A solid base
Without the efforts of local people and of the Kenya Wildlife Service, the decline in the reticulated-giraffe population might be even more serious than it is. Many communities, organisations and individuals have designated their lands for the preservation of wildlife, with the result that the total protected area available to giraffes is now much greater than that of only the National Parks and Reserves. Community conservancies supported by the Northern Rangelands Trust, ranchers below Mount Kenya united in the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, private reserves such as Lewa and Ol Pejeta, and County Governments, including those of Garissa, Isiolo and Samburu, all play vital roles in maintaining the giraffes' numbers and their remaining area of distribution.
Advocacy and awareness
The Reticulated Giraffe Project operates through formal and non-formal environmental education and by the provision to decision makers and stakeholders of reliable information and advice. At its simplest, our education work involves sharing wildlife experiences with local communities. Many of the giraffes that we know individually are named after people who chose them while spending time with us in the field and who have come to understand the conservation issues better as a result. On a wider scale, we support the County Governments and the Government of Kenya in the development of effective conservation policies and we contribute to the work of international conservation organisations including the IUCN SSC Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group.
Current priorities
We are presently seeking funds to provide solar lighting and mobile-phone charging to the rangers in Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves and we hope to offer similar support to the surrounding community conservancies. We intend to distribute T-shirts bearing effective conservation messages through schools and community groups across the giraffes' remaining range. We are working with local universities to develop higher-education opportunities for future conservationists and to monitor the impact of our work on existing attitudes and behaviour. And we have plans to further integrate our own efforts with those of organisations working on different species and in other areas. Please ask us for a detailed list of projects that are in need of support.
