Carnivore Occupancy & Land Connectivity Workshop

Scientists, conservationists, and wildlife managers from Kenya and Tanzania have convened for a workshop focused on carnivore occupancy and landscape connectivity within the shared borderlands of Kenya and Tanzania. ACK was represented by Dr Mary Burak who is a technical consultant working with staff and students on the National Cheetah Survey. In this timely meeting we develop processes that build greater collaborations.

The meeting, held at Ngong’ Hills Hotel, brings together representatives from the Institute, Kenya Wildlife Service, TAWIRI, TAWA, community conservancies, universities, NGOs, and international partners, including ZSL, CCI, and WWF-Germany. Officially opening the workshop, Director Dr. Patrick Omondi welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of cross-border collaboration in safeguarding carnivores and other keystone species.

He noted that the Kenya–Tanzania borderland landscapes—spanning Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Amboseli, and Tsavo—Mkomazi form one of the world’s most iconic ecological mosaics, functioning as a single interconnected unit despite geopolitical boundaries. Dr. Omondi highlighted the mounting pressures threatening carnivore populations in the region. These include expanding human settlement, habitat loss, and fragmentation driven largely by fencing, declining prey numbers, and rising human–carnivore conflict linked to changes in livestock husbandry.

Such challenges, he noted, demand a coordinated, science-based response that transcends institutional and national boundaries. At the heart of the workshop are three critical questions: Where are the carnivores located? Where is connectivity breaking? And where should conservation and land-use planning be prioritized? Addressing these questions, Dr. Omondi said, is essential to developing sustainable management strategies for carnivore populations across the shared landscape.

A key objective of the meeting is to strengthen collaboration by bridging the current gap caused by many organizations operating through localized projects. The workshop aims to catalyze the formation of a Borderlands Coalition, which will foster shared understanding, harmonized methodologies, and coordinated action across both countries. Participants are

also expected to develop a unified carnivore occupancy study framework that will produce a comprehensive dataset for corridor identification, improved conservation decision-making, and long-term land-use planning.

Expected outcomes include a consensus study design, agreed methods and governance structures, permitting pathways, leadership roles, a draft budget, and a multi-funder strategy to guide future implementation.