2024 Il Ngwesi Community Biodiversity Mission

Jambo (Hello in Kiswahili)!

We are a joint Kenyan-UK team working with the Il Ngwesi community in Northern Kenya to produce a biodiversity survey and habitat map of the Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy. Il Ngwesi is one of the first community conservancies established in Northern Kenya, founded and run in 1996 by the local Il Lakipiak Maasai - ‘people of wildlife’.

We are a team of 8; on the Kenyan side, we are led by Cyrus Nkoyo Kisio, a ranger and guide at Il Ngwesi who is currently selecting his 3 Kenyan teammates. Our UK side is led by Francis McAdie of Durham University, along with Eva Rundle (also at Durham) and Barbara Francik and Jamie Bolam from Oxford University. The Conservancy manager Edwin Kisio is acting as the team manager and coordinator.

Team photo of Cyrus, Francis and Edwin. Overlooking the Il Ngwesi Conservancy.

The people of Il Ngwesi have traditionally always lived together with wildlife, but recognising that conservation offered a way to end the threat of poaching and bring opportunity to their corner of Kenya, they took a leap of faith. Setting aside much of their grazing land for conservation, they rose to the challenge of opening a world-class lodge owned and operated by the community, maintaining their own Laikipia Maasai culture while welcoming visitors and supporters from around the world. Their once overgrazed and barren land has transformed into a beautiful savannah supporting iconic and endangered wildlife including Grevy’s Zebra, African Wild Dogs, Reticulated Giraffe, African Elephants and Rhinos, as well as a huge diversity of flora. Simultaneously, Il Ngwesi has more economic opportunity than ever before; women support their families through craftwork and employment at the lodge, their children learn in modern classrooms, they have a medical clinic and their ecotourism vehicles double as ambulances.

Il Ngwesi now wants to develop its biodiversity research programmes to understand and further increase the biodiversity in their home. Our biodiversity survey is intended to be a key step towards this goal. To this end, we are planning our first group mission from 31st August-14th September 2023.

Our goals for this first mission are as follows:

One of the key outcomes of our major 2-month biodiversity survey will be a report for Il Ngwesi outlining their current biodiversity status, which will inform future conservation and management work at the Conservancy. We also intend to produce a scientific journal article disseminating our findings. We intend to focus primarily on insects (dudu in Kiswahili), as they have yet to be thoroughly studied in the area, certainly including butterflies, moths and beetles. We also intend to survey Il Ngwesi’s rich and beautiful bird fauna (ndege in Kiswahili). Given Kenya’s rich insect biodiversity, we hope to reveal species as yet unknown to the scientific world.

A map of Il Ngwesi with a 1x1km grid overlaid, which we will add to with more data on Il Ngwesi’s land management zones to inform our survey.

Fundraising events:

The History and Biology of the Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy:

It was established in 1996 as an alternative venture to improve community livelihood through wildlife conservation. The vision of Il Ngwesi is to integrate community development and a sustainable environment with wildlife management. II Ngwesi has proven itself, both nationally and internationally, as a true example of a community initiative, fighting poverty in the community through wildlife and natural resource conservation. The conservancy covers 16,000 acres and is home to all manner of fauna, from elephants to aardvarks, and a huge diversity of flora. Over the last 26 years since its establishment, there has been an increase in the number and variety of plant and animal species. Research is essential to understand these ecological communities are changing, and how best to protect them whilst benefiting the local community.

What is the money fundraised going towards?

All the funds we raise with your valuable help will be invested into our mission for the community of Il Ngwesi, making this important project possible. We intend for any additional funds raised beyond essentials for the team (such as health insurance and living costs such as food, transport and accommodation) to benefit Il Ngwesi’s community and biodiversity research goals. For example, through the provision of biodiversity equipment such as binoculars, insect-surveying equipment, field guides and species identification books, and other initiatives such as supporting the Kenyan team in speaking to local schools about our project with Il Ngwesi and the importance of conservation.

Our mission will also be supporting local businesses, guides, and the Conservancy. This will, in turn, benefit the conservation work in the Conservancy, helping safeguard Il Ngwesi’s important biodiversity for current and future generations.

We would like to highlight that we are also working hard at applying for grants to help fund this project, with success so far. However, especially for our August-September 2023 mission, your help with our fundraising efforts truly is vital to make this important project a reality, as we are not eligible for research grants for this initial mission.

We will post updates on our progress and fundraising efforts every month.

To contact us please send an email to: [email redacted]

Thank you for donating to our cause!

Asante sana (thank you very much in Kiswahili)

Ashe O’leng (thank you in Maa)

From the Il Ngwesi Biodiversity Survey team