Tawi Lodge, Amboseli

Social Responsibility

 

Preservation/Conservation

“It is absolutely essential that man should manage to preserve something other than what helps to make soles for shoes or sewing machines, that he should leave a margin, a sanctuary, where some of life’s beauty can take refuge and where he himself can feel safe from his own cleverness and folly. Only then will it be possible to begin talking of civilization.”

- Romain Gary – Les Racines du Ciel

Kilimanjaro Heartland, Kenya
Kilimanjaro Heartland stretches from Amboseli National Park, to the Chyulu Hills and Tsavo West National Parks in Kenya to Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania. Amboseli National Park, 392 km2, forms the core of the ecosystem while community lands, known as group ranches, surround the Park. While Amboseli National Park is world renowned for its elephants and magnificent views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Park is far too small to support viable populations of elephants, predators and ungulates. Wildlife is dependent on the unprotected areas outside the Park for dispersal.

The Amboseli ecosystem has an elephant population of approximately 1,500 individuals. These elephants are a major driving force in the ecology of the ecosystem. Most of the elephants’ range falls outside protected areas. Elephants traverse through community-owned land as they move between the safe havens, which results in human-elephant conflict. One of the main routes used by wildlife is between Amboseli National Park and the Chyulu and Tsavo National Parks. This strategic wildlife linkage is critical Amboseli’s wildlife.

The Amboseli ecosystem has been occupied by Maasai pastoralists for centuries. Due to increasing population and changing lifestyles, pastoralist have started farming and/or leasing land to farmers,especially near the swamps. Elephants and other wildlife depend on these swamps for water and food; thus, the encroachment of farming has led to a significant increase in human-elephant conflict and together with other wildlife, they are frequently speared in this region because of human-wildlife conflict.

The greatest threat in this landscape is habitat fragmentation and loss. The group ranch land surrounding the Park has been sub-divided into 60-acre lots allocated to individual owners. The sub-division of land is primarily due to a breakdown in communal systems. Landowners are selling their lots for development, speculators and agriculture, which is significantly fragmenting the landscape and resulting in habitat loss.

Tawi Conservancy is the result of a joint partnership between the community, African Wildlife Foundation and Tawi Lodge. The fees that each guest is paying goes directly towards supporting the Conservancy which, in turn, directly supports the members of Conservancy.

Should you wish to make an additional contribution to the Conservancy, please contact us.

• USD $ 60 supports 10 acres of Conservancy land annually
• USD $ 1,200 represents a scout salary for a year

Tawi - Kilitome Conservancy, expanding Amboseli National Park and a key stepping-stone in the Amboseli-Chyulu-Tsavo Linkage. 5,400 acres adjacent to Amboseli National Park.

Kilitome Conservancy

• Acreage: 5,400
• Conservation Tool: 15 year lease
• Owners: 90 Individual Maasai, 60 acre lots

The Kilitome Conservancy is part of the Kimana Group Ranch. There are 90 members of the Conservancy, and each member owns 60 acres, totaling 5,400 acres. This area directly abuts Amboseli National Park on the east side and is a vital piece of the corridor as elephants use this as a dispersal area as they leave the Park. The area immediately to the south is fenced and developed; thus, elephants and other wildlife depend upon this area. AWF in partnership with Tawi Lodge, whose facility is in the center of the Conservancy, entered into a 15 year conservation lease with the landowners, to keep the land open for wildlife movement.

African Wildlife Foundation

African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), together with the people of Africa, works to ensure that
the wildlife and wild lands of Africa endure forever. AWF is the leading international
conservation organization focused solely on the African continent. For 48 years, AWF has
concentrated its efforts on building the capacity of Africa’s people and institutions to manage
natural resources and to protect the unique and abundant biodiversity and wildlife of the
continent. Under its African Heartlands Program, AWF’s eight landscapes in 11 countries
focus on four key areas: land and habitat conservation; applied research and the conservation
of critical species; conservation enterprise; and capacity building and African leadership. See
www.awf.org for more information.

 

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