When a U.S.-funded biodiversity program in Kenya was terminated, integrated livelihood activities were also halted, including livestock vaccination and breed improvement initiatives. Plans to plant 6,000 seedlings for rangeland restoration were canceled.
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 livelihood interventions were aimed at increasing biodiversity, crop, and livestock resilience in order to reduce the food-related household expenditure that currently drives many into sustenance-driven illegal poaching.
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 sustenance needs of 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.