When it comes to elephants, it is hard to smile. The death toll is constantly updated and the number of individuals separating the species from extinction is carefully counted. This time, however, there is good news: according to a study conducted by the humanitarian and conservation organisation Northern Rangelands Trust, elephant poaching in northern Kenya has fallen by 35 per cent since 2012.

The reasons for the success

The study examined an area stretching across more than six million acres and home to 27 communities. Conservationists have long understood the importance of local communities in the fight against poaching, and the results being achieved in northern Kenya show that this is the right path to follow.

Elephants under threat

The survival of African elephants is at risk, threatened by poachers who kill them to seize their tusks. The current population numbers around 430,000 individuals, compared to 1.2 million in 1980. The measures taken to counter this slaughter have been numerous — harsher penalties, increased patrols and armed forces, better-protected parks — yet without achieving the hoped-for results.

The role of local communities

"Elephant conservation cannot be the exclusive responsibility of armed rangers," said Matt Brown, director of The Nature Conservancy in Africa. "Communities must be involved. Community members must be able to benefit from wildlife."

The value of living elephants

Coexistence between people and animals is often difficult: elephants can devastate crops and, through ivory, represent a potential source of wealth. "We need to show people that it is worth protecting elephants, that they are worth more alive," Brown explained.

Communities and conservation

Northern Rangelands Trust represents a winning model in creating incentives for local communities. The organisation has successfully built a partnership with 27 communities that now also engage in conservation. Each community is governed by a council of elders that makes decisions about land management and investments in clinics, schools and ecotourism facilities.

New sources of income

Members of the organisation worked alongside local people to improve rangeland management and increase its productivity, and also developed new sources of income, such as certain forms of artisanal craft work, securing market access for the goods produced. The incomes of herders consequently increased, and the report points to a strong link between the improvement of residents' living conditions and the reduction of elephant poaching.

However, Brown cautions, community engagement cannot be the only solution. "Law enforcement is not the only answer, but it is still important, as is raising awareness among ivory buyers. But the decline in poaching shows that we also need the help of communities to save elephants."