Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (TTWCA)
Uniting the voice and efforts of community-led conservation in the biodiversity-rich Taita Taveta-Tsavo landscape.
Uniting the voice and efforts of community-led conservation
Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (TTWCA) comprises 33 community conservancies and ranches spread across 4,046 km2 of important wildlife dispersal areas surrounding Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks in Kenya. Working to secure the iconic Tsavo ecosystem, TTWCA focuses on the critical role local communities play in managing the land and resources while also deriving benefits to enhance their own livelihoods.
The Taita Taveta ecosystem hosts the native Taita, Taveta, and Akamba people, and is thus rich in cultural heritage. The area supports the conservation of all the members of The Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, and the African Elephant, holding one-third of Kenya’s total elephant population (approximately 12,000). It is also home to the critically endangered Hirola (Africa’s rarest antelope), the endangered black rhino, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, African wild dog, and a crucial habitat for the pangolin (the world’s most trafficked animal).
TTWCA is uniquely placed to address the needs of its member conservancies. It has supported several conservancies to develop management plans and biodiversity inventories. TTWCA has developed a conservation investment prospectus to outline the opportunities within the ranches, leading to the investment in development projects, tourism facilities and nature-based enterprises to boost the local economy. It has also documented tourism facilities and cultural sites across the landscape, leading to the development of information and marketing tools that serve as a rich source of information to the county government and local tourism stakeholders.
TTWCA is also acutely aware of the larger socio-political context in which its members operate in. It has therefore pioneered and advocated for the revival of the Taita Taveta Environmental Coordination Initiative (TTECI), a multi-stakeholder platform that addresses challenges in environment conservation in Taita Taveta County. Through this platform, TTWCA has initiated the development of the Taita Taveta County Ecosystem Management Plan.
Improving community benefits from better natural resource management
120,000 people derive indirect benefits from nature-based activities
40,000 households directly benefit from nature-based activities
$1.6 million invested in community projects
$3.6 million generated in carbon offset revenue
Creating an enabling environment for improved natural resource management and security
115 community members trained in ecological monitoring to become Wildlife Rangers.
4 group ranches supported to register as Community Lands, to obtain legal community titles and to establish appropriate governance institutions.
7 ranches supported to develop management plans and biodiversity inventories.
Established the Taita Taveta Environmental Coordination Initiative, a forum that coordinates stakeholders in the Tsavo Ecosystem.
Collaboration with the Department of Livestock and Agriculture to develop the Movement of Livestock Bill to curb illegal grazing.