The Enkusero Sampu Conservancy (ESC) is a community conservancy located about 60 Km south west of Nairobi, Kenya that was created in 2010 to conserve and protect wildlife and provide alternative livelihood options to the host ESC community through a unique and sustainable biodiversity conservation and protection model. The model achieves this through creating a strong sense of community ownership and purpose for sustaining the conservancy as both a great biodiversity conservation and protection area as well as a source of diversified livelihoods for the host community. This has provided a conducive environment for non-consumptive tourism. The conservation area measures about 15000 acres owned by the over 8000 host community members and the Forest department was formed with the support of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The total community owned land in Enkusero Sampu is estimated at about 160,000 acres. In addition to the KWS, the ESC council of elders and management has developed strategic partners with the Africa Conservation Centre (ACC), the South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO), the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) and the Bush Trackers Safaris Ltd and three volunteer technical advisors to support the realization of a sustainable community conservancy.
1. What was done?
The ESC was developed through initial conservation area formation meetings between the community council of elders, conservancy manager and KWS followed by conservation area feasibility study, dissemination of the feasibility study, fundraising and business development through the strategic partnerships and stepped up marketing and continued conservancy activities development.
The ESC community identified and trained 7 community rangers.