How an avocado farm could be the catalyst that leads to
the demise of the Amboseli Ecosystem

There had been no warning of what was to come, and the machines wasted no time.

Local community members could hear the sound of trees being torn out of the earth, as bulldozers quickly turned 180 acres of natural habitat into bare ground. But what they were really hearing was the sound of a new fight for the Amboseli ecosystem starting.

The reason? Avocados.

The place? A community conservancy in the Kimana wildlife corridor, through which elephants and other animals move between Amboseli National Park and the Tsavo landscape.

We all know that food has to be grown somewhere, and there are already large tracts of farmland in the Amboseli ecosystem. But this farm is different.

This farm was approved in an area that is fundamentally important to Amboseli’s wildlife populations, and is basically an invitation to developers to proceed with the destruction of Amboseli’s remaining natural habitats. This was an act far more deadly than any poacher pulling a trigger. It is symbolic of the biggest challenge now facing wild animals in Kenya: the further loss of natural space to human activities.

The farm was controversial from the start, for many reasons.

It violates two government-gazetted land-use plans, neither of which allow agriculture on the land that was razed to the ground. Disregard for these management plans and the approval of a farm in the middle of a nationally-recognized wildlife corridor would set an extremely dangerous precedent.

Dangerous not only to wildlife, but also to humans. Elephants and other wildlife in Amboseli are the basis for an ecotourism industry that supports thousands of jobs and generates tens of millions of dollars for the local and national economies, all of this ultimately at risk for the sake of the foreign demand for avocados, and other produce. All of which could be grown in any number of other areas of Kenya without critical ecological value.

Local communities were the first to object to the farm but the outcry spread quickly. Following input from a number of stakeholders, as well as evidence of the importance of this wildlife corridor, Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has since issued a letter of intent to revoke the license for the farm.

This is a huge show of commitment by the Kenyan government to protecting its natural resources, and support for the communities who are doing the same. The importance of this action cannot be overstated. Big Life thanks the Kenya Ministry of Environment and Forestry and NEMA, particularly the Cabinet Secretary and Director General.

However, the avocado farm’s owners have 10 days from September 18 to show cause as to why the development should not be halted, so we are not out of the woods yet. There may be a protracted legal battle ahead.

Meanwhile, Big Life and others in the ecosystem applaud the choice that has been made, one for the continued survival of the unique, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is the Amboseli ecoystem.

Photos: Jeremy Goss

A small population of critically endangered Eastern Black rhinoceros live in Big Life’s area of operation, nestled deeply in the Chyulu Hills. These 8 individuals are part of an elusive population once thought to be extinct, prior to their ‘re-discovery’ in the ’90s by community rangers who started noticing tracks. Since then, Big Life has worked tirelessly to protect this important population, one of the few remaining unmanaged, unfenced, and genetically independent rhino populations left in East Africa.

Despite their importance, these rhinos are threatened daily by poaching, human encroachment, and habitat loss. Tragically, between 2013 and 2015, 6 rhinos were lost to poachers. But since then, due to increased efforts by Big Life working in conjunction with the Kenya Wildlife Service, ZERO rhinos have been poached in the past 4+ years.

How do we do it? 

51 rhino-dedicated Big Life rangers undertaking anti-poaching patrols, in coordination with Kenya Wildlife Service, looking for evidence of and preventing illegal human activity.

13 Big Life rangers dedicated to rhino monitoring, managing the 30+ remote camera traps deployed across the rhino territory, including monitoring camera positions, image capture, and data collection.

A community informer network provided incentives for information leading to the recovery of rhino horn, or the capture of poachers.

2 tracker dogs ready to respond for extended periods of time, and aerial surveillance using Big Life’s SuperCub plane.

Our success protecting these 8 rhinos would not be possible without the support of our partners, including: the Kenya Wildlife Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Chester Zoo, Save the Rhino International, the Association of Private Land Rhino Sanctuaries, and all of our supporters the world over. Today, and every day, thank you.

For poachers, the process carries almost no risk. They take a casual stroll into the bush carrying only some wire and deadly intent. The wire is crafted into simple noose snares, which are strung out along wildlife trails and left to kill.

It’s a slow, horrible way for an animal to die and this last week alone Big Life rangers have saved up to 74 animals from that fate by removing as many snares.

Finding pieces of wire hidden across 1.6 million acres is a bit like picking needles from a haystack, and some snares do avoid detection despite the rangers’ best efforts. As a result, some of these 74 snares may predate COVID-19, but we strongly suspect that the recoveries correspond to other reports of increases in bushmeat poaching across East Africa.

Between February and June 2020, the Uganda Wildlife Authority recorded double the number of bushmeat poaching incidents compared to the same period the year before. In a national park in the same country, snare recovery over a 2-month period rose from 21 to 822, year-on-year. In Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service reported a 56% increase in bushmeat confiscations since the lockdown began, compared to the same period in 2019.

Big Life’s rangers are working hard to make sure that the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem bucks this trend, by keeping animals out of the hangman’s noose. So far they have been successful, and by arresting poachers they are continuing to deter others from poaching because of the high chance of being caught. There have been a number of poaching flare-ups in the ecosystem, but quick responses have nipped them in the bud.

Huge thanks to all of you who supported our recent fundraising appeal to keep our operations going at full capacity. To those of you who are able to provide financial support, please do. The need remains.

A few years ago we sat down to draft a 10-year strategic plan for Big Life. I remember the lead consultant asking, “What are your targets for anti-poaching?” My instant answer was, ‘’Zero poaching,’’ to which the reply was “that’s not possible.” Well, I am happy to report that it is. In 2019, we lost not a single elephant to poachers in Big Life’s area of operation, which spans over 1 .6 million acres. We didn’t lose any rhino either. Some herbivores were poached for bushmeat, but many of those responsible are languishing in custody. The message is out there: poaching is high-risk in this neck of the woods.

Coronavirus did not figure into our strategic plan, either. We could never have imagined the current scenario, keeping our rangers isolated at their outposts and letting those who can work remotely do so. In the face of a global pandemic, things feel unstable and bleak. But let me present some positive news in the midst of this hopefully temporary catastrophe.

In 2019, Big Life funded the education for 293 children ranging from primary school to university age, and we have completed 100 km of electrified fencing to address human-elephant conflict. We used to lose up to 15 elephants a year in conflicts with local farmers, but this past year had only one such death. What’s more, farmers are now able to bring their crops to harvest. Our local lion population continues to thrive, bucking the continental trend despite living in a land of lion-hunters.

Namibia, and African conservation, has just lost a maverick, Garth Owen-Smith, a man I hugely admired and whom I would like to quote, ‘’The long-term conservation of wildlife will not be achieved by military tactics, on computer screens or workshops, but by field conservationists who build relationships with the people living with wildlife or around our national parks.”

Garth’s philosophy very much mirrors that of Big Life, and as we move forward into what will be a very turbulent year, we know more than ever that we have to maintain the relationships with the communities with whom we work. Big Life must maintain our programs, keep our rangers in the field safely, and maintain our measurable successes across the ecosystem.

If we can stop poaching and continue to build a positive relationship with the people of this immense ecosystem, then we can certainly outride the coronavirus. We will definitely need your help to do so.

Thank you, as always, for your faith in our mission to protect wildlife and wild lands in East Africa.

Richard Bonham

Co-Founder & Director of Operations

READ THE FULL 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

[Photo credit: Jeremy Goss]