Forests provide vital ecosystem services to indigenous communities living around them, contributing immensely to their livelihoods. Yet, these forests undergo land use changes that threaten the abundance and availability of ecosystem services. These changes lead to a reduction and loss of ecosystem services such as loss of certain medicinal plants, decline in mushrooms, and habitat destruction. Wildlife and habitat protection and conservation are paramount for attainment of sustainable development goals. Despite its great significance, most regions are plagued with environmental issues of biodiversity loss and land degradation occasioned by overexploitation of natural resources driven by rampant poverty extreme weather conditions. The forest resources in Baringo County are important assets for the provision of basic needs, conservation and improvement of physical features of the county. They supply essential wood products, revenue collection base, control soil erosion, conserve water catchment areas and create employment opportunities.
As the world responds to the current global health crisis, it?s clear that the effects of COVID19 are far reaching. Notwithstanding the direct health impacts of the virus, the associated economic, social and environmental effects are catastrophic. As a community based organization, Morop-Tarambas Conservancy is seeing and facing the impact of COVID-19 across the Tugen community. There is need to adapt to respond and create a recovery plan to the effects of COVID-19 facing the Conservancy. Some of the effects on the Indigenous Tugen Community include but not limited to inaccessible health care services, market closure, loos of Employment, rising living costs, lack of access to education, increased social instability, degradation of natural resources and last but not least, collapse in Tourism which the conservancy depends on economically. In response to the priority needs of community members, in line with the Government directives, Morop-Tarambas Conservancy looks up to Donors like ICCA Global Support Initiative, having synergies with stakeholders towards improving governance and representation of Tugen community members by building on traditional, indigenous cultural structures, and empowering women and youths in particular to become agents of change in biodiversity conservation. Other response mechanism is to work with County Government to raise awareness around prevention measures within communities and coming up with water supply projects to support hygiene and sanitation measures within the community.
Morop Tarambas Conservancy in Kapkomoi area, Baringo Central is home to the indigenous Tugen Community who are at the heart of conservation. They have a deep connection to nature and reliance on natural resources available from the conservancy. The indigenous Tugen community are critical partners in stewarding the ecosystem of Morop Tarambas Conservancy. The conservancy strives to partner and honor the knowledge and rights of Tugen people by creating lasting and positive outcomes including a sustainable economy that protects nature, communities therein, livelihood and culture. Traditional knowledge of the Tugen community on the utilization of resources will increase awareness to the local and national scale about the significance of their assets through Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) that was developed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The proposed project will create incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of Morop Tarambas leading to sustainable development. Through the support of ICCA Global Support Initiative (GSI), the indigenous Tugen Community surrounding Morop-Tarambas Conservancy will be assured of accessing and gaining potential benefits of resources in the Conservancy such as wood products and medicine.
Morop Tarambas Conservancy is a working model of native people co-existing with nature. It plays an important role in biodiversity conservation, recreation, livelihoods and other ecosystem services for local populations. It acts as a ?sponge? by retaining water and moderating its flow into the adjacent water bodies including Lake Baringo. Protecting the flora and fauna will not only ensure food security, without compromising the habitat?s ecosystem services, but will also improve the local community?s economic wellbeing by promoting sustainable tourism. This can be achieved when tourists visit the camp site, Kikojo Waterfall, Morop caves including the Kebenop Baramot cave that has cultural importance. Other features that are in the conservancy include Kirandich dam (Kirdam), Morop Shrine, a Nature Trail that?s gazetted as a tourist circuit, and Beautiful Morop Mountain that is 2330m above sea level from which one can have beautiful view of Mt. Kenya in the morning.
Realization of the project objectives will contribute towards efforts by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Kenyan Constitution 2010 of achieving 10% forest cover in the country. It will also complement the efforts of Baringo County government and other NGOs to ensure environmental sustainability and improved livelihoods within the County that is considered marginalized with little arable land. More so, the socioeconomic wellbeing of the target indigenous community will be improved. Agriculture is the most practiced economic activity in the Morop-Tarambas community because the soils and the climate of the region are conducive for crop and livestock production. The area receives an annual rainfall of about 1000 to 1500mm, and temperatures ranging from a minimum of 10oC to a maximum of 35oC. Fertility of the soil enables the community to practice production of various crops such as maize, sorghum, millet and beans among others. Other agricultural activities practiced are: rearing of goats, sheep, cattle, and beekeeping which contribute immensely to the local economy.