ABSTRACT
A good example of this concept can be found in the services provided by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) through its conservation programmes. KWS acknowledges responsibility for wildlife conservation and management practices, both within protected confines and in outlying, unprotected lands. Begun in 1992 with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, and continuing today, the Community Wildlife Services division collaborates with stakeholders on adjacent lands to lead conservation and land management efforts. The importance of successful management to sustainable tourism is summed up in the stated goal of KWS: ‘To work with others to conserve, protect and sustainably manage wildlife resources outside protected areas for the benefit of the people. The community wildlife program of KWS in collaboration with others encourages biodiversity conservation by communities living on land essential to wildlife, such as wildlife corridors and dispersal lands outside parks and reserves. The premise is that “if people benefit from wildlife and other natural resources, then they will take care of these resources, using them sustainably”.
