WildLandscapes East Africa was founded in 2024 as an affiliate of WildLandscapes International, with the aim of strengthening and expanding our conservation work in Kenya, Uganda, and the wider region. The decision to establish a locally based entity grew out of a simple truth: to be effective in this landscape, you need people who know it well - who understand not only the ecology, but the politics, the people, the climate, and the way decisions actually get made.
With team members based in Nairobi and Isiolo, and strong regional partnerships, WildLandscapes East Africa is able to plan, coordinate, and deliver projects more responsively, and with greater sensitivity to local dynamics. Our team brings together decades of experience in conservation across East Africa. Collectively, we hold a deep understanding of how to navigate the intricacies of climate, people, and politics, how to overcome both the big hurdles and the everyday challenges, and how to seize opportunities while working effectively with partners. Just as importantly, we know when to push forward and build momentum, and when to pause, recalibrate, and let others take the lead. This balance is what makes our approach practical and resilient.
Kenya is already a major hub for conservation in Africa, and there is considerable scope here for carefully placed interventions to make a tangible difference, whether by supporting communities, strengthening corridors, or bringing key species back to landscapes where they’ve disappeared.
That said, we are not a programme-based organisation. Every project we support is intended to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Our role is to help set things in motion: to fill a gap, build capacity, remove a bottleneck, and then step back. Where possible, we hand over to others, or help build the foundations for long-term success: stronger institutions, better governance, clearer funding pipelines, and more resilient partnerships.
Our focus is on creating a more sustainable model of conservation: one that does not rely indefinitely on external donors or large international NGOs, but that can stand on its own feet. That might mean helping a community conservancy navigate complex regulatory requirements, supporting a reintroduction plan, or simply providing the logistical or technical support needed to bring different players together.
WildLandscapes East Africa remains tightly linked to WildLandscapes International, but with autonomy in how it operates and delivers on its goals. We share a mission: to restore and reconnect wild places at scale, and we work closely across teams and borders. But the East African arm is designed to be lean, agile, and firmly embedded in place.