Restorative Conservation

Enarau occupies a unique position as the northernmost conservancy in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem, and with that position comes both opportunity and responsibility. Much of the land now under the conservancy was intensively farmed for over two decades, leaving soils compacted, gullies eroded, and invasive species dominant. Restoration here is active, deliberate work: a tree nursery grows over 4,000 seedlings from 22 indigenous species at any one time, supplying planting programmes across the conservancy and beyond. The flagship 21-acre restoration project is replanting woodland across degraded farmland using 20 selected native species, each plot enriched with locally sourced boma manure and monitored for survival, growth, and canopy development. Acacia seed balls are being broadcast across the wider conservancy to support natural regeneration between planting sites. On the rangelands, a herd of 830 cattle rotates across four designated grazing blocks under a holistic management plan — using livestock not as a degrading force, but as a tool to stimulate grass recovery and soil organic matter. The conservancy’s land has grown from 336 acres held by a single landowner in 2022 to over 3,140 acres held by eleven landowners today, with a critical wildlife corridor now connecting Enarau to the Mbokishi Conservation Area to the south. Rangers patrol over 6,500 km each year on foot and motorbike, using Earth Ranger to log wildlife sightings, intercept illegal grazing and logging, and respond to human-wildlife conflict — the daily, unglamorous work on which all other conservation depends.