Following the layoff of U.S.-funded armed patrol teams working in Kenyan conservancies, the government's Kenya Wildlife Service, or KWS, has increased its own anti-poaching presence and coordination. Experts note that there is limited government operational capacity for this work.
Date: 4/26
Region: Africa
Country: Kenya
Topic: Climate & Environment
Policy Lens: Climate & Resource Pressure
Entry Type: Secondary Effect
Additional Context: The Northern Rangelands Trust, or NRT, is a nonprofit umbrella organization supporting 47 community conservancies in northern and coastal Kenya, as well as parts of Uganda. The organization was founded in 2004 and manages about 10% of Kenya's land mass. According to the Danish Institute for International Studies, the NRT functioned as a security actor in the region, coordinating conservation management and supporting interethnic peacebuilding and local security activities. Its operations have included anti-poaching patrols, early warning systems, tourism management, and rotational grazing enforcement. Budget cuts are reducing these activities, increasing risks of poaching, human-wildlife conflict, and disputes over land, pasture, and water.
Devex Researcher Note: USAID had been one of the NRT's key donors, helping to support armed anti-poaching rangers. Though not directly attributed to the cuts, the KWS deployed an additional 250 armed operators in December 2025 to combat increased poaching and human-wildlife conflict, after 100 people with similar functions had been laid off by the NRT earlier that year.