Harnessing Butterfly Biodiversity for Improving Livelihoods and Forest Conservation: The Kipepeo Project

Abstract

The Kipepeo Project is a community-based butterfly farming project on the margins of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on the north coast of Kenya. This forest is a globally important forest for biodiversity conservation. In the early 1990s, 54% to 59% of the local community wanted the entire forest cleared for settlement and the forest was invaded by farmers on several occasions. The Kipepeo Project was set up to change community attitudes to the forest by giving them a stake in its conservation. Kipepeo trained farmers living next to the forest to rear forest butterflies. Butterfly pupae were purchased from the farmers for export to the live butterfly exhibit industry in Europe and the United States. Cumulative community earnings from 1994 to 2001 exceeded $130,000 with significant positive effects on both livelihoods and attitudes. The project has been financially self-sustaining since 1999. Butterfly monitoring indicates that there have been no adverse effects on wild butterfly populations.