By Peter Sullivan
Nairobi, - There is a remarkable thing happening north of Nairobi, a conservation story that ticks nearly all the optimism boxes in a generally pessimistic environment.
One box not ticked often enough is the number of tourists enjoying Lewa’s “experiment” in wildlife conservation, but that may be the only one missed.
In Lewa, 250km from the capital, a large area has been set aside to conserve elephants, rhinos, endangered zebras and other wild creatures.
Nothing new in that. They also initiated an anti-poaching unit. An effective one – no poaching has occurred since 2013. There’s more: they have engaged surrounding communities to help, with breathtaking results.
The conservancy provides health care to thousands and schooling for thousands more. Results are staggering. In a world where rhinos are poached daily, Lewa has exported nine black rhinos to nearby reserves.
Where Grevy’s zebra was facing extinction, it has been brought back from the brink. Lodges have been established with six-star accommodation, superb food and splendid service and these have attracted wealthy patrons and donors. More boxes ticked.
But is it “green”? Absolutely. A bunch of senior journalists visited Lewa and of course, as is their wont, probed for weaknesses, looking for a “but” story of why it was not all rosy. We couldn’t find one.
Sirikoi Lodge where we stayed (courtesy of the UN) was fabulous, very “green” with 50kW of installed solar electricity yet boasting six-star standards of food and accommodation.
The lodge’s vegetable garden is huge and extensive with a cornucopia of berries, vegetables, herbs and fruit for the table. Garden keeper Sue uses only local elephant and other wild dung for fertiliser. No pesticides, no chemicals and only natural spring water.
Among the lodge’s employees are former poachers now turned gamekeepers, converts to conservation. The conservancy has opened a path for elephants to escape the reserve to walk their traditional route both up to and up Mount Kenya. It included building an underpass tunnel underneath a main road for the elephants and a 9km path with electrified fences.
The operation necessitated collaring 40 elephants and tracking them daily, which in turn needed a command centre, which in turn is now used by police and local anti-poaching organisations and others to combat poachers. A new hi-tech centre is under construction.
And so the little conservancy has grown in leaps and bigger leaps to include communities sceptical at first, but now eager and involved participants. It has grown in stature to include large swathes of Northern Kenya.
The original ranch belonged to the Craig family since the early 1900s, and conservationists asked in the 1980s about fencing off some of it. By 1995 the Craigs decided to establish 26 304ha; 21 years later it is 37 635ha and communities are adding to it all the time.
At first 64 anti-poaching recruits were connected to the command centre, now there are nearly 900 including various forces. No wonder they need a new HQ. Three conservancies helped establish Northern Rangelands Trust Northern Rangers Trust which means Lewa’s influence now stretches very far north.
Elephants now use the corridor to Mount Kenya. Lewa now has over 11 percent (300) of the global population of Grevy’s zebra, a pretty zebra with thin stripes and a white belly, very different from the broad stripes of those in the Kruger National Park.
It has 70 mammal species and a lot of Kenya’s bird population of over 1 100. It has 14 percent of Kenya’s white and 11 percent of the country’s black rhinos with 133 120.
One problem is too few lions, but there are active cheetah which I watched hunting, a thrilling thing.
The conservancy supports 21 schools, eight libraries, 7 500 children, awards 388 bursaries and has built 27 new classrooms and lavatory blocks.
A total of 3 563 pupils visited last year, $88 600 given to women as small-scale loans last year and 18 025 patients visited four Lewa clinics, 810 children were immunised and tourists spent 8 414 nights in Lewa last year.
The place is fabulous, the contribution enormous and the example of best practice amazing.
Tourism supports one-third of Lewa’s annual income and a majority of donors are former tourists who wanted to get involved with conservation and development work. This gives a direct connection between tourism, conservation and development.
My advice? Go, if you can afford it. Lewa is the lesson all wildlife conservationists need to learn.
Weekend Argus