Kenya launched Thamani Asili last Wednesday, a US$160 million (about KSh20.8 billion) conservation programme designed to protect biodiversity, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and support livelihoods across 31 counties.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano unveiled the 10-year initiative on October 21 at Tsavo West National Park in Taita Taveta County. The name means "value of nature" in Kiswahili.
"Our objective is clear: to protect nature, strengthen communities and ensure that conservation contributes to the prosperity of the people who safeguard our natural heritage," Miano said.
Thamani Asili uses the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) model. The government has committed US$80 million, matched by US$80 million in philanthropic support mobilised through The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its alliance partner, Enduring Earth. Miano said the model moves conservation away from short-term funding cycles and toward predictable investment, institutional accountability and measurable results. Reuters reported that PFP deals bind funding to key government policy changes. The approach is gaining ground, with Brazil and Gabon announcing similar agreements last year and others in the works in Namibia and Botswana.
Miano said the partnership between government, conservation institutions and communities should ensure that "the value of our natural heritage translates into lasting benefits for our people."
The programme covers 17.3 million hectares, or 173,000 square kilometres, in four priority landscapes: Tsavo to Coastal, Greater Ewaso, Greater Rift to Western, and Southern Kenya. Funding will go toward new conservation areas and better management of some existing ones. Tsavo alone holds the country's largest national parks, about 40 percent of its elephants and 20 percent of its critically endangered black rhinos.
Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime welcomed the programme to his home county. "Conservation is central to Taita Taveta's identity," he said, adding that it should improve the economy and livelihoods, support tourism, create jobs, strengthen food and water availability, and protect against the effects of climate change.
Thamani Asili supports Kenya's "30x30" commitment to conserve 30 percent of its land and water by 2030. TNC estimates the country is currently at roughly 20 to 23 percent. Organisers also expect the programme to help avoid about 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2035.
Organisers project that 1.6 million people will benefit directly and 3.9 million indirectly through local economic initiatives, better land management and climate resilience. They also project about 22,800 jobs, including 7,800 direct and 15,000 indirect roles in ecotourism, sustainable grazing and nature-based enterprises.
Roaming elephants frequently breach park boundaries, destroying crops and threatening lives. The programme aims to turn nearby residents into paid custodians of conservation. Miano called it part of Kenya's "people-benefitting initiatives, to put money and dignity in local communities."
Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Prof. Erustus Kanga stressed that the agency and residents share the same stake. "KWS and the community are one family. We belong to one landscape, share one natural heritage and have a common responsibility to protect it," he said.
The stakes reach the wider economy. A recent UN Environment Programme report cited government estimates that about 42 percent of Kenya's GDP and 70 percent of employment depend on nature in some form.
Analysts say success will depend on financial transparency, quick community payouts and measurable reductions in human-elephant conflict. The launch also comes as Kenya's environmental record draws scrutiny following the groundbreaking of a US$16 billion oil refinery on the coast.
