Introduction
The ALWG workshop will be organised by an Organising Committee of the ALWG, Coordinated by Hans de Iongh, Laurence Frank and Francis Lesilau. They are supported and facilitated by the Living with Lions project in Laikipia (Laurence Frank), Leo foundation ( Hans de Iongh, Laura Bertola), WildCRU (Hans Bauer) in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Service (Francis lesilau and Monica Chege). The Organizing Committee reports to the interin chair of the ALWG (Hans de Iongh)
It is the intention to synchronise the ALWG workshop with the annual Carnivore Workshop organised by KWS annually, which aims at an exchange of information between (large) carnivore conservationists and researcher working in Kenya. For this occasion, KWS will open the workshop for international participation. ALWG members are explicitly invited to attend the KWS workshop and possibly present their work on lion conservation at the KWS workshop.
Planning
Tuesday 29 October 2019: Arrival of those ALWG participants who want to participate in the KWS workshop.
Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 October 2019: KWS workshop at KWS Head Quarters (Main entrance Nairobi national park) along Langata road.
Friday 1 November 2019: We will gather at around 9.30 am in front of the souvenir shop on the right side of the main gate of Nairobi national park. Busses will be ready in the morning at 10.00 am to transport the ALWG participants to Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia County (http://www.mpala.org/). The travel from Nairobi to Mpala will be 4 hours, see below for costs. People whose flights do not match this departure should make their individual arrangements to travel to Mpala Research Centre.
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 November 2019: ALWG workshop in Mpala research Centre
Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 November 2019: Optional excursion for ALWG participants in Laikipia (contact Laurence Frank)
Wednesday 6 November 2019: Busses depart from Mpala research centre to Nairobi KWS Headquarters (main gate Nairobi national park).
Practical information
ALWG participants are requested to book their own Hotel and arrange their own transportation upon arrival at Nairobi, when they intend to attend the KWS workshop on 30 or 31 October OR when they arrive on 31 October and will use bus transportation from KWS Headquarters to Mpala Research Centre on 1 November 2019.
Transport
Nairobi
ALWG members who wish to attend Kenya’s KWS Carnivore workshop on 30 and 31 October, prior to the ALWG workshop in Mpala Research Centre on 2 and 3 November 2019, are advised to arrange their own transport by taxi from their hotel to the KWS workshop venue. They can contact Laurence Frank directly on the options for reliable taxi rental (lgfrank@berkeley.edu)
Mpala
As from the departure from KWS HQ (at the main entrance of Nairobi NP) on Friday 1 November 2019, 10.00 am the organising committee will make the bookings for Mpala Research Centre and for the transportation by busses to and from Mpala, based on registration sheets received.
Transfer from Nairobi to Mpala will be done by coaster bus with 22 seats and is USD 25 per person one way, so USD 50 two ways. Transfer costs can all be paid at Mpala Research Centre upon arrival.
Accomodation
We can suggest the following Hotels for ALWG participants who stay in Nairobi to attend the KWS workshop on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 October 2019 or who arrive on 31 October and have to stay overnight in Nairobi for one night to join the bus transportation from Nairobi to Mpala Research Centre on 1 November 2019 departing from KWS Headquarters, at the main gate Nairobi national park at 10.00 am on 1 November.
These Hotels are close to KWS Headquarters, at the main gate of Nairobi national Park, where the KWS workshop on 30 and 31 Octoberwill take place and where the busses will leave for Mapala Research centre on 1 November at 10.00 am from the parking lot near the main gate of Nairobi NP.Nairobi
Nairobi
Wildebeest Ecocamp
Longview suites Hotel
Hotel Troy
Hotel Ole Sereni
Mpala Research Centre
ALWG participants registered through the ALWG Organising Committee will make payment directly to Mpala Research Centre upon arrival on 1 November 2019 for board and lodging and for transportation Nairobi- Mpala and vise versa. Accomodation at Mpala Research Centre will be mostly in a tented camp. Reservations will be on sequence of entry and we cannot guarantee accommodation for registrations received after 1 June 2019 or when maximum capacity of Mpala Research Centre is reached.
Accommodation cost will be USD 60 per person per night on full board to be paid upon arrival at Mpala Research Centre
Excursion and background information in Mpala
Dominated by Mt. Kenya in the south, Laikipia straddles the equator and the ecological transition zone between the mesic grassland savannas of southern Kenya and the semi-arid bushlands of the north. Biodiversity is therefore high; we have more species of large mammal than anywhere else in Kenya, and an abundance of birds. Altitude is about 1,700m, the climate is very comfortable, and we might expect rain in early November. The landscape is punctuated by kopjes, escarpments, seasonal watercourses and permanent rivers. The 10,000 km2 county includes about 3,800 km2 of wildlife-friendly ranches and conservancies, as well as densely populated farming country near Mt. Kenya and traditional pastoralist community lands adjacent to the ranches.
Laikipia is a notable conservation success, among the few places in the world where ranchers go to expense and effort to live alongside lions and other large carnivores, basing their cattle management on the ancient African practices that have always protected livestock from predators. Living With Lions has worked here since 1997, helping reduce livestock depredation and studying lion behavioural adaptations to a human-dominated landscape. In that time, we have seen a 90% decline in lions shot for taking livestock, and today the density is about 6 adults and subadults per 100 km2.
We will take game drives on Mpala Ranch during the meeting, and in the two days afterwards we will visit several neighbouring ranches and community areas to hear about their approaches to lion conservation and livestock management. We will drive for several hours both days, an opportunity to see the region and wildlife.
For those interested in seeing more of this part of Kenya:
- Aberdare and Mt. Kenya National Parks, http://www.kws.go.ke/content/aberdare-national-park, http://www.kws.go.ke/content/mount-kenya-national-park-reserve, are in easy reach from Laikipia’s main town, Nanyuki. These mountain parks have dense forest on the lower slopes, and vast stretches of Afroalpine moorland at altitude. The Ark Lodge in the Aberdares forest https://thearkkenya.com/ is built on a flood-lit waterhole and salt lick which attracts a variety of wildlife at night, including large herds of buffalo and elephant. Melanistic genets, leopards, and servals are not uncommon.
- Samburu-Buffalo Springs National Reserve http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/samburu.html;
- Shaba National Reserve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaba_National_Reserve; and
- Meru National Park http://www.kws.go.ke/content/meru-national-park
are about three hours from Nanyuki. These are in lower, hotter, drier country. Visits to these areas would best be arranged with a Nairobi tour company, which can meet you in Nanyuki.
For more information, Please contact Laurence Frank
Contact information
| Hans Bauer | + 31642362166 | hans.bauer@zoo.ox.ac.uk |
| Laura Bertola | +31625483446 | laura.bertola@gmail.com |
| Monica Chege | +254721228201 | mumbi@kws.go.ke |
| Laurence Frank | lgfrank@berkeley.edu | |
| Hans de Iongh | +31653972498 | hans.deiongh@gmail.com |
| Francis Lesilau | +254714007666 | lesilau004@yahoo.com |
Subscription
Please send a signed scan of the filled in registration form (see below) to alwgworkshopkenya@yahoo.com
Deadline: 1 june 2019
Notes:
- Each tent in Mpala research centre has two beds. Kindly indicate in the registration sheet at the bottom with which alwg member you would like to share. If you do not indicate with whom you would like to share your tent the organizing committee will decide on sharing arrangement
- Reservations will be on sequence of entry and we cannot guarantee accommodation for registrations received after 1 June 2019
