key to conserving eastern black rhinos

Ukanda Wa Vifaru - A Rhino Corridor

In partnership with Laikipia’s local conservancies, we are working to create a 556,000-acre rhino corridor or Ukanda Wa Vifaru in Swahili. This corridor will connect to four existing rhino sanctuaries - Ol Pejeta, Ol Jogi, Borana, and Lewa - and then onto the more than 7.5 million acres of Northern Rangeland Trust Conservancies.

There are six protected areas that are isolated from one another, separated by properties that are overgrazed and have little to no security. The landscape between these rhino sanctuaries and conservancies is made up of ranches and community conservancies with varying levels of habitat management and security for wildlife. A rhino corridor will provide vast and continuous habitat for wildlife that would ultimately be more resilient to a changing climate. To create the corridor, properties connecting to the anchors will undergo habitat restoration and will obtain rhino security.

Forming an Alliance Among Laikipia’s Conservancies

This phased effort is forming partnerships between rhino conservancies, research, and wildlife management. Twenty-two conservancies have come together to form the Laikipia Conservancies Association (LCA). These conservancies consist of a range of private landowners, non-profit conservancies, community conservancies, and ranches. By collaborating towards a common goal, using successful, economically sound, sustainable, and proven business models developed within the region, for the region, the LCA can work to improve the well-being and prosperity of rural communities and conservancies across the entirety of Laikipia County, while promoting the conservation and connectivity of thriving wildlife populations, and maintaining the health of the overall ecosystem. While this collaboration not only covers a massive landscape, it is also an arena for local communities to be heard and their needs and development incorporated.

Mutara: A Proof of Concept

WildLandscapes partnered with Ol Pejeta for the first phase of the rhino corridor, linking 37,000 acres of rhino habitat on its northern border by securing 20,000 acres of Mutara Conservation Area and 17,000 acres of the proposed Laikipia National Park. Before Ol Pejeta took over the management of Mutara in 2018, the area was overrun with cattle and badly overgrazed resulting in erosion, soil water retention loss, soil temperature increase, and biodiversity loss. Unpalatable species increased and invasive species were able to establish. For wildlife to move and thrive in increased habitat availability, the recovery of pasture, palatable species, and soil health is essential. Ol Pejeta has worked with the local communities at Mutara by restoring grazing lands, improving potable water availability, developing a cattle to market system, a community-based fodder production system, and improving communication to effectively protect vulnerable and endangered species. Mutara Conservation Area is a crucial migratory and dispersal area for wildlife from Ol Pejeta.

For more information on the Rhino Corridor, see our project book below: