The Impact of Conservation Diplomacy on Land Conflicts: A Case of Suyian Ranch in Laikipia County, Kenya

Abstract

There has been little research on the effect of conservation diplomacy on land conflicts in Laikipia County, Kenya, which is the focus of this study. The objectives of the study included examining the relationship between conservation diplomacy and protracted land conflicts in Suyian Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya; identifying the drivers of protracted land conflict in Suyian Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya and evaluating the challenges faced by the Kenyan government in resolving protracted land conflicts in Suyian Ranch, Laikipia County, Kenya. This study was based on Resource Scarcity theory and Rational Choice Theory. An exploratory convergent mixed research design was employed where interviews and surveys were undertaken concurrently. The target population was 165,447 people living in Laikipia North and Laikipia West sub-counties where Suyian Ranch is located. Additional population members included the local pastoralist community around Suyian ranch, the ranch's management, the farmers around Suyian ranch, and the local security apparatus in Laikipia County. Simple random sampling was used to select 96 residents of Laikipia North and Laikipia West sub-counties to participate in the study. Further, purposive sampling was used to select the sample size to participate in Key informant interviews. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics methods. The findings revealed that Suyian Ranch activities such as reporting the pastoralists to the government security agencies who often respond with lethal force against the pastoralists resulted in conflict. The study also revealed that there are several drivers of protracted land conflict in Suyian Ranch, including the local community perceiving that the land that the Ranch occupies once belonged to their ancestors, the local political leaders inciting the local community to attack the ranches/conservancies to get back the land, Ranch owners not sharing revenues generated with the local community and local community not fully involved in the acquisition of lands for setting up of ranches and conservancies. Further, findings showed that the government is facing numerous challenges in resolving land conflicts in Laikipia County, such as the weakening of independent land institutions like NLC, corruption in land offices, Breach of land laws and policies, lack of political goodwill, political interference and incitements and lack of budgetary allocation for compensation for historical land injustices. The study recommends that Suyian Ranch management embrace peaceful conflict resolution methods, such as agreeing with pastoralists regarding access to water and pasture during droughts. The government should stop the blanket use of brute force against all pastoralists, as some are genuine pastoralists needing pasture and water. The government should also consider setting aside a budget for restorative justice for the pastoralists and other Indigenous people who lost land to white settlers.