Empowering Communities for Sustainable Rangeland Management

Rangeland management is a key area of focus for the Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF).

Implementing strategies such as grass reseeding to provide pasture for livestock is vital to ease pressure on the adjacent Mukogodo Forest. When community livestock moves into the forest in search of pasture, it damages water catchment areas. Grass reseeding to increase dry season grazing areas during droughts is a crucial intervention to significantly reduce pressure on natural resources.

With support from TerraFund for AFR100, LWF has constructed 2,000 semi-circular bunds in Musul Community Land. The community played an active role in selecting suitable grass species adapted to local climatic conditions to ensure a high survival rate. Reseeding was done with African foxtail (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Maasai love grass (Eragrostis superba).

This initiative showed a high level of community ownership, which is key to the project’s success. Indicators such as laying tree branches on micro-catchments to reduce animal invasion show that the community recognizes the project’s benefits. Additionally, the Community Land Management Committee (CLMC) officials met with neighboring households to discuss their roles during the project’s initial stages. Joint surveillance and protection of the restored sites was agreed upon, and existing bylaws would be enforced against anyone whose livestock invades the areas.

To ensure sustainability and scalability, the community committed to harvesting grass seeds for reseeding other degraded areas. This means the community will continue to restore additional hectares without relying on donor funding, as they will have a readily available source of seeds.

This forms part of the project sustainability and exit strategy fully driven by the community. The aspect of social fencing is key and showed the value placed on the interventions implemented.