TSAVO CONSERVATION GROUP INC

TCG FIELD WORK FOCUSED PREDOMINANTLY ON TWO KEY AREAS OF SOUTHERN KENYA'S GREATER TSAVO ECOSYSTEM: TAITA-TAVETA COUNTY AND TANA RIVER COUNTY, BOTH OF WHICH BORDER THE TSAVO NATIONAL PARKS (TAITA TO THE WEST AND TANA RIVER TO THE EAST). BOTH AREAS ARE POPULATED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE COEXISTING WITH WILDLIFE AND ARE STRATEGICALLY KEY TO ENSURING THE ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY OF THE WIDER TSAVO ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING PROVIDING AN IMPORTANT BUFFER FOR THE TSAVO NATIONAL PARKS, HOME TO KENYA'S LARGEST ELEPHANT POPULATION.TCG WORKS PREDOMINANTLY AS A STEWARDSHIP/MENTORING ORGANIZATION, PARTNERING WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO HELP ENSURE THAT CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS ARE DRIVEN BY THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THEIR FOCUS AREAS AND NOT BY EXTERNAL ELEMENTS. BY DEPLOYING PROFESSIONAL STEWARDSHIP TEAMS WHOSE MEMBERS COMBINE INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE WITH LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, TCG PROVIDES PLANNING, STRATEGIC AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO ITS CONSERVATION PARTNERS, AND A BRIDGE TO TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES.DURING THE 2017-2018 FISCAL YEAR, TCG IMPLEMENTED A PARTNERSHIP WITH USAID TO BOOST THE CAPACITY OF COMMUNITIES IN THE TSAVO REGION TO SUSTAINABLY CONSERVE THEIR WILDLIFE AND BIODIVERSITY. WITH GRANT FUNDING FROM USAID, TCG WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND WILDLIFE POACHING MITIGATION EFFORTS IN THE MALKAHALAKU COMMUNITY CONSERVANCY (WHICH TCG HELPED TO FOUND) AND MOVE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS TAITA TAVETA PROJECT MUCH FURTHER FORWARD, IN PREPARATION FOR THE TRAINING AND DEPLOYMENT OF A COMMUNITY ANTI-POACHING RANGER UNIT, AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TAITA TAVETA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCIES ASSOCIATION (TTWCA), WHICH REPRESENTS LANDOWNERS AND TENANTS IN THE TAITA RANCHLANDS, ONE OF KENYA'S MOST IMPORTANT ELEPHANT RANGES. TCG'S EMAP (ELEPHANT MONITORING AND ANTI-POACHING) PROJECT ALSO CONTINUED TO DEVELOP AND YIELD USEFUL DATA. WITH DATA BEING SHARED AMONGST KEY CONSERVATION PARTNERS, THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO COLLECT ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION ABOUT HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT AND POACHING IN THE COMMUNITY AREAS BORDERING THE TSAVO NATIONAL PARK, VIA A NETWORK OF LOCALLY RECRUITED MONITORS, IN ORDER TO ENABLE INFORMED CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT DECISIONS TO BE MADE AND TO SUPPORT INFORMATION-LED ANTI-POACHING AND HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT MITIGATION EFFORTS. THE TSAVO REGION CONTINUED TO SUFFER EXTREME CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS (DROUGHTS FOLLOWED BY FLOODS) DURING THE YEAR, AND TCG WAS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE DISBURSEMENT OF DISASTER RELIEF (FOOD, MEDICINES) TO ITS PARTNER COMMUNITIES IN SEVERELY AFFECTED AREAS.