NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & PROTECTION
Wildlife Protection
By 1982, when FOC was founded, the black rhino had been illegally poached
to the brink of extinction for its horn. In 1984, when FOC initiated the Masai Mara Rhino Monitoring Programme,
there were just eleven black rhino in the entire Masai Mara National Reserve. When the project was transferred as
hoped after fifteen years to the Reserve’s management authorities, rhino numbers had increased threefold.
Today it is the largest stable breeding population of black rhino in an unfenced area in Kenya.
Forestry Resources
This activity initially concentrated on the collection of indigenous tree seeds
and the establishment of community tree nurseries. This FOC project has expanded to support agro-forestry initiatives,
community reforestation, and the protection of existing forests. The project is linked to providing alternative
materials to forest resources such as waste briquettes for fuel, stabilized soil building blocks, etc., to reduce the
burden on forests in the greater Mara region.
Energy Options
This FOC activity focuses on reducing the consumption of forest resources
through the introduction of fuel-efficient mud stoves, alternate energy supplies that will utilize household waste,
solar and wind power, and environmental improvements in home construction.
