The Tsavo Trust is a non-profit wildlife conservation organisation, which covers

Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya at 13,747 square kilometres. Situated in a semi-arid area previously known as the Taru Desert it opened in April 1948, and is located near the town of Voi in the Taita ...

Tsavo West National Park Tsavo West National Park is located in the Coast Province of Kenya. The park covers an area of 9,065 square kilometres. The A109 road Nairobi-Mombasa and a railway divides it from the adjoining Tsavo East National Park. Together with adjoining ...

, and

Chyulu Hills The Chyulu Hills is a mountain range in Makueni County in southeastern Kenya. It forms a 100-kilometre-long volcanic field in an elongated northeast–southwest direction. Its highest peak is 2,188 metres high. The Leviathan Cave (also ...

National Park in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The trust was founded by Nzioki Wa Makau (Chairman of the Board) and Richard Moller who is chief executive officer and an experienced bush pilot. The started aim of the trust is the protection of wildlife, especially African elephants, and the reduction of the

ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...

. In June 2014, the Tsavo Trust came into the international spotlight when it announced the death of Kenya's iconic and most well-known elephant, Satao, killed by an ivory poacher with a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

. The Tsavo ecosystem consists of or arid and semi arid land in southern Kenya. The national parks within this region are managed by

Kenya Wildlife Service Kenya Wildlife Service is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Ma ...

. Around the parks, but within the Tsavo ecosystem, are a number of small towns, villages, ranches, and farms. Contained in this system is the largest population of African elephants in Kenya, numbering 14,964 as of 2021. There are a number of critical issues in the Tsavo ecosystem which include: a high rate of poverty among the people in the region, poor access to education and healthcare, degradation of habitat, ethnic conflict over resources, loss of wildlife, and lack of financial and technical resources to deal with these issues. In this context, the stated mission of the Tsavo Trust is to (1) to safeguard biodiversity and empower communities in the greater Tsavo ecosystem. Tsavo Trust does this by being a crucial partner to the Kenya Wildlife Service,providing support for aerial and ground biodiversity monitoring, anti-poaching and security operations, and attracting funding to the TCA. Tsavo Trust is also pioneering the establishment of community conservancies in the Tsavo ecosystem (outside of the Taita-Taveta Ranches), providing much needed community development benefits and increasing the habitat available for wildlife.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tsavo Trust Official Site
Nature conservation organizations based in Africa Elephant conservation organizations Environmental organisations based in Kenya Wildlife conservation in Kenya