La adaptación de la capital a la modernidad: El proyecto de Ensanche de Castro.

The desired future state for KBDCA is one where land uses that are both sustainable and compatible with conservation are practiced in community areas adjacent to the KBDCA. The vast majority of KBDCA-adjacent communities directly depend on the use of natural re- sources for their livelihoods. The population of these communities has grown rapidly over the years leading to pressure on forest land as community members clear the forest to pave way for cultivation. Conservation-incompatible land use practices, such as shifting cultivation, are threatening wildlife dispersal areas and migration corridors that are important for several of the KBDCA’s large mammal species e.g. elephants.

To address these issues, six management actions have been developed. These focus on: supporting establishment of community wildlife conservancies; building capacity of commu- nity wildlife conservancies; supporting formation of a Forest Users Associations; supporting preparation and implementation of integrated water resource management plans; supporting formation of Water Resource Users Associations; and supporting establishment of commu- nity-managed livestock grazing blocks in Garissa County. These actions are elaborated further in the following sections.

Action 3.1: Support establishment of community wildlife conservancies

To enhance community benefits from conservation for improved livelihoods through exploita- tion of the tourism potential, KBDCA-adjacent communities will be encouraged to pool land together and establish community conservancies and/or community locally marine managed areas. Since land in Garissa County is categorised as community land, like most of the pastoral land in Kenya, and land in Lamu is mainly public land, KWS will collaborate with the Garissa County government, the National Land Commission, and the local community (through the CCCs and CCF) in the establishment of the conservancies. Once the conserv- ancies are established, the community will then either lease the conservancies to private entrepreneurs for tourism development, or manage the conservancies as other communities are doing elsewhere in the country. The Aweer community has already identified an area that they hope to establish a conservancy named AWER Conservancy. This area borders Dodori

National Reserve to the west. Similarly, the Somali community in southern Ijara district intend to establish a conservancy named Dareem, which is west of Boni National Reserve.

Action 3.2: Build capacity of community wildlife conservancies

Once the proposed conservancies in under Action 3.1 above are established, KWS and its conservation partners, such as the North Coast Conservation Trust, will provide both techni- cal and logistical support to strengthen the capacity and operations of the community con- servancies. In this regard, KWS will provide basic paramilitary drill training to a number of conservancy game scouts at its Law Enforcement Academy at Manyani. In addition, KBDCA management will work with KWS Business Development and Marketing section to ensure that wildlife conservancies are incorporated in the KBDCA marketing and promotional mate- rials, and are also included in any KBDCA-level tourism marketing activities. Moreover, KWS and its partners will provide logistical support to develop tourism infrastructure in the con- servancies.

Action 3.3: Support preparation and implementation of integrated water re- source management plans and formation of Water Resource Users Associa- tions for management of the major rivers that flow through the KBDCA

Sources of potable water in Dodori Corridor include wells and the Mangai/Dodori River. The fresh water in Mangai/Dodori River is communal and accessible to all, although it is used mainly by the nearest villages of Mangai and Mararani. During droughts, water is transported to villages such as Basuba, Milimani, Bargoni, and Kiunga. However, increasing irrigation in the ‘Dodori Corridor,’ if not checked, could lead to reduced water flow downstream affecting people and wildlife. Moreover, construction sand is being extracted from Mangai/Dodori River in an uncontrolled manner and as a result, the riverbed in the storage zone is declining, leading to physical, biological, and environmental damage in the River. To redress this, the KBDCA management will support preparation of an integrated water resources management plan for Mangai/Dodori River. These plans will analyse water resource uses and manage- ment issues in the river watershed and develop relevant management actions to be imple- mented by the water resource users. KWS’s support to the planning process will be in form of attending and facilitating community planning meetings and providing other assistance as may be requested by the County Water Resources Management Authority and the Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs). It is expected that subsequent implementation of these plans will secure river sources, control over-abstraction of water, improve the rivers’ water quality and restore riparian vegetation, leading to increased water flow in the KBDCA. In addition, in order to further curb the problem of reduced water flow in the river, KWS will support formation of WRUAs, in particular by co-funding meetings that will be organised during the community mobilisation stage.

Action 3.4: Support formation of Community Forest Associations for man- agement of forests in community areas

Illegal logging and uncontrolled shifting cultivation are the major threats facing forest conser- vation in the “Dodori Corridor”, which lies between Dodori and Boni National Reserves. The Forest Act (2005) recognizes the role of forest-adjacent communities in conservation and management of forests where they reside. It provides for registration of a Community Forest Association (CFA) comprising of community members who have traditional association with a forest for purposes of livelihood, culture or religion. The CFA can apply to the Director of Forests for permission to conserve the forest in accordance with a forest management plan and reap benefits that accrue there from. In light of this, the KBDCA Community Partnership

& Conservation Education Programme will assist the Aweer community in the CFA registra- tion process. This will include facilitating key decision-making meetings and the preparation of a management plan for the forest. In all this, the KBDCA Management will work very closely with the Kenya Forest Service.

Action 3.5: Support establishment of community managed livestock grazing blocks in Garissa County

Livestock incursion in Dodori and Boni NRs is an annual occurrence that threatens ecological integrity of these reserves. Arresting herders and arraigning them in court has not worked elsewhere as the sentences required by law are not punitive. Therefore, it is prudent to try new and complementary measures that are community based and socially acceptable to the pastoralists in the KBDCA-adjacent areas. This action will therefore establish a grazing buffer zone around the protected areas to be managed by the local pastoralists, making it difficult for pastoralists from far-off districts to access the protected areas. The establishment of these grazing blocks will require extensive consultations with stakeholders and particularly the local pastoralists who hold the major stake. Other important stakeholders to be consulted include Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and Garissa and Lamu County Gov- ernments. The local community will develop and enforce traditional grazing control mecha- nisms, requiring community members to contain livestock in designated grazing blocks ac- cording to a rotational grazing system (this action will be carried out in conjunction with Ac- tion 3.1 of this programme). KWS and other stakeholders will provide infrastructure such as water supply and cattle dips to support livestock production in the designated grazing blocks. Boreholes with wind pumps will be sunk in strategic areas around Boni National Reserve.