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Namunyak Conservancy Area - Laikipia - Kenya
Safari
Eco-Tourism Development at Namunyak Conservation Area In Laikipia, Northern Kenya
With the example of Il Ngwesi behind him, Ian Craig persuaded the 75,000-acre group-ranch Namunyak down the same conservation route. The Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust employs 12 rangers from local families on constant patrol, each equipped with a hand-held radio, a charger and a solar panel and backed up by aerial support from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy as well as the KWS. Two more rangers are financed by Iain Douglas-Hamilton's charity "Save the Elephant."
The Kenya Wildlife Service as well as the Kenya Police has put a major effort into the Samburu area. Supported by the Namunyak rangers, tight security has made it possible to return Samburu Game Reserve, Buffalo Springs and Shaba to the tourist circuit, providing a new source of income. The prediction made in 1985 that, if the rate of poaching continued, by 1988 there would be no elephants left, has been reversed. Under the leadership of former Kenya Wildlife Service Field Officer Michael Lenamaido there have been no reports of commercial poaching within the Namunyak area of the Mathews Range in Samburu; the last serious poaching incident took place in 1996 when 22 elephants were killed.
Efficient communication contributes to the well being of the entire population. In February 1999, when alarming reports of a cholera outbreak in a remote area were received over the radio, the Kenya Wildlife Service were able to respond rapidly and effectively to treat and contain the fatal disease. Between August and September, Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust's rangers rescued no less than seven baby elephants from man-made wells.
Tourism arrived in 1997 when Piers Bastard's company, Acacia Trails, battled with El Nino to build Sarara, a small, luxurious tented camp, and has flourished in spite of a setback when the mess caught fire following an explosion in a paraffin fridge. Bookings had to be diverted to II Ngwesi and a valuable source of income for the community was lost. Out of the ashes however rose an opportunity for change. When the camp was reopened for the Christmas season, it did so with the exciting announcement that it had new shareholders. Before the fire, discussions were already underway examining the possibility of an equity-sharing arrangement between Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust (NWCT) and Acacia Trails. Following the fire, NWCT raised enough money, supported by Tusk Trust, a UK based African conservation charity, to reconstruct and upgrade the camp to qualify them as 50 per cent shareholders in the project. Namunyak arranges the staffing and management of the camp while Acacia Trails retains the responsibility for supplying international clients. Proceeds will be divided between them.
A management team was trained to supply the same level of care as the Il Ngwesi team. Sarara Camp currently guarantees full-time employment for 15 personnel. Sarara generates at least 15,000 dollar per annum for the group ranch from its wildlife. The income which Piers and the other tour operators make on a per diem, per head basis - from visiting the campsite and conducting walking safaris - is distributed amongst the community for education bursaries, to support small business ventures or build wells and hospitals. For the time being the Conservancy is still donor-dependent but following the obvious success of Namunyak, its donor base has been diversified.
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