Applied Conservation Research

 

Our research program is a community oriented, science-based initiative to assess, prioritize and fast-track conservation actions by linking field-based research, data collection, training and analysis with concrete on-the-ground action. The aim of this program is to improve conservation of Mt. Kenya ecosystem through research by providing a wealth of data and information on species abundance and distribution, conservation threats, habitat condition and land use. Thematic areas in our research program will include: wildlife & vegetation surveys, afro alpine ecology with a focus on endemic flora and fauna adaptations to high altitude climate and assessment of various threats to survival of species,monitoring and inventory of threatened and endangered species, monitoring wildlife poaching, bush meat trade, monitoring and assessing human-wildlife conflicts trends, spread of invasive species, habitat loss; water shed degradation, impacts of wild fires on the environment, effects of climate change on the ecosystem and the local community and adaptation mechanisms, assessing interactions between local people and the environment, impacts of human activities in protected areas and on natural resources, monitoring visitor impacts on high altitude recreational environment and assessment of the impacts of tourism on local community, economy and the environment.