October, 19, 2026. Young people are the future of conservation, and at Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association, we deliberately create opportunities for them to lead and participate. We recently convened a one-day Landscape Youth Forum meeting, bringing together youth representatives from our member conservancies to establish the Tsavo Landscape Youth Forum, a platform for young people across the landscape to connect, coordinate, and shape conservation.
The forum combined learning, reflection, and practical planning. Participants explored the National Conservancies Youth Engagement Strategy and the Tsavo landscape’s place within it. The Taita Taveta Youth Alliance shared its experience of organizing and coordinating young people across the county, highlighting key lessons and challenges. Discussions also examined how young people currently participate in conservation and conservancy work and identified the gaps that still need to be addressed.
The young people then got to work. In groups, they proposed ways to organize youth across the landscape and agreed on a common structure. They also agreed on how the forum would be governed, including terms of office, meeting arrangements, and communication channels.
With support from the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, the forum held its first elections and established a leadership team to advocate for youth voices and greater engagement.
With a structure and leadership team now in place, young people across the Tsavo landscape conservancies have a clear platform to coordinate, speak up, and participate in decisions that affect their conservancies.