Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary (MES) is a community-owned elephant park, a conservation area for elephants and Encephalartos cycads in Kwale County, Kenya.
Location
It is located 45 km southwest of Mombasa and is adjacent to the Shimba Hills National Reserve. The sanctuary was formed in the early 1990s as a cooperative project between the people of the surrounding Mwaluganje community, United States Agency for International Development, and the Born Free Foundation and the Eden Wildlife Trust.
Ecotourism
MES is an example of ecotourism, as well as community-based-conservation efforts, both of which are very recent trends in conservation management. In this community-based program, the local people have leased their privately owned property to a community-based trust.
The trust manages the sanctuary for the conservation and preservation of the elephants. In addition it is a valuable source of revenue for the local people, re through monies generated by eco-tourism and gate entrance fees. The area is off the Shimba Hills escarpment in Kwale County and is on the migratory route leading to Tsavo East National Reserve. Some of the revenue generating activities include creating paper from elephant dung, bee keeping (honey products)and biofuel
- ^ “USAID Helps Kenyans Develop Community-owned Elephant Sanctuary”. USAID. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ “Volunteer abroad – Camp Mwaluganje”. Camps International. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
