Kenya today launched the US$160 million Thamani Asili Programme at Tsavo West National Park, marking a significant milestone in thecountry's efforts to secure sustainable financing for wildlife conservation, ecosystem protection and community development.
The launch was presided over by the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano, who represented president William Samoei Ruto, President of
The ten-year initiative brings together the Government of Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Enduring Earth and other conservation partners to safeguard Kenya's natural heritage while strengthening community livelihoods, water security, climate resilience and sustainable economic growth.
Under the programme agreement, the Government of Kenya has committed US$80 million, matched by US$80 million in philanthropic support mobilized through TNC and its alliance partner, Enduring Earth. Using the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) model, Thamani Asili establishes a long-term financing framework designed to move conservation beyond short-term funding cycles towards predictable investment, institutional accountability and measurable results.
Over the next decade, the initiative will support conservation across 31 Counties contributing to Kenya's ambition to bring at least 30 per cent of its lands, inland waters and near-shore ecosystems under effective conservation and management.
This includes establishing approximately 2.7 million hectares of conserved areas, improving the management of 11 million hectares of existing conservation areas, and enabling communities to better manage a further six million hectares.
The programme is expected to directly benefit approximately 1.6 million people, with a further 3.9 million potentially benefiting from improved land governance, natural resource management and nature-based economic opportunities.
Investments areexpected to support approximately 7,800 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs, creating opportunities in ecotourism, sustainable grazing, carbon initiatives and other nature- based enterprises.
Thamani Asili will initially focus on four priority landscapes: Tsavo to Coastal, Greater Ewaso, Greater Rift to Western, and Southern Kenya.
These landscapes are critical to biodiversity, wildlife movement, water security, climate resilience and the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans.
In the Tsavo-to-Coastal landscape, the programme will support improved ecosystem management, strengthen responses to human-wildlife conflict, protect critical water sources and promote sustainable community enterprises. Across the other landscapes, interventions will support rangeland management, wildlife corridors, endangered species conservation, land-use planning and community-led natural resource governance.
Working alongside communities, county governments, conservation partners and other stakeholders, the Kenya Wildlife Service will play a key role in translating these investments into practical conservation outcomes, including wildlife protection, improved human-wildlife coexistence and sustainable management of protected areas and connected landscapes.
Speaking at the launch, KWS Director General Prof. Erustus Kanga emphasised that successful conservation must protect both wildlife and the livelihoods, cultures and heritage of communities living alongside it.
“In Tsavo, conservation is not just about protecting wildlife; it is about protecting a way of life, honouring the cultures and heritage of our communities, and securing a future where people and wildlife thrive together. When elephants and livestock drink from the same water points, we are reminded that we share one landscape and one responsibility.
“Our communities are not separate from conservation; they are its heart. Together, we must ensure that the people who live alongside wildlife are not only its custodians but also beneficiaries of its value. Because when communities thrive, wildlife thrives,and our natural heritage lives on for generations to come,” said Prof. Kanga.
Ademola Ajagbe, Regional Managing Director for Africa at The Nature Conservancy, said Thamani Asili represents a fundamental shift towards predictable, long-term conservation financing, with community leadership and tangible benefits at the centre of its implementation.“Thamani Asili is a shift from short-term, project-based conservation to a long-term, sustainably financed model that secures Kenya's natural heritage for future generations. By aligning government, communities, conservation partners, and the private sector under a shared framework, the initiative will create lasting benefits for nature, livelihoods, and climate resilience at a national scale,” said Ajagbe.
He added that the programme's success would ultimately be measured by the difference it makes in people's lives and the opportunities it creates for communities to benefit from conservation.
“The true measure of Thamani Asili will not be the size of the fund. It will be the life of a herder made more secure by healthier rangelands; the young person who finds dignified work in the green economy; the woman who grows a conservation enterprise; the farmer whose soil holds more water; and the family that can prosper alongside wildlife.
“That is why community leadership is not an addition to this initiative. It is its centre of gravity,” said Ajagbe.
The programme will be administered through the newly established Thamani Asili Fund for Kenya, an independent conservation trust fund responsible for managing and disbursing programme financing and tracking progress against agreed conservation targets.
Thamani Asili is also expected to contribute to avoiding approximately 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2035, reinforcing the link between nature conservation, climate action and economic resilience.
The initiative supports Kenya's Vision 2030, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), national climate commitments and global biodiversity goals.
By aligning long-term financing with measurable conservation outcomes and community priorities, the partnership seeks to ensure that protecting nature also strengthens livelihoods, creates economic opportunities and safeguards Kenya's natural heritage for future generations.
