Who We Are
Kenya Aid and Relief Effort (KARE), through the Lion Conservation Fund (LCF) supports traditional indigenous practices that once allowed communities to live more sustainably within their ecosystems. But why does The Lion Conservation Fund (LCF) assist communities? Recent reports suggest lion populations have crashed approximately 90% in just one decade and could face extinction in the wild without intervention. Many of the reasons for this dramatic decline can be linked to poverty and, by addressing core issues, conservation efforts can be strengthened while providing people a healthier ecosystem to live in.
In recent years, the Samburu people have embraced conservation values and have become excellent stewards of their land, dedicating hundreds of thousands of acres of their land as wildlife conservancies. At LCF, the Samburu are engaged as conservation managers, wildlife scouts, conservation education coordinators, research assistants, and serve on community conservation committees. Recognition was recently given to LCF’s programs with Samburu communities for being one of the most sucessful wildlife-human conflict programs in Kenya, the only project to reduce retribution predator killing to zero for over 40 consecutive months, stabilizing lion population declines and restoring habitat through a combination of innovative projects. We work together with local people with cultural sensitivity to find ways for wildlife and livestock to live sustainably in the same ecosystem, as they have for the millenia.
The Samburu, who were once nomadic and moved with rains, have been forced by their government to live on group ranches without alternative resources for surviving the harsh drought conditions. While this region has always been impacted by drought, some experts believe that climate change has increased their frequency, severity, and duration. We have established teams to search for displaced persons who fled the massacre and to deliver supplies, such as dry milk and other provisions.
Unfortunately, the only other target in these attacks were the Samburu wildlife conservancies, and part of the police action included stopping their operations and confiscating all communications and anti-poaching equipment. There is much evidence that the underlying motive for this was a Somali-based cattle raiding cartel and poaching scheme. 57 elephants had been found dead in this area, with their tusks hacked out, within weeks of these attacks.
For more information about who we are and what we do, please visit our KARE website.
