Local Community Perspectives on Management and Benefit Sharing in Wildlife Sanctuaries in Amboseli Ecosystem, Kenya

Wildlife conservation in Kenya begun with the establishment of pioneer parks such as Nairobi and Amboseli, whereby local people were alienated from resources. A paradigm shift took place in 1990s, when community based conservation which emphasized on local participation in wildlife conservation through establishment of wildlife sanctuaries was introduced. Kimana sanctuary in Amboseli ecosystem was established in 1996, and recently, several private and communal sanctuaries have been established after Kimana sanctuary failed in 2010. This study which was undertaken in four sanctuaries examined the extent of local community’s awareness on the establishment and management of the sanctuaries, and also assessed benefits received and benefit sharing mechanisms. The study used semi structured interviews where 310 randomly selected respondents from Osupuko (34), Kilitome (49), Elerai Rupet (43) and Motikanju (184) sanctuaries were interviewed. Data were analyzed using chi-square test for goodness of fit and cross tabulations to determine differences in frequencies of responses and establish relationships between attributes. Most of the interviewees (63.2%) were not aware of plans to establish sanctuaries. A significant majority (84.2%) of the respondents were not aware of how the sanctuaries were managed, while slightly more than half (52.8%) of the respondents received benefits. A significant number of respondents (88.4%) were aware of the benefit sharing system. The study concludes that there is low awareness and limited involvement among the local communities on establishment and management of sanctuaries and existence of the partly unimplemented benefit sharing mechanisms. The on-going establishment of new sanctuaries should ensure involvement of local communities at all stages of planning, management, benefit sharing, monitoring and evaluation for them to become sustainable and avoid their collapse.

Amboseli Ecosystem; Community-based Conservation; Community Opinions; Wildlife Benefit Sharing Mechanisms; Wildlife Sanctuaries

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