A new chapter in regional security collaboration
The Integrated Threat Reduction (ITR) framework was designed to move conservation security from reactive enforcement to proactive and preventive operations. Built around evidence-based decision-making, professionalised ranger development, and long-term threat mitigation, the framework addresses everything from patrol planning and community engagement to institutional governance.
Now, with LEAD Conservation’s technical support and mentoring, this pioneering cluster is integrating ITR into their daily operations, creating a model for cross-organisational collaboration in landscape-level protection.
The Cluster Organisations
Each of the four organisations brings a unique strength to the cluster, creating a powerful, balanced foundation for joint implementation:
Big Life Foundation
Operating in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem, Big Life is known for its integrated approach to conservation that combines community-based protection with robust law enforcement. Their strength lies in long-term local relationships, large-scale cross-border patrol coordination, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation.
Wildlife Works Kenya
Based in the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, Wildlife Works leads in combining conservation with sustainable development. Their ranger teams are embedded in a broader landscape strategy that includes reforestation, carbon finance, and employment creation. Their strength lies in integrating conservation security with community benefit models and private-sector accountability.
Mount Kenya Trust
Focused on the highland forests and water towers of Mount Kenya, the Trust has a strong record in forest restoration, fire management, and joint patrols with the Kenya Forest Service. Their strength lies in landscape restoration, multi-agency partnerships, and operational coordination in high-altitude environments.
SORALO (South Rift Association of Land Owners)
SORALO works across Maasai-owned lands in southern Kenya, promoting coexistence between pastoralist communities and wildlife. Their approach is rooted in cultural legitimacy, governance-by-consent, and pastoralist-led protection. Their strength lies in community legitimacy, mobility-based protection models, and long-term relationship building across traditional institutions.
From Reactive to Preventive: The ITR Journey
Each organisation is currently at a different point in the ITR journey—some focusing on improving reactive capacitythrough team leader development and SOP structuring, others moving into proactive deployment based on historic patterns of threat, and a few beginning to implement preventive solutions in partnership with communities, landowners, and governance bodies.
LEAD Conservation is providing tailored support across three areas:
Capacity building for key personnel, including team leaders, analysts, and training officers
Doctrine development that aligns operational practice with national law and international best practice
Strategic mentorship for leadership to embed ITR into organisational structure and long-term strategy
A model for the region
As threats continue to evolve—from climate impacts to organised environmental crime—so must the systems that protect Africa’s biodiversity. The ITR framework offers a structured way to evolve, and this first cluster is demonstrating that collaboration, rather than competition, is the way forward.
The East African conservation community is watching this experiment closely. If successful, it could lead to wider adoption of ITR principles across transboundary landscapes, national parks, and community conservancies—backed by training pathways, data systems, and sustainable financing.
One thing is clear: the future of conservation security will be professional, proactive, and preventive—and this cluster is already leading the way.
