A Message From Lewa's CEO, Mike Watson

Those of you who have visited Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in recent years may have remarked upon how dry, dusty and often windy it has been. For the past 4 years the long and short rains of April and November respectively, which provide the ‘lifeblood’ and energy for the Lewa ecosystem, have been unpredictable and inconsistent. In contrary fashion the weather has surprised us again, giving one of the wettest October / November seasons to date. Rivers, dams, springs are full; grass and woody vegetation is in abundance and the wildlife in splendid health! Lewa’s roads and other infrastructure however are looking slightly the worse for wear and the Conservancy’s Logistics team will no doubt have their work cut out as soon as the rains have finished.

One of the enduring memories for 2011 will be the realization that the battle for survival of Kenya’s and ultimately Africa’s rhinoceros was joined and that the pressure felt here on Lewa represents a microcosm of that being experienced in other rhino conservancies, public and private across the country and elsewhere on the continent. At time of writing over 400 animals have been killed in South Africa, some with their horns taken whilst still alive, left for dead by well-organized criminal syndicates who have diversified their activities into another ‘high value’ nefarious business. Kenya has been lucky not to be subject to pressure of this level, but the slow attrition rate currently experienced has the potential to accelerate, as demand for horn is driven by a market willing to pay huge sums to meet an unrelenting appetite for the purported medicinal properties.

We will continue to invest significant funds, energy, time and intellect into mitigating the threat to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy’s founding species. The battle however will not be won in the field alone and engagement with partners to develop avenues for lobbying market countries in the Far East will be perpetuated as a focus of our efforts during 2012.

In 2012 our strategic conservation focus will be two-fold, firstly to drive the growth and strengthen the connectivity and conservation commitment in areas adjacent to Lewa, which will begin early next year with support to Borana, as they look to make habitat available to black rhino; a significant commitment in the current climate. Once Borana’s black rhino population is assessed as stabilized, we will move swiftly on to realizing a long-held joint vision of amalgamating the two conservancies.

Secondly, we will enhance efforts to support continued success of Lewa's community conservation vision, born here over 15 years ago. The enduring and mutually-beneficial partnership between Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust is key to conservation success in northern Kenya and the proposed expansion of the existing Lewa Education Program into a greater, regional entity is testament to the clear opportunities that exist between our 2 dynamic organizations.

We thank you all for your unwavering commitment and belief in the vision of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and  the Northern Rangelands Trust and very much hope to see you in northern Kenya during 2012.