most conservancies, this conservancy works also towards convincing people to offer more land. This is to run conservation activities for the wildlife in Kenya. It also provides mitigation services to make sure that the humans and their livestock can live in harmony with the wildlife here. It also helps the locals improve their agricultural skills and quality of the products.
The Pardamat Conservation
This conservancy is aligned to a method of mixed conservation. They belied that the conservation of the Masai mara national park. In turn be of greater economic help to the locals as well such that they are enticed not to get involved in wildlife trade. There are over 800 lands over that have registered over 25,000 acres of land with this conservancy to support the conservation efforts in this area. This conservancy is within the same are with the Naboisho, Olkinyei, Lemek, and Mara North conservancies. This conservations supports the migration of animals form the Loita plains and the Mara Triangle to the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Olderkesi Conservancy
This conservancy is just adjacent to the Masai Mara and its north of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. The conservancy is a management partnership between two trusts: Cottar’s Wildlife Conservancy Trust (CWCT) and Olderkesi Wildlife Community Trust (OCWCT).The partnership of these trusts has been running for over 20 years and their major concern is offering sustainable conservation.
Ol Kinyei Conservancy
Founded in 2005, Ol Kinyei is a pioneering and award-winning conservancy in the Mara eco-system covering an area of 18, 641 acres. The conservancy is a partnership between 177 local private landowners and four tourism parties. Since the inception of the Conservancy, many indigenous species have returned to the land. The Conservancy is now home to a wide variety of wildlife. This includes resident pride of lions, leopards, and numerous other animals as well as over 300 species of bird.
Olare Motorogi Conservancy
This conservancy was a s a result of joining of two conservancies: Olare Orok and Motorogi conservancies. The conservancy covers an area of about 33,386 acres. It’s a key zone in the migration zone of the Masai Mara. The conservancy partnered with over 290 and owners that offered to moved from their land to support the conservation efforts in this area. The locals where however allowed to carefully graze their animals within the premises of this conservancies. Rhinos and wild dogs have also been sighted, and it is becoming a very viable habitat for these two highly endangered species.
Mara Naboisho Conservancy
This conservancy is made up of about 52,000 acres of land. It was donated by over 636 land owners in this community. This is common for the presence of the big cats of the Masai Mara. There are also large herds of elephants. Some of the other wildlife here are: giraffe, and wildebeest. The distribution of lions in this area is the best in the world. There are over 70 lions that have been recorded here. Other animals here are: Aardvark, Caracal, Serval cat, Aardwolf, and Ratel.
Lemek Conservancy
This conservancy was originally part of the Koiyaki Lemek Community Wildlife Trust that was first established in the year 1995. This particular conservancy was registered in the year 2009. The conservancy covers an area of about 6,027 acres from about 480 land owners. Some of animals in these Great Plains are: Lions, Leopards, and Cheetahs, Elephants. Others include Hippo, Warthog, Buffalo, Antelope, and several bird species. The conservancy is along the Mara River and it has a very dense vegetation hence the big concentration of wildlife here.
Enonkishu Conservancy
This conservancy is located on the northern site of the greater Mara ecosystem. It covers an area of about 5,928 acres with a partnership of about 42 land owners that have signed to lease their land to this conservancy. The main focus of the conservancy is livestock improvement through innovative cattle management programs, running alongside novel tourism projects. This conservancy consist od the woodland, riverine and rocky areas. There are many hippos and crocodiles in the section of river that borders the conservancy and the riverine forests provide an area popular with leopards. Rare species such as Aardvark, Caracal, serval cat, and Aardwolf are occasionally found.
Ol Choro Oirouwa Conservancy
The conservancy is among the first conservancy that was established in the East African region. It was established in the 1991 as a trust. The Late Willy Roberts was instrumental in the establishment of this conservancy since it’s under his advice that the Masai elders started this conservancy. They then brought white rhinos from the natal in South Africa. Being a model conservancy, today, Ol Choro is the only conservancy in Mara protecting two southern white rhinos under the surveillance of rangers and Kenya Wildlife Service officers.
Mara North Conservancy
This conservancy is a private wilderness conservation area it covers an area of about 72,080 acres. This conservancy is a very important part of the Masai Mara National reserve and it forms the north western sector of this area. The Masai Mara is located in the Southern region of Kenya. It partners with about 10 camps and 2 other tour establishments. There are about 783 land owners that partner with conservancy. The aim of this conservency is to create a best-practice, world-class conservancy with long-term commitments to the environment, wildlife, and local communities.
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