GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 3

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by Section 44(3) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife gazettes the Plan in the Schedule hereto: SCHEDULE Shumba Valley Conservancy Management Plan 2023-2033 (hereinafter referred to as “the Plan”) defines the goals, objectives, and actions that Shumba Valley Conservancy (hereinafter referred to as “the Conservancy”) has designed to address natural resource conservation, community, security and operations issues in the Conservancy. The Conservancy’s vision, guiding principles, management programmes and plan implementation strategy are summarized in the following sections. 1. Vision Shumba Valley Conservancy is a model conservancy committed to conserving wildlife, environment and habitat connectivity for posterity, while improving community conservation awareness and livelihoods. 2. Guiding Principles (a) Conservation: The Conservancy is guided by the general principle geared towards the protection, conservation and management of natural resources for posterity. (b) Community: Recognizing its responsibility to contribute towards improving community benefits from conservation and livelihood projects. (c) Natural Resource Protection: The Conservancy’s effectiveness in natural resource protection is strengthened for a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. 3. Land Uses and Zones The primary land uses in the Conservancy are wildlife conservation and livestock production. The Conservancy also has potential land uses which are compatible with wildlife conservation. They include agricultural activities, mining, carbon trading and tourism. Zoning will ensure the protection of wildlife habitats and sustainable use of the area. To achieve the Conservancy management objectives, a land use zoning plan consisting of five zones has been developed. The land use zones are: Conservation Zone, Exclusive Zone, Agriculture Zone, Mining Zone and Community Zone. 4. Management Programmes The Plan has five management programmes that address the major management issues in the Conservancy. These programmes are summarised in the following sections. 4.1. Natural Resource Conservation and Management Programme The Natural Resource Conservation and Management Programme’s purpose is to sustainably conserve and manage Shumba Valley Conservancy’s wildlife, its habitats and other natural resources; and improve their understanding through management-oriented research and monitoring. The programme also aims at securing ecosystem connectivity between the conservancy and adjacent areas and maintaining viable populations of threatened and endangered species. This will be achieved through sound habitat management, species management, research and monitoring, and utilization of natural resources. 4.2 Community Relations and Conservation Education Programme The overall goal of the Community Relations and Conservation Education Programme is to enhance conservation values amongst adjacent communities and support community livelihood improvement ventures. The programme aims to achieve this goal through implementation of a set of objectives that focus on: minimizing human-wildlife conflicts, promoting conservation education and awareness and supporting community livelihood projects. 4.3 Agriculture Programme The Agriculture Programme’s primary purpose is to practice sustainable agriculture that supports the conservancy operations. The programme aims at providing animal freedom rights, promoting co- existence of livestock and wildlife and promoting sustainable crop production and related activities that are compatible with wildlife conservation. This will be achieved through optimizing livestock welfare, health and productivity, reintroducing sisal farming and establishing bee-keeping projects. 4.4 Security Programme The main goal of the Security Programme is to provide security for the conservancy staff, visitors, wildlife and assets. The issues addressed in this programme include: trophy and bush meat poaching, illegal logging, encroachment, charcoal production, livestock grazing, security staffing levels and capacity building. To achieve the programme’s goal, three (3) management objectives have been developed. They focus on: strengthening security operations for natural resource protection, strengthening effectiveness of natural resource protection and ensuring security of staff, visitors and conservancy assets. 4.5. Conservancy Operations Programme The Conservancy Operations Programme aims to provide efficient and effective delivery of the conservancy management programmes. The programme intends to maintain a well-motivated workforce at the Conservancy, develop and maintain infrastructure to support Conservancy administration and ensure financial sustainability in the Conservancy. The key management objectives that will be implemented in this programme focus on: improving infrastructure and facilities to support conservancy operations and improving staff motivation and welfare. 5. Plan Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation A 3-year implementation plan has been developed to facilitate the implementation of the Conservancy Management Plan. The plan outlines the management actions under each of the five management programmes and prioritizes them according to the urgency of implementation. The plan also provides a monitoring and evaluation framework for assessing the potential impacts of implementing each management programme. The management plan will be implemented through the Conservancy’s annual work plans, which will be prepared and executed by the Conservancy management and an annual compliance report on plan implementation will be submitted to KWS. The Plan is deposited at the offices of the Director-General, Kenya Wildlife Service along Langata Road, and the Managing Director, Shumba Valley Conservancy whose addresses are provided below: The Director-General, Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 40241–00200, Nairobi. Tel: (254) 020 6000800/6002345 E-mail: kws@kws.go.ke The Managing Director, Shumba Valley Conservancy, P.O. Box 51100–00100, Nairobi. Tel:+254 (0)715828282 E-mail: shumbavalleyconservancy.com Husseinfarah.a@gmail.com Dated the 20th December, 2023. ALFRED N. MUTUA, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife.