Enhancing Climate Resilience: People and Wildlife

The extended drought and the return of the rainy season have shown how integral water sustainability is for Ol Pejeta's conservation efforts and how vital it is to improve the Conservancy's water infrastructure. Whilst gratefully received, the rains arrived this year between March and April and had a debilitating impact on our infrastructure. Their intensity led to pipelines needing significant maintenance, several dams bursting their banks and requiring repair, and over saturated ground that washed away roads. The impact of this affects the ranger team and their ability to respond to threats or incursions quickly and effectively. It affects how our conservation team can attend to wildlife that might be in distress, or how our veterinary team intervene where necessary.

To mitigate the impact, Ol Pejeta has recently installed solar power pumps at Ngobit borehole with the aim of reducing environmental impact, to provide a sustainable water supply for the Conservancy. This offers a long-term solution, as water is pumped from the ground using solar panels, making it a reliable and clean energy supply, which will create a sustainable flow of water for communities relying on the Ngobit for their livelihoods, even during times of drought.

Ol Pejeta is also thrilled to share that the key areas of Kamok, Morani and Control are now officially on solar. This is a major milestone for Ol Pejeta in our efforts to reduce dependency and usage of diesel, and to ensure that sustainability is embedded in our operations.

In anticipation of El Nino and previous intensive rains, the team also constructed more than 26km of roads, and will dedicate resources to building a further 110km over the next three months. It is critical that Ol Pejeta's infrastructure remains resilient and will enable our ranger, logistics and conservation team to respond quickly and effectively to incidents around the Conservancy.

None of these milestones would have been achieved without the support of key donors who are helping Ol Pejeta become climate resilient. Together we are a team, and it is the combined effort of our global community and supporters, and those on the ground, which enables us to continue support sustainable development through nature-based solutions. Thank you for your contribution to this effort.