The Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, and County Assembly have been at Lewa Conservancy in Isiolo County for a learning mission with the Northern Rangelands Trust(NRT).
The team is on a learning mission to understand and enhance knowledge of the dynamics of managing conservancies, and implementation of NRT projects as implemented in Isiolo and Samburu Counties.
Speaking during a meeting with NRT, Chief Officer Joseph Ekalale noted that they are in the county to practically witness how conservancies operate.
“We came to see the conservancy model employed by NRT and learn the best practice that works in Turkana.
The NRT model will be good for far-flung Wards, especially in border areas to address the security situation to enhance peaceful coexistence,” he said.
NRT CEO Tom Lalampaa noted that NRT’s mission is to develop resilient community conservancies that transform people’s lives, secure peace and conserve natural resources.
“We no longer focus on wildlife but community development through building skills and development hence the need to work with County Governments on the development aspect.” He said.
He also said that the essence of conservancy brings a desire for structures that can be audited for best governance.
“The way we work, the community and the County Government decide the conservation model they want and ours is to help structure for effective governance. We do not involve in extractives as misconstrued before.” Lalampaa noted.
The delegation was taken through a detailed presentation by NRT to be appraised on the mandate, operations, and structures of the community conservancies they work for.
Through the interactive sessions, the delegation also presented their proposed model and how they intend to execute, it to match the community’s interests.
The Trust works for 43 community conservancies in Northern and Coastal Kenya, enabling local communities to govern their wild spaces, identify and lead their own development projects, build sustainable economies, and spearhead peace efforts.
To sample the operations of the conservancies, the team visited Westgate Community Conservancy in Archer’s post, Samburu County, and interacted with the community Conservancy Board, which shared their roadmap towards the establishment of the Westgate Conservancy and the county government’s input in the conservancy.
The delegation from Turkana included Joseph Egiron (Director of Lands), Boaz Ekiru(Assistant Director of Natural Resources), Jacob Lokwawi(Chief Natural Resources Officer), David Esuron(County Legal Officer), Roseline Aite (Deputy Director, Legislative Services) and Moses Loporon(Senior Economist).
NRT delegation was represented by Were Ian Craig(Chief, growth and partnerships), Chachu Francis(Stakeholders engagement), Sanny Bitter(Director, Energy, and strategy), Elijah Oshangulu(Head of Programmes), Aloice Naitira(Programmes).
