USAID / Kenya - Success Stories

Mwaluganje Sanctuary Landscape

A half-hour inland from the beaches of Kenya’s South Coast lies one of the first community-owned and managed eco-tourism ventures in East Africa: the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary (MES). The Sanctuary dates from the early 1990s, when USAID, through its Conservation of Biodiverse Resource Areas (COBRA) program, funded Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to help the local farming communities establish the reserve on their own land.

Elephants had long crossed the region on their migration between the Shimba Hills to the south and the Mwaluganje Forest to the north, an area where the Duruma and Digo peoples had been farming maize (corn) and other crops for many generations. During the 1980s, however, elephants began permanently occupying this region to escape intense poaching in the Shimba Hills and the Mwaluganje Forest. By the 1990s, human and elephant populations were on a collision course. Elephants were destroying the crops, and the farmers were retaliating by killing the elephants. Consequently, poverty from the frequent food and water shortages and insecurity from encounters with elephants were very high. Education standards were low and schools few and far between.

To resolve this apparent no-win situation, more than 200 families voluntarily contributed land to MES, agreeing not to farm it as an important elephant habitat. In return, they became shareholders and managers of MES and received annual dividends from tourism. Local people also hold jobs as guards and game scouts. Revenues from the sanctuary have also enabled the community to build school classrooms and enjoy a steady water supply and better road network. There is also an increased appreciation and tolerance of the community toward wildlife.

MES is the first ever community owned conservation entreprise dedicated to the protection of the elephant. It minimizes human/wildlife conflicts in the area and enhances the socio-cultural and economic well being of the community. The sanctuary upholds the highest standards of environmental protection, and promotes the preservation of the rich culture of the local Digo and Duruma people. It offers spectacular scenery and a unique range of flora and fauna, where visitors are guaranteed sighting an elephant. MES caters for local and international tourists whose complete satisfaction is guaranteed through good care and attention.

The MES board of directors, in conjunction with the Born Free Foundation, has developed an education bursary scheme to pay school fees for needy students. In 2000 alone, the Mwaluganje community was able to allocate part of its revenue to sponsor 45 primary school pupils. The scheme has improved school enrolment and enhanced pupils’ performance in an area that once had the lowest levels of literacy in Kwale district.

A recent economic analysis shows that shareholders make about twice as much per acre from running the sanctuary than they could from farming corn. Nevertheless, MES is yet to achieve its full potential as an earner of eco-tourism dollars. Shareholder dividends are still low—about $15 to $20 an acre a year. To help put MES on a more stable financial and social footing, USAID has extended its funding to enable shareholders benefit more from their land. USAID’s CORE program is now working with Mwaluganje to help strengthen its governance and management systems, and draw more tourists through expanded marketing efforts.

MES has attractions aplenty, from dramatic cliffs to nearby mud holes where elephants wallow. At any one time, at least 150 elephants roam the Sanctuary's 60,000 acres of baobab bushland, forested hills, and lush riverine greenery. Warthog, impala, bushbuck, sable and leopard can be spotted too, as well as hundreds of species of birds and butterflies. MES hosts a rare plant called a “cycad”— a small primitive palm tree that dates to the Jurassic age. There are also beautiful sacred sites, such as the Kitsanze waterfalls, and Kaya Mtae.

All indications are that the efforts will bear fruit in making MES a better-managed and more profitable investment. A tourism operator built a lodge that attracts most of the tourists who currently visit MES. USAID is committed to helping MES succeed over the long-term for the benefit of wildlife as well as human residents. The Sanctuary can serve as a model for community-owned and managed sanctuaries in East Africa and beyond.

Accomplishments:

In the year 2001 this enterprise supported 13 employees who earned $23,763 in wages.
Dividends of $25,641 resulting from profits in sanctuary fees were paid out to the 160 shareholders.
During the year USAID/CORE helped the CBO to empower membership by translating articles of association into Kiswahili (Lingua franca), and facilitating annual membership meetings and elections.
The group developed financial and personnel policies, and was also mentored in conflict management and monitoring and evaluation.
Members built capacity in networking and communication by improving communication infrastructures (telephone, email, and Internet) and developing an internal communication action plan.
A significant effort by the group was given to developing their first ever-marketing strategy and a 3-year implementation plan.
A Tourist Support Centre concept was discussed among the group members and a potential site selected. Improvement of natural resource and land use management were also high priority activities for the group.
New staff including a sanctuary manager and six community game scouts were recruited; a survey of economic returns from differing land use options was conducted; and the management team participated in a joint area-wide site planning effort for the Sanctuary, Shimba Hills National Reserve and Forest Reserve Lands.
Elephants were translocated by KWS to respond to human/wildlife conflicts and communities were assisted to dig moats and plant live fences to divert wildlife movements away from human activity.

USAID/ Kenya- Success Stories