Fifty nature-based enterprises and small business development initiatives, some of which specifically focused on youth, lost planned technical and vocational training activities when the U.S. pulled funding for a biodiversity protection project in Kenyan conservation areas.
Date: 8/25
Region: Africa
Country: Kenya
Topic: Climate & Environment, Economy & Livelihoods
Policy Lens: Climate & Resource Pressure
Entry Type: Human Impact
Additional Context: These interventions were part of $7.8 million USAID grant to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, or IFAW, set to continue through 2027 but terminated in the middle of implementation. The project aimed to transform Kenya's Amboseli and Tsavo ecosystems through strengthened biodiversity protection services and natural resource governance. These training initiatives were meant to strengthen sustainable livelihood opportunities, such as beekeeping, pasture production, and tree nurseries, that could serve as alternatives to illegal poaching in the region.
Devex Researcher Note: Local organizations point to poverty and local beliefs of the therapeutic properties of wildlife bushmeat as a main driver of poaching of species such as elephants, giraffes, and antelopes in the region. In addition to serving the needs of local populations, IFAW notes that these practices are evolving to serve commercial enterprises in illegal urban meat markets, which would make the integration of rural and urban livelihoods programming along with security and patrolling interventions particularly crucial going forward.