Tsavo Heritage Foundation

The Tsavo Ecosystem and Dispersal Area (TEDA) incorporates vast savannahs, plains, hills and water towers such as Chyulu, Taita Hills, Shimba Hills in Kwale and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania from which extensive rivers and water systems emanate including the volcanic Mzima Springs, Lugard's Falls, Tana, Athi-Galana-Sabaki and Voi Rivers; in addition to unique water bodies such as Lakes Jipe and Chala and even the Indian Ocean - the final destination of water from all these rivers and water bodies. Tsavo Ecosystem & Dispersal Area includes the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks which, together, comprise Africa’s largest wilderness reserve and holds one third of Kenya’s total elephant population. TEDA is a bio-diversity of wild animals and plants some of which are exclusively indigenous to the region. TEDA lies on one of the main North-South migration routes for birds and animals which collectively form a unique biodiversity feature in the world. The priceless ecological biodiversity,cultural and historical heritage described above are under very serious threat from adverse effects of unsustainable land use, environmental degradation, inappropriate management of natural resources and the effects of Climate Change. These threats have manifested themselves in the TEDA in form of recurrent droughts, flash floods,deforestation, loss of land fertility, reduced agricultural potential, reduction of the quality and quantity of resources like water, dwindling capacity for food production, loss of individual and household incomes resulting in poverty conditions, hunger, unemployment, increased human-wildlife conflict and other social conflicts. The Tsavo Heritage Foundation (THF) was formed to holistically mitigate these disruptions on the environment and livelihoods among the insidious county communities of TEDA(Mombasa,Kwale,Kilifi,Tana River,Lamu,Taita Taveta,Kajiado,Makueni,Machakos, Kitui, Makueni,Nairobi & Kilimanjaro region of Eastern tanzania).