Following U.S. aid cuts to Kenyan conservancies, incidents of livestock theft have more frequently escalated into intergroup violence, where such disputes were previously contained or resolved.
Date: 4/26
Region: Africa
Country: Kenya
Topic: Climate & Environment, Peacebuilding & Stabilization
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, regulating tourism access, and enforcing rotational grazing plans. Budget reductions will reduce frequency and reach of these activities, increase incentives for poaching, exacerbate human-wildlife conflict, and slow down mediation in disputes over land, pasture and water.
Devex Researcher Note: USAID had been one of the NRT's key donors, helping to implement a People-to-People Reconciliation Program, which promoted inter-community dialogue, inter-group management of conservancies, and monitoring of stolen cattle after raids to contain conflict. These programs were terminated.