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

Field Location:           Mpala Research Centre, northern Kenya (http://Mpala.org)

Within the East African savanna ecosystem, the Laikipia wilderness area of northern Kenya comprises a variety 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.

Central to Laikipia is the Mpala Conservancy, a 48,000 acre property that includes both the Mpala Research Centre and the Mpala Ranch.  The Mpala Research Centre trustees include Princeton University, the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian Tropical Research Center), the Kenya Wildlife Service, and the National Museums of Kenya.  Mpala is well associated with numerous partners in the region, including a growing list of U.S. NGOs.  It is dedicated to scientific research, education, and training which focuses on biodiversity and natural resource management.  The fully staffed research center is equipped with housing, a dining hall, several laboratories (GIS), storage areas, vehicles, and a library.  The entire centre is well situated for intensive on-site field work.  The larger property itself is isolated by 12 neighboring private land owners, each of whom have some identifiable land-use (i.e. agriculture, farming, livestock rotation, etc.).

As a Smithsonian National Zoological Park (SI/GMU Ph.D) fellowship recipient, I plan to conduct research via the Mpala Research Center and neighboring areas with an interest in the effects of land-use on wildlife species in community-based conservation (and implications for conservation policy in the area).  Private landowners, regardless of whether they are or are not pro-wildlife, are simply maintaining and protecting a way of life.  The impetus for sustaining these lands might not be solely for income generated through their cattle and shoat (sheep and goats) operations.  Sustaining a way of life, via land-use, might be more important than we initially presume, and this could have direct implications to conservation.  There are two main land uses surrounding Mpala. Communal lands (pastoralists) have the larger land holdings and contain large numbers of livestock, therefore have less wildlife.  Communal ranches are smaller operations and contain more wildlife species and more wildlife diversity.   Livestock management is generally the same in both categories, where there are no paddocks and limited fencing, allowing for the livestock to roam under watch. 



A combination of research conducted by Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society (2002) and Nick Georgiadis (2007a, 2007b), former Mpala Research Centre director, is of particular interest, where both examined strategies for landscape species requirements in mixed land-use practices.  In addition, the Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF) and the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LEWA) have substantial investment toward landscape-based community conservation.  LWF is a regional effort to manage wildlife through engaging land-owners and land users, offering additional opportunity for research and training.  They estimate that 60-70% of wildlife in Kenya resides in non-protected areas, making it essential to provide new solutions through community and land-owner partnerships.   Programs of LWF involve community conservation, wildlife management, tourism, education, and security.

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.

My initial field-site visit to the Mpala Research Centre of Kenya (December, 2007) resulted in meeting key individuals (i.e. Dr. Margaret Kinnaird - director) who manage the Mpala Research Centre.  To avoid possible redundancy, I have begun to contact various individuals and organizations to develop a better understanding of the needs of the area, and to seek out previous and current research in Laikipia.   Examples of wildlife conservation and management conducted at Mpala are:

• 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 at Mpala is access to partner organizations that have made themselves available, namely the nearby 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 at Mpala and neighboring areas 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.  Mpala is a safe haven for such 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.

 Current unofficial 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

Georgiadis, N.J., N. Olwero, G. Ojwang, and S. S. Romanach.  2007.  Savanna
     herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape I:  Dependence on land
     use, rainfall, density, and time.  Biological Conservation (137):461-472.

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.

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.mpala.org/researchctr/index.html                 Mpala Research Centre

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

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

http://www.museums.or.ke/                                           National Museums of Kenya

http://www.kws.org/                                                      Kenya Wildlife Service