In the sprawling savannahs of Taita Taveta, southern Kenya, life unfolds in a delicate balance between people, livestock, and wildlife. At dawn, herders guide their cattle across open grasslands, while red earth-coated elephants—the hallmark of the Tsavo ecosystem—follow age-old migratory paths carved into the terrain.
Unlike traditional conservation areas that fence off wildlife from people, community conservancies in Kenya like LUMO Community Wildlife Conservancy Sanctuary show that humans and wildlife can thrive together.
Benjamin Nyambu is an operations manager at LUMO. He says, “LUMO is more than a conservancy — it’s our home, our heritage, and our shared responsibility for a sustainable future.”
Community conservancies are lands registered by local communities to benefit both nature and people. They create governance systems that allow communities to manage and protect natural resources, safeguard wildlife corridors, and earn income through tourism, sustainable grazing, and conservation work.
But living alongside wildlife comes with challenges. About 65% of Kenya’s animals live outside government-protected areas, often on community lands. In Taita Taveta, elephants searching for food sometimes wander into farms, destroying maize, cassava, and mung beans. Lions, hyenas, and other predators take livestock. The result: lost income, food insecurity, and sometimes retaliatory attacks on wildlife.
Jonas Mwakima, a local farmer, says, “I had 3,000 cassava plants, and they were gone in three days. Same for maize and green grams. I normally say to deal with elephants, one needs 1,001 ways, so I’m still developing more.”
Mr. Mwakima uses a mix of deterrents: noise, chili crops, beehive fences, motion-sensor lights, and reinforced livestock enclosures made from thorny bushes. Early warning systems using GPS collars alert communities when elephants approach.
Alfred Mwanake is the CEO of the Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (TTWCA). He says, “Taita Taveta is a human-wildlife conflict hotspot. If communities don’t benefit from conservation, resentment grows, leading to poaching or retaliation. Our focus is practical solutions that protect both people and wildlife.”
Community conservancies often provide direct benefits: employment as rangers, revenue from tourism, and programs to compensate farmers for wildlife damage. By combining traditional knowledge and modern technology, communities can safeguard both livelihoods and biodiversity.
Kenya has now established over 230 conservancies, covering around 16% of the country’s land. Programs like Thamani Asili, part of the global Enduring Earth initiative, aim to strengthen these community-led landscapes. Chantal Migongo–Bake, deputy conservation director for TNC Africa, says, “Securing land tenure for communities is a critical part of supporting community conservation. With ownership secured, communities can seek stronger revenue-generating opportunities that harness long-term protection of natural resources.”
LUMO is a model of what’s possible. Once a degraded landscape plagued by poaching, its 48,000 acres now host elephants, cheetahs, rhinos, and rare antelopes. Revenues support schools, healthcare, and local employment. Communities rotate cattle grazing to keep grasslands healthy and use innovative ways to protect crops and livestock.
Mr. Mwakima says, “It’s important to co-exist with elephants because we share the same planet. Where are they coming from? Are they looking for food or water? When you understand them, you can live alongside them.”
Across Taita Taveta, herders, farmers, and rangers are proving that conservation isn’t about choosing between people or wildlife. It’s about nurturing a shared future where elephants roam, families thrive, and the land remains resilient.
Photo: A herd of elephants gathers at a waterhole to bathe and socialize, their red-dusted hides blending with the soil of the Tsavo ecosystem. © Roshni Lodhia
This story is based on an article written for The Nature Conservancy, titled “Perspectives
Kenyan Communities Lead the Way in Conservation that Works for People and Nature” To read the full story, go to: