Two Landscape Associations, Two Counties and Lessons on Conservation Governance

The visit by representatives from Taita Taveta County Government, Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association TTWCA and the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association KWCA provided an opportunity to learn from LCA’s experience working with the County Government of Laikipia on conservation policy and legislation, particularly as Taita Taveta advances its own County Wildlife Policy and Wildlife Bill.

The exchange focused on how collaboration between conservancies and county governments can help shape an enabling environment for conservation, drawing lessons from our engagement with the County Government of Laikipia, on county-level policy and legislative processes e.g. on the annual Finance Bill Acts, the Rangeland Bill, the County Wildlife Policy and Wildlife Bill and the Climate Change Policy.

Discussions also explored the LCA – County Government Working Group, the platform through which we engage the County Government towards a conducive regulatory environment for conservation in Laikipia, the progress of the participatory land-use planning exercise in three community lands, carbon credits and benefits sharing.

This engagement showcased an important part of landscape-level conservation, ensuring that the policies, partnerships and planning processes reflect the work conservancies are engaged in.

At the same time, sharing experiences across counties helps make practical lessons available for cross learning, while strengthening relationships across Kenya’s conservation sector.

LCA hosts representatives from the Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association and the Taita Taveta County Government