Failures of Africa conservation dominate the headlines. Sophisticated, heavily armed criminal networks have turned poaching into an industry. Newly minted Asian millionaires hungry for ivory are driving the decimation of the mega-fauna of the African plains. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that rhinos, elephants, and a host of lesser-known plains animals will be functionally extinct in our lifetimes.
But in northern Kenya, there’s reason for optimism. Tribes that once fought each other to the death over land and resources, the Samburu, Rendillie, Borana, Somali, and others, are cooperating to extraordinary lengths, working together to build community, find peace, and protect the creatures that have been a part of their lives and culture for millennia.
Credit goes to the Northern Rangelands Trust, which created and supports 27 local wildlife conservancies over an area of 12,000 square miles. Instead of relying on the often inefficient, impractical, or misguided advice of outsiders, the NRT is comprised of indigenous communities—those most invested in the land and its
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