Social Assessment of Protected Areas (SAPA) at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

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Abstract: The Ol Pejeta Conservancy (OPC) was established in the 1980s as a privately owned protected area (PA), operated on a not-for-profit basis. The conservancy covers 37,000 hectares and has particular conservation significance as a home to the largest population of black rhino. A portion of OPC’s revenue is used to fund community programmes including investments in health, education, agriculture, energy and enterprise projects. OPC is entirely fenced other than a corridor for elephants. Members of local communities are not permitted to use any resources within the PA except in periods of severe drought when OPC management has, on occasions, allowed some grazing of livestock. SAPA is a multi-stakeholder methodology that assesses the positive and negative impacts of a protected area and related conservation and development activities on the wellbeing of communities living within and around the PA.