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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/28/conservation-environment-africa-community-wildlife-conservancies-national-parks-sustainable-tourism-indigenous-people-aoe>
"Africa’s first national park was created 100 years ago by the Belgian colonial
state in the Congo, and since then hundreds more have been developed – but in
many areas there is more wildlife in protected areas run by local people.
Tens of millions of hectares across the continent are home to community-run
“conservancies”, managed by herders, farmers and hunter-gatherers, who coexist
with herds of large animals such as elephants, giraffes and buffalo.
“Up to 80% of all the land in Africa is traditionally used and managed by local
communities,” says Fred Nelson, chief executive of Maliasili, a US-based
charity that promotes community-based conservation in Africa and recently
published an analysis showing how conservancies help declining wildlife
recover.
“In some countries, it is known that more wildlife is found outside parks on
community and private lands,” he says.
Conservancies have proliferated in Kenya, with 230 in total by 2023, covering
9m hectares or 16% of land, and successfully creating more space for wildlife.
A 2021 census found that more than 80% of wildlife in the Maasai Mara was found
in community conservancies, despite them covering just 25% of the ecosystem.
Nelson says: “It’s an important and positive trend that conservancies and other
community conservation models have been spreading.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
