Lumo Wildlife Sanctuary in Kenya

National parks were created throughout Africa to provide enough habitat to let wildlife thrive, but aggressive poaching has decimated many species on an alarming scale, now requiring armed rangers with military training. Moreover, thousands of local people have been evicted from their land without any compensation to create even larger wildlife habitats in expanded National Parks. Matters are very different in community-owned wildlife sanctuaries that evolved as alternatives to the state-owned parks. Lumo Wildlife Sanctuary in the Taita Hills of southern Kenya is such a place. In 2001, three communities decided to set aside more than 40,000 acres farmland for wildlife conservation. Situated between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks, Lumo forms an important migration corridor for elephants, antelopes, gazelles, zebras, lions, leopards, cheetahs and many other animals in the region, and interaction of livestock herding with the local ecology produces an environment that winds up being more suitable for regional wildlife, too. The sanctuary generates income through safaris and related jobs for local people, with the revenue remaining available locally, where it helps funding infrastructure such as roads, electricity, hospitals and schools. A concept that seems to work for locals, wildlife, and tourists all at the same time.