LAND FOR LIFE
Our Land for Life project will support community efforts to help people and wildlife thrive in Kenya and Tanzania.
Land for Life appeal
Our Land for Life appeal has raised vital funds to support the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the precious wildlife that shares their home.
Thank you to everyone who supported our UK Aid Match appeal, raising crucial funds for the Land for Life project. All donations given during the appeal from 2 November 2020 to 1 February 2021 will be matched by the UK government up to £2 million, doubling the impact of your donation.
You can still support the Land for Life project today.
The project
The Maasai people have lived successfully alongside wildlife such as elephants and lions for centuries. But the land around them is changing – under pressure from privatisation, growing human population, poorly planned development and expanding agriculture.
Fences and roads are increasing the fragmentation of habitats in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The destruction and loss of grasslands, forests and freshwater habitats has brought new problems. For one thing, with less land to share, there’s more contact and conflict between people and wild animals – which often doesn’t end well. When wildlife threatens your livelihood, conservation becomes less of a priority.
Poverty is common in this region. Climate change, and now most recently Covid-19, is making lives and livelihoods even more precarious. Communities who had put so much effort into sustainable ecotourism projects have seen them all but collapse in 2020. Many people face food shortages. In the struggle to earn a living some have been resorting to unsustainable activities, such as wildlife poaching or cutting down trees for fuelwood.
The Maasai need urgent assistance, as does the wildlife in their care. That’s where our Land for Life project comes in.
HOW WILL LAND FOR LIFE HELP?
Our Land for Life project aims to improve the livelihoods of more than 27,000 people in this part of east Africa. The project will be led by WWF-Kenya and WWF-Tanzania in collaboration with local communities, together with African People & Wildlife and the South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO) – our key partners who have worked in the region for many years.
Through conservation that’s owned and driven by communities, we can support local people to manage their natural resources sustainably, with benefits for people and wildlife.
Solutions
1. Keeping landscapes healthy
We’ll help communities secure rights to their land and sustainably manage it – in particular rangelands which are key for wildlife and livestock, and community forests which are crucial for the services that nature provides such as fresh water. We’ll work together with community members, including women and people with disabilities, so everyone is involved in project plans.
2. Protecting wildlife
We’ll provide support to local communities to set up and run community-managed conservation areas to protect key species including elephants, lions and wild dogs. We’ll also support community efforts to carry out vital conservation work, such as monitoring species and protecting habitats, which will help prevent poaching and the illegal wildlife trade.
3. Reducing conflict between people and wildlife
Many Maasai depend on livestock for their livelihoods, however their cows, goats and sheep are often attacked by lions and other predators – mainly because there’s less natural prey available and livestock are easy targets. Elephants in search of food can also cause serious crop damage and injury to people. Our Land for Life project will help with simple, innovative solutions such as predator deterrent lights and reinforced livestock enclosures.
4. Supporting sustainable livelihoods
Co-developing sustainable, nature-friendly enterprises can improve livelihoods and lift people out of poverty. Land for Life will particularly support women by helping them set up businesses such as honey production which will reduce pressure on natural resources. We’ll also develop alternative income opportunities such as payments for ecosystem services.
5. Improving transboundary collaboration
Land for Life will be more successful if Kenya and Tanzania cooperate at both political and community levels across their shared border. Through joint action with partners and communities we’ll support collaborative planning and activities to benefit the people and wildlife living in the landscape.
Our Land for Life project forms part of WWF’s wider work in the southern Kenya, northern Tanzania region, spanning from Lake Victoria to the Indian ocean.
Stretching between the national parks of the Mara-Serengeti and Amboseli-Kilimanjaro are vast community lands that provide vital habitat and movement routes for wildlife known as ‘wildlife corridors’. Our Land for Life project will cover 8,423 km² of these precious landscapes including the Loita forest in Kenya and Lake Natron in Tanzania. These areas include grassland savannahs, dense forests and freshwater systems, which are critical for both people and wildlife.
The project site has many important wildlife corridors, essential for species such as elephants, lions, leopards, wild dog and wildebeest to move across this landscape, following traditional migration routes and dispersal patterns.
For further information please visit our FAQ page.