Our Marion Paviour Award winner for 2024, Kioko has been busy in the field, with him and his team making great headway.
Kioko’s project aims to reduce human-wildlife conflict and protect critically endangered vulture populations in Laikipia, Kenya. He is particularly focusing on engaging local communities and collaborating with them as a way to achieve his objectives.
So far Kioko has made great progress, balancing research work in the field as well as engaging with local communities and forming positive relationships in these spaces. The team has established a growing Vulture Guardian network in local communities as well as rapid response protocols to poisoning events, and while this is still in the early stages, Kioko and his team are already recording a reduction in poisoning events in their targeted areas. In addition, communities have started to become more proactive in reporting any suspicious activities and potential poisoning events they see – something that was not occurring at all beforehand.
Perhaps most encouraging is the appearance of a shift in perceptions by members of local communities. Many members of the communities Kioko is working with, now view vultures as beneficial rather than harmful, with Kioko reporting that many are requesting training on how to safely handle poisoned vultures and are reporting any incidents. All these efforts are important steps toward creating a healthier and more sustainable environment for vultures across the wider Laikipia area. By actively involving local communities, these efforts also help lay the groundwork for long-term support, ensuring that residents not only understand the value of vultures but also become advocates for their protection and future conservation strategies – a key objective behind Kioko’s project.
In addition, Kioko has broadened his outreach efforts within these communities to raise awareness about the dangers posed by road traffic and powerlines, not just to vultures, but to a wide range of wildlife. By highlighting these threats, which can sometimes be overlooked, his work is encouraging a more thoughtful and proactive approach to wildlife conservation. The hope is that this growing awareness will continue to shift public attitudes, nurturing a stronger, more widespread culture of respect and stewardship for wildlife across the region.
We are also getting excited for what might be coming next our Marion Paviour Award, with applications open for our 2025 award until the end of August. Past applications have come in from many parts of the world and for many different species and we are looking forward to seeing many incredible and beneficial projects that will help conserve birds of prey. We are pleased to be able to offer a slightly increased award of £1250 this year – get those applications in! The full details of the award criteria and application process can be found by clicking this link.
