In 2007, recognising the vital need to secure its entire 62,000-acre reserve, Lewa aimed to permanently protect the 48,000 acres of private land within it. When the Craig Family, the original custodians of the land that now forms the conservancy, offered portions for sale in 2008, Lewa embraced the opportunity.

Through four years of dedicated fundraising and collaborative negotiations, Lewa achieved a landmark victory in December 2011, securing 32,200 acres under our permanent protection. This crucial acquisition guaranteed the long-term preservation of essential wildlife habitats, life-sustaining water sources, and a vital corridor connecting the iconic Mt. Kenya to the expansive northern rangelands.

Our commitment extends deeply to the communities that share this landscape. Proudly, half of Lewa’s annual budget directly empowers our neighbors, positively impacting over 60,000 individuals. This investment fosters education for over 10,000 students, provides access to clean water and healthcare for more than 50,000 people, supports a thriving women’s microcredit program benefiting over 1,800 entrepreneurs, and cultivates youth development and sustainable farming practices.

Now, a unique opportunity has arisen to further strengthen Lewa’s protected ecosystem. A strategically located 4,625-acre parcel, already fenced within our boundaries, is available for purchase. This land is a prime habitat for the critically endangered black rhino and the majestic Grevy’s zebra, alongside a rich biodiversity of over 70 other mammal species and 490+ bird species. It also hosts a small farm and a 30-bed lodge.

Acquiring this land is paramount. Its location on Lewa’s boundary makes it vulnerable; without our purchase, it could be subdivided or sold, leading to habitat fragmentation, increased risks to wildlife, and a reduction in our capacity to protect rhinos as mandated by the IUCN. By securing this parcel, we will proactively safeguard vital wildlife areas and prevent incompatible development, reinforcing our enduring commitment to “Lewa Milele” – Lewa Forever. The continued operation of the lodge will contribute vital conservancy fees, and the farm will supply fresh, organic produce, further benefiting our operations and guests.

The urgency of this acquisition cannot be overstated. Land demand in this vital ecosystem is escalating, with prices rising rapidly. Coupled with a projected doubling of the local population within the next 20-30 years, the time to act is now. Securing this land is a critical step towards ensuring the long-term ecological integrity of Lewa, benefiting both the people of Kenya and the global community for generations to come. Join us in protecting this irreplaceable natural heritage.

The additional land up for sale from the original family landowners to Lewa will protect a 4,625-acre private in-holding within the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy’s secure reserve. The negotiated purchase price represents an approximate 45% discount based on a 2015 fair market value appraisal. The parcel for sale represents 30% of the remaining private land within Lewa and is a critical next step toward fulfilling Lewa’s long-term commitment to permanent Protected Area status for all land within its secure reserve.

In 2007, Lewa recognized a need to permanently protect all 48,000 acres of private land within its 62,000-acre reserve, and in 2008, when the Craig Family, original owners of the Conservancy, offered to sell portions of their land, Lewa seized the opportunity. Over the following four years, Lewa completed a capital campaign and negotiated the terms of a bargain sale that culminated in December 2011, with the acquisition of 32,200 acres that permanently protects critical habitat, year-round water resources, and a wildlife corridor that connects Mt. Kenya to Kenya’s northern rangelands.

Land ownership has proven crucial to political acceptance of Lewa as a catalyst for conservation throughout Northern Kenya. As a Kenyan organisation, Lewa is able to leverage political will to further conservation objectives, and protecting the land in a non-profit Kenyan land holding company transformed public and governmental perception of Lewa from a “colonial” holding to a true Kenyan national asset. Only one of Lewa’s 300+ Kenya-based employees is non-Kenyan and the organisation has established a strong presence as a community asset.

In this regard, Lewa directs one-half of its annual budget to neighbouring communities, positively impacting over 60,000 people. Lewa helps educate 10,000+ students, brings accessible water and healthcare to 50,000+ people, contributes to the local economy through a women’s micro-credit program serving 1,800+ women, and also supports youth development and sustainable farming programs.

Lewa also provides critical support for the Northern Rangelands Trust, a community-based conservation movement that grew from, and is now independent of Lewa. NRT positively impacts communities across Northern Kenya, from the Rift Valley to the Indian Ocean.

Maintaining the integrity of Lewa’s protected landscape is a critical prerequisite to sustaining Lewa’s mission of endangered species conservation and its commitment to share the benefits derived from wildlife, tourism, and philanthropy amongst neighbours. The proposed land addition supports a small farm and 30-bed lodge; and it is prime habitat for black rhino and Grevy’s zebra – both highly endangered species—plus 70+ mammal and 440+ bird species. Once purchased, Lewa will manage the Addition for conservation and community benefit, whilst the lodge will continue to operate, contributing to Lewa via conservancy fees, and the farm will continue to produce organic food for lodge guests.

The Addition is currently fenced within Lewa but is situated along the Conservancy’s boundary. Subdivision and/or sale to external parties would remove critical land from Lewa, increasing the risk to wildlife and reducing Lewa’s IUCN-mandated rhino carrying capacity. Acquiring the parcel will preserve critical wildlife habitat and prevent subdivision, sale, and wildlife-incompatible development, all in pursuit of Lewa’s commitment to Lewa Milele.

Acquiring this land now is crucial; with each passing year, demand for land increases, with the price per acre rising faster than inflation. Put within the context of a rapidly expanding human population (expected to double within the next 20/30 years), the need to acquire permanently protect this land now– for the people of Kenya and the world – is clear and urgent.

Lewa is widely considered to be one of East Africa’s premier conservation organisations, with specific expertise in protected area management and community support. Lewa’s effort to protect Black rhino and ultimately reintroduce them to secure reserves across Kenya began in 1983, when David and Delia Craig dedicated 5,000 acres of their ranch as a rhino sanctuary. Anna Merz, a conservationist and philanthropist, gave her savings and helped find wildlife trackers, bush pilots, and veterinarians to find and protect the last remaining rhinos in northern Kenya.

The programme was so successful that within a decade, the Craigs dedicated their entire ranch to conservation and formed the nonprofit Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which, by 2004, had grown to 62,000 acres and included neighbouring ranches and the Ngare Ndare National Forest Reserve.

Lewa, in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, and other private reserves, has brought Kenya’s Black rhino population up from fewer than 280 individuals in the mid-1980s to more than 1200 today.

More broadly, Lewa works with local communities to protect habitat for all resident and migratory species and has spawned a movement in protected area management through a combination of community and private conservancies working together in the landscape across northern Kenya, from the Rift Valley to the Indian Ocean, for wildlife, local people, and their futures.

Lewa is now engaged in a campaign to raise funds to complete the acquisition of the 4,625 acres available to us, and to capitalise a contingent opportunity fund of up to $6,000,000 as ready cash available to acquire parcels in the future, payable only as additional land becomes available. In total, we need $12.5 million to secure the new additional parcel of land on offer.

The push to raise funds to purchase the additional land is timely, urgent, and critical. Your contribution to support the acquisition of these 4,625 acres will bring us ever closer to Lewa Milele and, with it, a secure, sustainable future for Lewa’s wildlife. It will further reinforce the Conservancy as the foundation of development-centric, community conservation, working with its partner organization, Northern Rangelands Trust, across the vast landscapes of northern Kenya and beyond. And it will instill confidence in other landowners that Lewa stands ready, willing, and capable of fulfilling its commitment to secure all land tenure within its boundaries—Lewa Milele.