A patrol Land Cruiser slowed to a halt in the middle of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and three male community rangers accompanied by a squad of 6 female rangers in jungle green uniforms jumped out of the vehicle.
Dressed in matching outfits, the five women matched in many aspects but one stood out from the rest. She was holding a binoculars. Her name is Stacy Nashipai, a 21-year-old community ranger at the Mara- Siana Community Conservancy, adjacent to Maasai Mara National Reserve. Together with her five peers, they are the first female rangers in the conservancy.
Sitting on more than 30,000 acres of land in the Eastern Mara, Siana Conservancy is among almost 30 community-owned conservancies in the Southern Kenya Landscape.
In 2021, we donated a patrol vehicle, and other patrol equipment like radio calls and binoculars to Siana community rangers. Our goal at WWF-Kenya is not only to empower the community through aid their patrols and enhance efficiency in wildlife conservation and protection within the expansive landscape.
For Nashipai, who joined the conservancy in June 2020, being a female ranger can be challenging but the benefits have been many as well. Since she became a ranger, Nashipai revealed that she has become a role model in her community as many young girls look up to her.
“We have never had female rangers in our community. Therefore, being one is not only a milestone but also an opportunity for women here to get directly involved in conservation.” Nashipai said.
In 2015, the community conservancy became operational and has managed to realize the integration of people and nature. This after 1,251 landowners of the parted Siana Ranch decided to set aside 6.5 acres each from their share and each one of them given a separate title deed for the land set aside to establish over 8,000 acres wildlife conservancy.
The community has directly benefited from conservation through employment in tourist hotels and lodges within the conservancy, annual land lease fee from their tourism partners and youth have also been trained and employed as community scouts.
This pastoralist’s community decided to also jointly form a conservancy to benefit from tourism and have guaranteed pasture for their livestock through grazing plans. The all-inclusive approach in the management and control of the conservancy which was adopted ensures the landowners of the conservancy are represented by the Landowners Association that champion for their rights and manage conflicts.
Written by Leopold Obi.
