Sharpe's Longclaw (Macronyx sharpei)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 172517373

Integrating traditional framing with emerging technology for the conservation of hioghland biodiverity in Kinangop

 

The project will build on the success of the previous project and is expanding the outreach to more farmers who own and control pastureland which are important habitat for Sharpe's Longclaw and other highland grassland biodiversity. Through our work with the local farmers, we have seen that empowering local farmers is a very useful tool in changing the attitude of farmers towards biodiversity conservation.

Having identified poor quality of sheep, we are working with an additional 5 farmers, who control over 300 acres of grassland, to improve the sheep breed in their farms. High quality rums are bought from qualified and registered sheep breeders and distributed to identified farmers. Farmers are identified based on a set of criteria that underlines a balance between stocking and size of land thus taking care of any eventual overgrazing. The farmers whose farms has high number of Sharpe's Longclaw and other grassland birds are given the first priority. This, as have been shown in past, encourage the farmers to continue rearing sheep as opposed to the current trend of change of the traditional sheep farming to crop. Thus retaining grasslands that serve as pasture for sheep grazing and suitable habitat for the highland grassland biodiversity. The project also building the capacity of the local youths in wool value-adding and linking the wool products to market for the long term sustainability of the project and the grassland conservation agenda, thus creating employment for the local youth and allowing them to participate in the conservation of biodiversity as well.