Kilimanjaro Landscape: Ensuring the viability of wildlife populations

Case Study: Ecological corridors in ecological networks

This case study is part of the IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors illustrating initiatives around the world that are working toward maintaining, enhancing, and restoring ecological connectivity. See all case studies here.

Kilimanjaro Landscape: Ensuring the viability of wildlife populations

By Kathleen H. Fitzgerald, African Wildlife Foundation

Key lesson

Conservation lease agreements support the viability of Amboseli National Park wildlife populations, and could move toward being enduring ecological corridor(s) recognised by the world.

Context and challenge

In 2008, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF, www.awf.org) launched a conservation lease program to:

Contribute to the sustainability of Amboseli National Park by protecting strategic ecological corridors;
Prevent conversion of habitat; and
Provide incentives directly to landowners to keep their land open and passable to wildlife.

AWF worked with individual landowners to help them understand that collectively their land was more valuable than individually, which resulted in the landowners forming associations. This enabled them to make collective decisions while retaining and benefitting from their individual landownership. These associations range in size from 50 to 90 landowners. Through these associations, AWF engaged the landowners in a discussion about conservation leases and payment for ecosystem services (PES). AWF proposed to lease land from the Maasai via a PES arrangement and pay them to keep their land open for wildlife. Different organisations now manage and pay for the leases in the Amboseli ecological corridors, including AWF, Tawi Lodge (www.tawilodge.com), the Big Life Foundation (www.biglife. org), and IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org).

Figure 1. The Kilimanjaro landscapes showing community-owned wildlife conservancies established by AWF to protect key ecological corridors © African Wildlife Foundation

Examples of ecological corridors

In one specific area, the Kimana Group Ranch, directly east of Amboseli, AWF worked with the landowners and presented a conservation lease agreement in a series of community meetings. Women, youth and men participated in these meetings. They were held in the local language, Kimaasai, with translation as needed into Swahili and English. AWF’s community organiser, who was from the Kimana community, was pivotal in organising and facilitating these meetings.

The conservation lease outlines the purpose, terms, land- use restrictions, retained rights, payment requirements, how violations will be addressed, and other relevant issues. The purpose of the conservation lease is to “provide habitat, dispersal and movement areas for wildlife” and to help “connect conservation areas” and “contribute to the survival of wildlife areas in the Amboseli ecosystem as well as the continued existence of ecotourism as a means of poverty reduction and economic development and overall public benefit by ensuring that wildlife species endure for the benefit of future generations.”

The conservation lease prohibits building new houses, fencing, logging, mining, dredging, agriculture, resource extraction, non-tourism-related commercial activity, and illegal taking of wildlife. Grazing is permitted in compliance with a management plan. The community selected a Maasai attorney who met with them (in the absence of AWF) to review the lease agreement in its final stage before signing. By having this meeting without AWF, community members were free to voice concerns, and changes were made as a result. AWF paid the fees of the attorney for the community. The extensive community engagement took approximately eight months. AWF determined the value of the lease by doing a market assessment of other leases related to tourism and agriculture in the region. While these leases are not permanent, the hope is that this will be a step toward permanent protection.

Results

Currently there are five community conservancies involving more than 350 individual landowners that protect approximately 8,000 ha of ecological corridors that connect protected areas. With an average household of seven, the lease program is directly benefitting over 2,450 individuals, and this does not include employment beneficiaries, such as scouts.

One of the challenges with PES programs is sourcing the funds. The protected area authority recognises the importance of the ecological corridors, but is unable to pay; thus, the project relies on donors. Because the land is privately owned and the program entirely voluntary, there are landowners who have chosen not to participate. This has resulted in fragmentation and fencing, putting at risk the long-term viability of the program.

Figure 2. Land subdivision in the Kilimanjaro landscape. The Kimana Group Ranch is located east of Amboseli National Park. © African Wildlife Foundation

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Hampshire	2026	SB592	Enables regional, conservation, and energy resource planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors
New Hampshire	2019	SB200	Requires the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to consider fish and wildlife crossings and mitigation measures in all future road and culvert projects
New Hampshire	2016	SB376	Requires the fish and game department to identify existing and needed wildlife corridors connecting wildlife habitats in the state and to make recommendations for legislative changes

State	Year	Policy	Description
Maine	2023	LD258	Appropriates $7.5 million to Department of Transportation to improve roadways with potential adaptations for wildlife
Maine	2023	LD1881	Establishes compensation fee program relating to fish and wildlife habitats and associated corridors, including compensation paid by solar energy development
Maine	2023	LD508	Requires Department of Environmental Protection to review its permitting laws concerning climate change, habitat connectivity, ecological resilience, and coastal environments

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Jersey	2025	S3618	Directs state agencies to develop a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan
New Jersey	2024	S3916/A5486	Expands eligibility for existing wildlife fencing programs by including farmers leasing farmland
New Jersey	2007	NJAC7:13	Requires the state to incorporate wildlife crossings or a natural bank for terrestrial threatened and endangered species and/or species of concern when a new bridge or culvert project would cause habitat fragmentation

State	Year	Policy	Description
New Mexico	2023	SB72	Appropriates money to new Wildlife Corridors Fund for implementation of wildlife crossing projects under New Mexico Wildlife Corridor Action Plan
New Mexico	2022	HB 2	Allocates funding for projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and allows the Department of Transportation and Department of Game to implement their Wildlife Corridors Action Plan
New Mexico	2019	SB 228	Requires the creation of a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan that includes comprehensive guidance to agencies for identifying, prioritizing and maintaining important areas for wildlife movement

State	Year	Policy	Description
Washington	2023	HB1216/SB5196	Requires Department of Ecology to prepare environmental impact statements for clean energy projects that consider impacts to habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors
Washington	2022	SB5689	Provides funding for US 97 Wildlife Crossing Improvements project
Washington	2019	SEO 1031.02	Recognizes the effect of roadways in creating barriers to wildlife movement, breeding, and migrations; the Washington State Department of Transportation will promote and support Practical Solutions and Planning and Environmental Linkages to integrate habitat connectivity and biodiversity plans; will make use of the highway prioritization map known as Habitat Connectivity Investment Priorities; and will corporate and coordinate with other agencies involved in wildlife habitat protection, specifically along highways

State	Year	Policy	Description
Vermont	2023	Act59	Vermont's 30x30 law that commits to conserving and maintaining an ecologically functional landscape that sustains biodiversity and maintains landscape connectivity
Vermont	2016	Act 171	Primarily focuses on timber harvesting regulations, but calls for a study of necessary revisions to planning statutes that protect contiguous areas of forestland from fragmentation and promote habitat connectivity between forestlands

State	Year	Policy	Description
Florida	2024	SB1638	Dedicates annual funding to land purchases, conservation easements, and trail maintenance within Florida Wildlife Corridor
Florida	2023	HB1379	Creates annual appropriation to acquire lands that complete certain linkages and are under high population stress within Florida Wildlife Corridor
Florida	2023	SB2500 sec.146	Provides funding to buy Ocala to Osceola (“O2O”) Wildlife Corridor
Florida	2021	SB976	Tasks state agencies with maintaining wildlife connectivity and designates Florida Wildlife Corridor as an existing physical, geographically defined area
Florida	2021	SB2500	Appropriates $300 million to acquire lands to conserve Florida Wildlife Corridor
Florida	2019	SB7068	Creates a "Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program" that includes protection of wildlife corridors as an intended benefit
Florida	2008	SB542	Amends Florida Forever Act statues to include goals of connecting linkage corridors
Florida	2001	SB1468	Amends Florida Forever Act to establish that land acquisitions should include complete landscape linkages and corridors
Florida	1999	S908	Creates Florida Forever Program, with increased protection of lands that protect threatened or endangered species and plans to create a statewide system of connected landscape linkages