Context

Water is scarce in Marsabit county and good grazing areas for the predominantly pastoral people, especially in the dry season, are limited. The Mount Marsabit dryland forest ecosystem is an oasis in the surrounding arid and semi-arid landscape. The grasslands neighbouring the forest receive more rainfall because of its relative elevation and its proximity to the Mount Marsabit forest and therefore it provides an invaluable dry season grazing area for the pastoral communities who herd their cattle on the landscape. Wildlife including the dryland-adapted ‘special 5’ such as the Gerenuk (The Gerenuk  gets all of its water from the plants it eats and never has to drink), roam freely between the Mount Marsabit National park and the surrounding grasslands. This has been a cause of tension as the elephants have destroyed valuable infrastructure in search of water, and the hyenas sometimes hunt the pastoralists' cattle. The area is also critical for the livelihoods of these pastoral people, and increasing droughts expected for the region may have devastating effects. Limited involvement by the communities in the management of the area has resulted in land degradation, human-wildlife conflict, and intercommunity conflict, and is impacting the adaptive capacity of local ecosystems.

Project objectives

The project's objective is to support the creation of an inclusive and revitalised ecosystem around the Marsabit Forest, empowering Indigenous communities and enhancing their role in conservation and sustainable development. Communities are also involved in the planning, management and monitoring of their landscape. These communities will in turn become more resilient to climate change and have enhanced livelihoods as a result of the improved health of the landscape.

Project activities

• Facilitate the validation and signing of a participatory forestry management plan, led by the SAKU Community Forestry Association (CFA), the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
• Support communities to implement traditional restoration techniques.
• Equip local herders with the technical skills and technology to enable them to monitor restoration progress through their herder conservation network.

Project outputs

In September 2024, the participatory forestry management plan (PFMP) was signed by all key stakeholders which represents a significant milestone after being in development for over seven years. Nature and People as One (NaPO) played a key role in facilitating the process by bringing together the various stakeholders who needed to validate the plan and supporting the SAKU CFA to obtain buy-in from their constituents.

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The project has also employed four herders as part of their herder conservation network, and will employ up to 10 more. These herders are playing a critical role in engaging with the local pastoral people during their weekly expeditions through the landscape. They have been monitoring the wildlife sightings, cattle movements, fires and signs of disease within the landscape. They have been uploading this data to a GIS system which informs the KWS and KFS in planning their patrols and managing the region.