Paper short abstract:

Baringo County is endowed with crucial assets for future conservation. This article argues that the coexistence of future conservation work and other land uses in the County will depend on the contemporary shifts in the inter-generational aspirations and values of communities living in the County.

Paper long abstract:

Baringo County has a vast land mass in Kenya with a high potential for conservation. In 2017, the Kenya Wildlife Conservation Association (KWCA) in conjunction with the Baringo County Conservancies Association (BCCA) mapped seven hotspots with a potential to establish new wildlife conservancies. The mapping was informed by the rich natural, environmental and cultural assets, which have been strongly intertwined with the communities’ dominant pastoral livelihood for decades. Similarly, the livelihood has been coexisting with conservation. These notions are reflected in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) that presents conservation as a potential, viable and sustainable source of livelihoods for the communities. However, modern youth are fascinated by globalisation, technology and artificial intelligence that shape their perspectives, dreams, and aspirations. Future conservation plans must thus be contextualized in the intergenerational differences and the emerging contemporary socioeconomic and technological dynamics. Therefore, the article applies a survey design to investigate the following questions; (1) How do conservation thoughts change between generations? (2) What transformation is envisaged in the planned establishment of new community conservancies? (3) Will the future conservation (non) coexist with other livelihoods and land uses?