GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 9775

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by section 44 (3) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage gazettes the plan in the Schedule hereto: SCHEDULE The Borana Conservancy Management Plan 2023-2032 (hereinafter referred to as “the Plan”) defines the goals, objectives and actions that Borana Conservancy (hereinafter referred to as “the Conservancy”) has designed to address conservation, sustainability and operation issues in the Conservancy and strengthening conservancy-community relations. 3198 3198 The Conservancy’s vision, guiding principles, management programmes and plan implementation strategy are summarized in the following sections. Vision A Conservancy dedicated to the sustainable conservation of land and wildlife. Its holistic approach commits tourism, ranching and other enterprises to building local livelihoods and enhancing ecosystem integrity. Guiding Principles (a) Conservation: Addressing issues related to biodiversity and ecosystem services as well as management of energy, water, waste, land planning and carbon impact reduction, amongst others. (b) Community: Recognizing its responsibility, as a pioneering nature-based business, in contributing to lifting communities out of poverty and empowering local people to drive their own sustainable development. (c) Culture: The Conservancy’s activities strive to strengthen intercultural relationships and understanding and safeguarding cultural heritage while raising awareness of cultural diversity. (d) Commerce: The Conservancy’s commercial activities address profitability to ensure a reasonable return for the owners to stay invested in the conservation business and serve as a source of reliable business and income for the dependent communities. MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES The plan has three management programmes: Conservation Management Programme, Community Development Programme and Conservancy Sustainability and Operations Programme. Conservation Management Programme The purpose of the Conservation Management Programme is to ensure that “wildlife and its habitats are sustainably conserved and managed and their understanding is enhanced through management- oriented research and monitoring”. To achieve this purpose, the programme has four management objectives that focus on managing and maintaining key habitats; conserving and managing key large mammal species; conducting management-oriented research and ecological monitoring; and enhancing the security of natural resources, conservancy assets and visitors. Community Development Programme The Community Development Programme's purpose is to increase “support and participation of BC’s neighbouring communities in wildlife conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.” Key to achieving this aim is ensuring that community well-being is improved which is the focus of the programme’s first objective. The programme’s second objective focuses on improving community livelihoods through the establishment of viable community enterprises, while the third objective focuses on promoting conservation- compatible community initiatives. The fourth objective aims to improve formal education and conservation awareness in BC’s neighbouring communities. The programme’s fifth objective seeks to reduce human-wildlife conflict incidences, while the last objective focuses on establishing and strengthening community communication and collaboration mechanisms. Conservancy Sustainability and Operations Programme The Conservancy Sustainability and Operations Programme aims “to ensure that the conservancy is financially sustainable and its operations effectively support the delivery of its management programmes”. To achieve this aim, four management objectives have been developed. The first objective focuses on offering memorable visitor experiences based on natural and cultural resources, while the second objective seeks to maintain livestock production to provide income for supporting conservancy operations and maintaining healthy pastures. The third objective focuses on ensuring that staff and administrative systems are effective and efficient and that the conservancy is financially sustainable; finally, the fourth objective seeks to improve infrastructure and transport to support conservancy operations. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION A 10-year implementation plan has been developed to facilitate the implementation of the Conservancy’s Management Plan. The plan outlines the management actions under each of the three management programmes and prioritizes them according to the urgency of their implementation. The management plan will be implemented through the Conservancy’s annual work plans, which will be prepared and executed by the Conservancy management. In addition, the plan provides a monitoring framework for assessing the potential impacts of implementing each management programme. The Conservancy’s Managing Director will produce and provide KWS with an annual compliance/progress report on plan implementation, while the Conservancy Board will oversee the production of a third-party management report every five (5) years. The Plan is deposited at the offices of the Director-General, Kenya Wildlife Service along Langata Road and the Managing Director, Borana 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 Borana Conservancy P.O. Box 137-10400 Nanyuki Tel: +254(0)702243171 E-mail: conservancy@borana.co.ke Dated the 19th July, 2023. PENINAH MALONZA, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage.