Kenya seals $160 million conservation deal backed by US billionaire heirs

Kenya’s government and a group of donors have signed a $160 million conservation programme aimed at protecting 173,000 square km (17.3 million hectares) of some of the most complex and least disturbed natural environments on Earth.

The Thamani Asili initiative, which means “value of nature” in Kiswahili, will focus on key biodiversity hotspots from the Great Rift Valley to the Maasai Mara which are home to thousands of elephants, rhinos, lions and other species.

Details on Wednesday showed it will combine $80 million from dozens of donors including billionaire heirs of the Walton and Cargill families, with a similar amount from the Kenyan government over the next 10 years.

The money aims to fund new conservation areas and improve management of some existing ones using a “Project Finance for Permanence” (PFP) model, which binds funding to key government policy changes.

Help farmers

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano, said it would both protect the country’s wildlife and help farmers and communities that share the landscapes.

A recent UN Environment Programme report cited past government estimates that around 42% of Kenya’s GDP and 70% of employment in the country depends on nature in one form or another.