Implementing Tourism-Conservation Enterprises: A Comparison of Three Lodges in Kenya
Items
Koija Starbeds ecolodge
Conservancy at Ol Lentille
Satao Elerai
Community involved:
Koija G.R.
Initially, Kijabe G.R.
Eight families with private land holdings on the former Kimana G.R.
Nkloriti GR. through an MOU
Later links with other group ranches and communities
Compilation of trust board:
Koija G.R. (2 members)
Kijabe G.R. (3 members – chair)
Eight families (3 members)
Oryx Ltd. (2 members)
Regenesis Ltd. (3 members)
Southern Cross Safaris (3 members)
AWF (1 member – chair)
AWF (1 member)
AWF (1 member)
Community trustees:
Local/regional representatives
National/regional representatives
Local/regional representatives
Community membership:
Koija G.R.: clear membership
Kijabe G.R.: unclear membership
Eight families: clear membership
Private investor:
Oryx Ltd.: neighboring Kenyan investor
Regenesis Ltd.: foreign investor operating on the Kijabe group ranch
Southern Cross Safaris Ltd.: Kenyan tour operator
Financial input:
Donor grants: USD 70,000
Donor grants: USD 500,000
Donor grants: USD 500,000
No private investor input
Private investor: USD 1.5 million
Private investor: unknown
Loan: unknown amount
Land for conservation:
200 ha
Initially, 2,000 ha
2,000 ha
Clear land ownership
Currently, 8,000 ha
Clear land ownership
Unclear land ownership
Community benefit share:
Rights fee: USD 20,000 per year
Land rent: USD 575 per family per year with annual 10 % increment
Guest-night fee USD 85
Guest-night fee: USD 80
Guest-night fee: USD 34
Cultural village: USD 35
Cultural village: USD 35
Cultural village: USD 20
The previous section also indicated that the capital investments made in all three cases differ widely. The Koija Starbeds lodge was established and became operational on a relatively small grant, whereas the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille and Satao Elerai consumed large amounts of donor funding from different sources, private investments and in the case the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille even a private loan. Also the amounts of land set aside for conservation differ greatly between the three cases, with a much larger share of land contributed by the Kijabe and Kimana group ranches. Next to that, the Ol Lentille conservation area has increased dramatically as a result from arrangements made between the private investor and other group ranches in the region. The Koija conservation area has remained a relatively small tract of land initially contributed by the group ranch.
The arrangements for benefit sharing entail both commonalities and differences. The agreement signed for the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille stipulates that the private investor has to pay a substantial annual rights fee as well as a conservation fee and a bed-night fee per tourist staying at the lodge (in Table 12.1 pooled as guest-night fee). At the Koija Starbeds lodge a conservation and bed-night fee has to be paid, which is slightly higher than the one at Ol Lentille. In addition, at both lodges the group ranches generate money from visitor fees to a cultural village. Satao Elerai has all these benefit streams. First, the private operator pays a land lease fee to each family, regardless of the occupancy of the lodge, of USD 575 per family per year (initially USD 285 per family per year with a 10 % annual increment). Secondly, the trust fund is fuelled by a conservation fee of USD 20 per visitor per night. Third, a bed-night fee of USD 14 per visitor per night is charged. Finally, USD 20 is raised per visitor entering the cultural village. Both the annual fee (i.e. lease fee and rights fee) and the per tourist fees (i.e. bed night fee and conservation fee) of Satao Elerai are remarkably lower than those of the other two cases, but given the lower number of beneficiaries their relative share is much higher.
Commonalities and differences can also be identified in the rules established for allocating community funds to different ends at the three TCEs. In each of the cases, a substantial proportion of the funds are used for the protection of the conservation area (i.e. the conservation fee) and the provision of bursaries for school children. In the cases of the Koija Starbeds and Ol Lentille a share of the funds is also used for maintenance of the immovable assets and the management of the group ranches. A striking difference with Satao Elerai is that in this case the annual lease fee and the largest share of the bed night fee are transferred to the bank accounts of individual families, while in the other two cases merely collective benefits are generated to be spend on social projects. How the families spend their income is strictly seen as an internal affair. It should be noted that in Laikipia both private investors are also active as donors, either from private funds (Loisaba Community Trust) or accumulated funds from wealthy guests staying at the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille (Ol Lentille Community Trust). Particularly the impact of the latter is considerable and together with the above mentioned arrangements positions the private investor as a central actor in the region. At Satao Elerai we have not recorded a philanthropic contribution of significance.
12.4.2 Performance
Table 12.2 compares the performance and impact of the three TCEs. The main community benefits resulting from the three lodges are improved education and healthcare, increased employment, increased awareness of the need for conservation, and – especially in the case of Laikipia – improved security. According to AWF monitoring data, between 2006 and 2012, the Koija Starbeds, Ol Lentille and Satao Elerai generated direct average annual incomes to community trusts of USD 15,400, USD 23,000 and 61,000, respectively. Another clear benefit is the generation of around 40–80 jobs, directly remunerated by the private investor and the trust, for servicing the lodge or protecting the conservation area. Including wages to community members these community income figures are estimated at gross annual averages of USD 24,000, USD 50,000 and USD 114,000, respectively. Indirectly, local employment and income is also generated through privately funded community projects and the creation of art and craft markets. Ol Lentille also generates around USD 250,000 of guest donations for community projects to be carried out in the region. In the case of Koija, the establishment of the lodge has indirectly spurred an entrepreneurial wave in the group ranch that currently accommodates two additional tourism enterprises by entrepreneurs from both outside and within the group ranch, each with their own financial arrangements with the group ranch.
Table 12.2
Performance indicators of the three lodges
Items | Koija Starbeds ecolodge | Conservancy at Ol Lentille | Satao Elerai |
|---|---|---|---|
Occupancy (approx.) | Less than 20 % | Less than 30 % | Around 40 % |
Economic performance | Viable as a satellite of Oryx Ltd. | Not viable over long term at <30 % occupancy | Viable as part of product offer Southern Cross Safaris |
Employment for local community (approx.) | 40 direct (lodge, trust, projects) | 80 direct (lodge, trust, projects) | 58 direct (lodge, scouts) |
75 indirect (crafts) | 50 indirect (private projects) | 48 indirect (women in cultural village) | |
Unknown (crafts) | |||
Direct community income to the trust (approx.) | USD 15,400 per year (guest-night fee) | USD 23,000 per year (guest-night fee and rights fee) | USD 61,000 per year (lease, conservation and bed-night fee) |
Contribution to nature conservation | Size limited (200 ha), signs of recovery, still grazing | Size substantial (8,000 ha), recovery, endangered wildlife, some grazing | 2,000 ha, signs of recovery, some grazing, return of wildlife |
Number of individual beneficiaries | 5,500 | 1,200 | 638 |
Contribution to education and healthcare | Improvement in healthcare, education, water provision and security | Major improvement in provision of healthcare, education, water and security | School bursaries, medical payments, water provision and security |
Additional benefits per year: (approx.) | Loisaba Community Trust: USD 30,000 | Ol Lentille Trust: USD 250,000 | Philanthropy: unknown |
Cultural village: USD 4,000 | Cultural village: unknown | Cultural village: USD 7,000 | |
Other enterprises: unknown |
Conservation benefits accruing from the lodges include the establishment of the 200 ha Koija conservation area, the 2,000 ha at Satao Elerai, and the 8,000 ha conservation area of the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille, as well as conservation management programs that have ensured the security of wildlife. In the case of Ol Lentille the private investor has managed to convince a range of other group ranches to add land to the conservation area under condition of financial compensation, which has resulted in spectacular growth. The vegetation in all conservation areas has recuperated and now provides habitat to numerous species, particularly in the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille. The main conservation outcome of Satao Elerai has been its contribution to the establishment of a wildlife corridor between Amboseli NP, Chyulu NP and Mt. Kilimanjaro NP in Tanzania.