Kenya Vulture Conservation Project

The Nature Conservancy

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Abstract: The Kenya Vulture Conservation Project was launched in 2020 when Kenya Vulture Conservation,LLC provided a $10 million fixed-rate loan to the Kipeto Energy (Kipeto) wind farm located in Kajiado County,45 km southwest of Nairobi Kenya. In the loan agreement,Kipeto committed to provide annual funding for critical conservation initiatives focused on vulture conservation throughout the life of the project. Use of this funding is governed by the biodiversity sub-committee of Kipetoâ??s Board. Kenya Vulture Conservation,LLC maintains a seat on the Biodiversity Committee through which it provides technical assistance for the implementation of the Kipeto Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP),which includes both onsite mitigation efforts and offsite vulture conservation activities. The Kipeto wind farm commenced commercial operations in July 2021. The conservation goals of the Kenya Vulture Conservation Project include: â?¢ promoting vulture conservation in the area served by the wind farm by ensuring annual funding from Kipeto is provided to community-based vulture conservation initiatives; â?¢ providing direction,support and oversight for such vulture conservation activities; and â?¢ demonstrating the feasibility of innovative renewable energy investment structures to generate sustainable and scalable long-term funding support for environmental conservation in Africa.