Introduction to Terrestrial Parks and Reserves

The overall goal in establishing and managing protected areas is to maintain and develop Kenya’s natural wildlife resources for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations of Kenyans and visitors. By observing simple park rules and regulations, visitors can be assured of security during their visit or stay in the Parks and Reserves.

A unique initiative of the KWS that is particularly helpful to travel agents, is the KWS Park Brand Program that began in 2005. It created a unique identity for each park with descriptive taglines. The following parks have been branded by KWS through this program to date:

Introduction to Parks

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is the organization mandated to conserve and manage Kenya’s wildlife for Kenyans and visitors alike. About 8 percent of Kenya’s land is designated as protected area for wildlife conservation. This means that it has been officially designated either as a National Park or a National Reserve. In Kenya, these protected areas include forests, wetlands, savannah, marine areas, and both arid and semi-arid terrain. They comprise of 23 land-based national parks, 28 land-based national reserves, 4 marine national parks, 6 marine national reserves and 6 national sanctuaries ideal for rich wildlife, nature and adventure experiences across the country.

****Suggestion for image: A map of Kenya highlighting the protected areas****

The National Parks

In the national parks, there is complete protection of natural resources and the only activities allowed are tourism and research. In the national reserves, human activities are allowed under specific conditions. These activities could include fishing in marine reserves or firewood collection in land-based reserves.

Also, it’s important to note that much of Kenya’s wildlife lives outside protected areas, as in Kenya there are no fences, so animals move in and out of these areas in search of food and water. On such occasions, they interact with people on private and community land, which can cause human-wildlife conflict, requiring that KWS embrace a strategic partnership with communities living in wildlife areas.

****Suggestion for image: Wildlife interacting with local communities****