Institutions:                Smithsonian/NZP, George Mason University /EVPP, Mpala

Field Location:           Laikipia District, Kenya

Within the East African savanna ecosystem, the district of Laikipia, Kenya is a human-dominated landscape, comprised of private and public lands, local communities, conservation areas, and rangelands without the status of having any nationally protected areas.  Land owners with positive local enthusiasm toward conservation, coupled with high biodiversity of the region, provide an ideal environment for academic research and to further my personal interest in community-based conservation.

As a Smithsonian National Zoological Park (SI/GMU Ph.D) fellowship recipient, I am proposing to conduct research via the Mpala Research Center on a neighboring site called Eland Downs (17,000 ha).  The African Wildlife Foundation purchased Eland Downs to support a growing collaborative between pro-wildlife ranches with the ultimate goal of establishing a large contiguous landscape for conservation.  The Eland Downs property is highly degraded with having experienced intensive grazing by various species of livestock over a long period of time.  AWF plans to rehabilitate this landscape by suppressing land-use for a minimum period of 2 years, in which I will study the immediate ecological response.  This field component includes trophic-level monitoring  on replicate sites within Eland Downs through a gradient of diminishing grazing pressure.

The Lakipia district is home to a very diverse human population including the Mukogodo Maasai, Kikuyu, and Meru, who live side by side with Europeans, Turkana, Samburu and Pokot.  Cattle-rearing has been common for many years in the area, and is known for its low-intensity grazing practices, which might be a reason for its sustained population of large game.  Laikipia wildlife populations are comparable to the Masai Mara ecosystem, but hold a greater diversity of large mammals, including the second largest population of elephants in Kenya, 70% of Grevy’s Zebra, half of Kenya’s black rhino population, and holds the highest number of endangered species for the entire country.

Examples of wildlife conservation and management conducted in the area include:

• Human-wildlife interaction (predator/livestock)
• National wildlife policy change
• Ecosystem management / ecosystem health
• GIS and remote sensing for wildlife managers
• Community owned tourism programs
• Animal impact on degraded rangelands
• Corridor and wildlife dispersal
• Economics of community areas and conservation

An additional benefit to research in Laikipia is access to partner organizations that have made themselves available, namely the nearby Mpala Research Centre, The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Laikipia Wildlife Forum, LEWA, and the Department of Range Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS), which hold important archives and GIS recourses for Laipikia.  To compliment the remote sensing, the Kenya Wildlife Service conducts annual (aerial) game counts, which are made available to the Mpala Research Centre.

The rare opportunity presented in Laikipia is extremely valuable to understanding current trends in private/public land ownership and how this affects wildlife and its management.  This opportunity targets my academic interests as well as provides exposure to the practical skills in conservation area management that I desire.  The proposed research provides unique experiences and is value added to international spectrum of the GMU-EVPP program as well as the Conservation & Science program currently expanding at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park.

Ph.D. committee members:

Dr. Larry Rockwood, advisor, GMU-EVPP
Dr. Lee Talbot, GMU-EVPP
Dr. Allan Falconer, GMU-Geography
Dr. John Seidensticker, Smithsonian/NZP

Publications of interest on proposed research:

Georgiadis, N.J., N. Olwero, G. Ojwang, and S. S. Romanach.  2007.  Savanna
     herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape II:  Ecological, 
     conservation, and management implications of predator restoration.  Biological 
     Conservation (137):473-483.

King, J. and D. Malleret-King.  2006.  The Ewaso landscape planning workshop.  
     Held at the Mpala Research Centre, Laikipai, Kenya.  40pp.

Maclennan, et al.  2009.  Evaluation of a compensation scheme to bring about  
     pastoralist tolerance of lions.  Biological Conservation.  in press.

Sanderson, E. W., K. H. Redford, A. Vedder, P. B. Coppolillo, and S. E. Ward.  
     2002.  A conceptual model for conservation planning based on landscape species 
     requirements.  Landscape and Urban Planning.  58:41-56.

Links to important Kenyan conservation resources:

http://www.laikipia.org/                                                 Laikipia Wildlife Forum

www.lewa.org/ilngwesi_lodge.php                               LEWA Wildlife conservancy