Land Use & Management

Land use and management provides the overarching umbrella that is required to maintain a landscape approach to the future of Laikipia. The Forum’s history had traditionally dealt only with the private ranches of Laikipia. In more recent years (the last 15), the Forum has grown to include interest groups, associations, and organizations in the greater Laikipia landscape.

This thematic area is closely linked to other themes, but most specifically to rangelands, in that many of the goals of the rangelands theme help to realize a more robust land use model supporting natural resource conservation at landscape scale.

Our Goal

By the year 2030, the FORUM will have established these four components as a regular part of its secretariat functions, supporting the implementation and contributions to the tools and outputs described here, through their partnerships and associations.

Conservation Land Trust

With the assistance of The Nature Conservancy, The FORUM examined the role that a land trust, easements, and alternative land conservation instruments might play in the long-term future of Laikipia. While still in its infant stages, the potential for a new institution could be used to protect key parcels of the landscape, and help to ensure the contiguity and connectivity of rangelands for wildlife. The Conservation Land Trust could also be used to ensure Laikipia maintains maximum public benefits from private lands. The instrument would primarily be designed to offer landowners an opportunity to leave their land in conservation status for perpetuity. This offers an important tool in a landscape characterized by minimal succession planning and an unsure tenure future. It is also a potential tool in support of the conservancy movement, for abandoned parcels, and for trust lands without a clear and confident future. The Central Laikipia and Lewa/Borana landscape models are two emerging examples of a “land trust approach” to the sustainability of rangelands in Laikipia. We must look to substantiate and support these models.

Spatial Planning

Spatial Planning is the County Government’s tool to address land use and the subsequent roles and responsibilities of sustainable land management. Using a combination of factors (zoning, taxation, incentives, subsidies, etc.) the County spatial plans are a 10-year document guiding development of land in each County. We see our role as a major contributor to the first, and subsequent spatial plans for Laikipia County, and other landscape counties.

Community Land Act

One of the most significant instruments to affect land tenure and land ownership is the Community Land Act of 2016. This Act will in essence, formalize tenure and titling of land presently held under the Group Ranch Act and/or Trust lands. This shift of ownership can have a radical impact on land use, and without the proper incentives, “parcelization” could spell the end of wide-ranging wildlife and livestock movements across the landscape. The FORUM will contribute to matters related to land rights, public awareness, and incentives for landscape-level conservation throughout the land registration process and thereafter.

Landscape-level Biodiversity, Social, and Economic Mapping and Monitoring

The most essential justification for a land use model supporting rangelands and biodiversity must be substantiated by regular monitoring key landscape indicator. We propose that an international consortium managing information on the biodiversity, social and economic indicators, premised on the 2013 study for Laikipia County be responsible for the regular monitoring, mapping, evaluation, and reporting on these key landscape indicators.

The Mpala Research Centre was originally established for this purpose but has struggled to fulfill this original mandate. Instead, we suggest an international working group, guided by an MOU, to focus on joint indicator development and monitoring drawn from among others:

Contributions of the Rural Economy study of 2013,
The LFA biannual reports
The biannual wildlife census conducted by LWF, DRSRS, MRC and KWS
County Strategies and Integrated Develop Plans
Spatial Plans

5 –Year Objectives

Activities

Role of the FORUM

In addition to playing a secretariat role to members/ associates, the Forum intends to increase the scope and scale of its offering at the Forum’s Nanyuki compound.

Within the next three years, the Forum will expand the facilities and services to include additional office space, GIS services, library, and meeting/training hall for its members. The Laikipia Center for Landscape Conservation and Education will be such a facility.

Partners

Key partnerships working to support these theme are the LFA, LCA, Counties of Laikipia, Meru, Nyandarua, Samburu, Isiolo, Nyeri; Mpala Research Center, NRT, KWS, KFS, WRA, Space for Giants, Mount Kenya Trust

Newsletter Articles

Leaving No One Behind

Laikipia
June 9, 2022

Kenya’s second largest county, Marsabit County, has over 200,000 people bearing the brunt of an acute food and water shortage. Dried up water lagas and barren agricultural fields are now dominating Marsabit County. Women are forced to walk for several kilometers in search of water. The little agricultural land is covered in dust, with carcasses…

IL Ngwesi Community Conservancy Endorses Carbon Fund Projects and Looks to the Future

Laikipia
April 13, 2022

Members of the IL Ngwesi Conservancy community held a special general meeting to agree on their Boards’ proposed Carbon Credit Fund Projects. Through the Northern Rangeland Trust, a total of 14 conservancies have been awarded Kshs 36.6 Million towards climate change mitigation. As per the requirements of the carbon oversight committee at the NRT, a…

Laikipia National Reserve And its Future

Laikipia
March 7, 2022

The Laikipia County, through its partner FAO, held a 2-day meeting to discuss how they could move forward in their efforts to formalize and operationalize the Laikipia National Reserve —formerly referred to as Kirimun. For years, this area has been a national reserve on paper only. The Laikipia Tourism Association was invited to provide input…

Update On The Laikipia County Spatial Plan

Laikipia
August 16, 2021

A SPATIAL PLAN for Laikipia County is underway. Driven by the County’s Roads, Public Works, Lands and Energy Department, and led by Dr. Jeniffer Kinoti, the County Spatial Plan is a county requirement under the devolved County rules and requirements. What is a SPATIAL Plan – The Spatial Plan is a ten-year GIS-based depiction of a county’s socio-economic…

Laikipia County Spatial Plan Update

Laikipia
March 10, 2021

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya confers the role of spatial/land use planning to the County Governments. Additionally, the County Government Act of 2012 requires each County Government to prepare a ten-year GIS-based County Spatial (Development) Plan (CSP) in respect of the entire area of jurisdiction of the County. The CSP is defined…

Community Land Titling – What Does It Mean for Laikipia?

Laikipia Wildlife Forum
April 2, 2020

Over 60% of Kenya’s land mass is community land. Most of this land falls within the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. The 1968 Act legalized the ownership and occupation of land by a group of people, and provided the legal basis for the establishment of group ranches. These group ranches have now become somewhat famous in conservation areas…

KWCA – LWF Partnership to strengthen sustainable land use

Laikipia Forum
August 11, 2016

The Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) is the premiere body for advocacy and lobbying on behalf of conservancies at the national level. A conservancy is private or community land registered and managed for purposes of sustainable wildlife management and compatible land uses for better livelihoods. Conservancies are a recognized land use under the Kenyan Wildlife…