TSAVO Challenges, Solutions, Hopes JULY 2005 - JUNE 2011 © IFAW/A. Mwazo © IFAW/A. © IFAW/D.Willetts © IFAW/D.Willetts Our Mission IFAW works to improve the welfare of wild and © IFAW/D.Willetts © IFAW/D.Willetts domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. We seek to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. © IFAW/D.Willetts Message from James Isiche © IFAW/D.Willetts Tsavo: A Worthy will continue to threaten Investment Tsavos’ elephants and other In 2005, an Associated Press endangered species. For as reporter filed an ominous long as human populations dispatch from Nairobi: and poverty levels rise, for “Everyone wants a piece of as long as land-use around Kenya’s national parks: the the Tsavo Parks remains Somali herdsman in search unplanned, vital wildlife of pasture for his cattle; the dispersal areas and migration villager hunting antelope; routes will be lost whilst the Tanzanian entrepreneur bushmeat trade and human- seeking a rare plant; and, of elephant conflicts will escalate. course, ivory poachers.” Most poignant, perhaps, is re-energised search for new information by researchers Looking back, it is amazing the threat posed by climate continuously improves to see how much we have change. How will Tsavo come planning for conservation and achieved in the past six years to terms with the imminent management practices. of our joint partnership with ecosystem change and habitat KWS. IFAW has invested in damage unless we make IFAW could not have done this 20 four-wheel drive vehicles critical and pragmatic decisions without the endearing goodwill for anti-poaching and law today and implement them and giving spirit of supporters enforcement operations, accordingly, and with speed? worldwide, even during these human-wildlife conflict Tsavo, therefore, stands at difficult and challenging resolution, park administration, crossroads. A giant of an economic times. community education and ecosystem, home to one outreach initiatives, and of Africa’s largest elephant There, however, will always ecological monitoring and herds, it still grapples with the be a KWS ranger keeping research. challenges of old even as new threats loom on the horizon. lonesome vigil in the remote fringes of Tsavo, watching By building elephant-proof over elephants, looking out for fences, supporting education These challenges, however, poachers. With your support, programmes and income- cannot obscure IFAW’s that ranger will never stand generating projects compatible contribution to Tsavo. With alone. with wildlife conservation for our support, the rangers neighbouring communities, and wardens have protected IFAW has boosted livelihoods elephants from poachers, and helped ease human and moved rapidly to resolve pressure on Tsavo, thereby human-wildlife conflict. protecting both animals and Innovative community their fragile habitat. projects have been initiated to James Isiche reduce pressure on habitats Regional Director – IFAW East But for as long as legal and and uplift livelihoods to win Africa illegal international trade in community support for wildlife ivory exists, armed poachers conservation. Meanwhile, a Tsavo 1 Challenges, Solutions, Hopes © IFAW/N. Grosse-Woodley © IFAW/N. Africa’s Jewel: A Bleak History Tsavo is at once famous British and German forces of 5,000 elephants annually for and infamous: Famous for fighting for supremacy over ivory. Rangers were not spared breathtaking landscapes East Africa. either. The bandits brazenly and astounding biodiversity, ambushed and shot them and infamous for a history Formally established in 1948 almost at will. underlined by brutal elephant and arguably Africa’s largest and rhino killings by poachers. Park then, Tsavo was divided Unfortunately, the situation into East and West for ease of was compounded by a severe The ecosystem’s rich history administration in 1949. Chyulu drought. As a result, elephant spans from the 19th Century Hills gained national park populations were devasted when the fabled man-eating status three decades later. from almost 40,000 in the early lions scattered hapless railway 70s to slightly above 5,000 construction workers. A Due to its sheer size, when poaching was at its tough and ambitious project, wilderness, and as host to the peak in 1988. For Tsavo’s black the Kenya-Uganda Railway, largest single population of rhinos, their fate was near aptly named ‘Lunatic Line’ by elephants and free-ranging tragic: about 99 per cent of sceptics, was built from the black rhino in Kenya, Tsavo the population was wiped out Port of Mombasa through is hard to police and is mainly for their horn whose Tsavo to Uganda to create consequently a constant demand rose in Asia and the access into the hinterland target for armed poachers. In Middle East. for colonial British investors. the early 1980s, for instance, Thereafter, with the outbreak of poachers from Somalia It took the intervention of World War I, Tsavo became the descended on the fragile the Kenya Government centre of fierce battles between habitat, poaching an average to completely subdue the Tsavo 2 Challenges, Solutions, Hopes © IFAW/D.Willetts Jaws of some of the poached elephants in Tsavo poaching gangs by overhauling elephants and rhino, and Under a special World Bank-led its Wildlife Department concentrated on other key project in 1992, Tsavo acquired and establishing the Kenya aspects of biodiversity much-needed vehicles, Wildlife Service (KWS) in its conservation as well. However, earth-moving machines and place. Retrained and armed as in all protected areas, law equipment. However, when with appropriate weaponry enforcement in Tsavo remains the project ended, there was and vehicles to repulse a critical cog and the rangers no further significant funding, poachers, KWS, together cannot let their guard down. leading to the running down of with reinforcement from elite these vehicles and equipment, military forces, took three But for a park to remain viable while roads and other years to regain control of and attract visitors and the infrastructure deteriorated. Tsavo. Meanwhile, Kenya led much-required revenue to efforts to bring to the attention keep it running, other critical In the circumstances, other of the global community the components need to be threats on the ecosystem precarious situation that these addressed concurrently. These such as escalating human- magnificent pachyderms faced, include basic park operations, wildlife conflict incidences and leading to the international ban a strong research programme, illegal harvesting of wildlife of trade in ivory and rhino horn an amenable neighbouring and wildlife products became in 1989. community through projects a challenge that needed to that have mutual benefits for be addressed swiftly and With the once rife poaching the wildlife and people, and adequately. under control, KWS intensified an outreach and awareness recovery programmes for programme. Tsavo 3 Challenges, Solutions, Hopes © IFAW/D.Willetts “It is obvious that the security situation in Tsavo is compromised by poor equipment and roads. If the war with poachers is to be won, then new equipment needs to be procured. The buffer zones also have to be secured. The best scenario is that poachers are defeated long before they enter the parks…” - Needs Assessment Survey Report on Conservation of Tsavo Ecosystem, 2004. Stunning landscapes in Tsavo West Tsavo before IFAW Due to limited funding, KWS At the beginning of the IFAW The need to mitigate this major capped available resources Tsavo project, for instance, threat was paramount. on wildlife security and roads across the Parks were in conflict resolution, leaving poor state while some of the At its core, a well managed precious little for other wildlife earth-moving equipment used park should operate like an management activities. Even for road repairs had broken efficient unit. The backroom then, vehicles allocated to down. The number of rangers operations are as crucial as the Tsavo were insufficient, aged had outstripped available operations in the field. and expensive to maintain, accommodation, which, in Tsavo’s accountant needs a gobbling up scarce resources most cases, was decades old. computer and photocopier to and hindering efficient park process inventories such as management. Worse, incidences of human- food rations and equipment for wildlife conflict were rising rangers; the researcher needs To compound matters, radio owing to growing human transport and basic equipment communication equipment a population that exerted to monitor wildlife movements – vital for coordinating anti- pressure on the habitat. and key habitats; community poaching operations and Such incidences include wardens need transport to conflict management – was crop damage, destruction attend to human-wildlife insufficient, old and unreliable. of property, poisoning and Often, Tsavo needed nearly spearing of wildlife and loss conflict incidences while the twice as many more GPS units, of human life. Beside these ranger needs housing, uniform, binoculars and camping tents losses, such conflicts negate transport, good roads and than were available. collaborative conservation serviceable communication efforts between Tsavo’s equipment to be sufficiently Yet by focusing mostly management and the motivated to combat poaching. on anti-poaching and law