Where we work
Most of Kenya’s forests are in mountain areas – in Mt. Kenya, the Aberdares, the Mau complex, the Cherangani Hills, and Mt. Elgon. They are known as the ‘water towers’ of Kenya, forming the upper catchment of all main rivers of Kenya. The water towers are vital national assets in terms of climate regulation, water storage, recharge of groundwater, river flow regulation, flood migration, control of soil erosion, and conservation of biological diversity.
They are Kenya’s single most important source of water for direct human consumption and for industrial and farming activities. The majority of Kenyan livelihoods depend in some way on the rivers, climate, forest and wildlife of these mountain ecosystems. They also help mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as flooding.
The protection of these forested areas is a national necessity. Since its establishment in 1988, Rhino Ark has been spearheading and is implementing fencing and conservation interventions in Kenya’s water towers, in particular in Mt. Kenya, Aberdares and the Mau Forests Complex.
Rhino Ark is firmly on the ground in the three largest of the five main water towers to address the conservation challenges in these mountain ecosystems. The lessons learned from the successful fencing projects undertaken for Aberdares, Mt. Eburu and Mt. Kenya have opened up other forested areas for fence protection. These now include the South Western Mau and the Kakamega Forest in western Kenya.
Vision, Mission and Key priority areas
Rhino Ark is a charitable trust with the vision to ensure the ecological integrity and sustainability of Kenya’s mountain forests and other threatened wildlife habitats. To this end, Rhino Ark aims to foster the conservation and sustainable management of Kenya’s mountain forests and other threatened wildlife habitats, through public/private partnerships, in an equitable, efficient and transparent manner by developing and implementing effective, result-oriented management tools that involve and support the adjacent local communities.
Rhino Ark ’s conservation programme is developed around six priority thematic areas:
1) Protection of Kenya’s mountain forests, other threatened habitats and their rich biodiversity;
2) Engagement and education of adjacent communities in conservation;
3) Securing the connectivity between mountain forests and other threatened wildlife habitats;
4) Establishment of sustainable financing mechanisms for the conservation of mountain forests and other threatened wildlife habitats;
5) Advocate nationally and internationally for the conservation of the mountain forests and other threatened habitats, their wildlife and their ecological functions; and,
6) Use of science to assess the impacts of, and review conservation interventions.