The Role of Environmental Conservation Strategy in Promoting Sustainable Tourism Development in Communal Group Ranches in Laikipia County, Kenya.

Sustainable tourism development seeks to meet the immediate demands of the travel industry while safeguarding natural and cultural resources for future generations. In Laikipia County, Kenya, an area rich in biodiversity and scenic landscapes, communal group ranches have emerged as promising models where tourism and environmental conservation converge. Despite this potential, challenges such as habitat degradation, human-wildlife conflict and limited community involvement hinder progress toward sustainable tourism development. This study investigated the effect of environmental conservation strategies on sustainable tourism development in these communal group ranches. The hypothesis tested was that environmental conservation strategies do not significantly affect sustainable tourism development. Employing an embedded mixed methods design, the study collected both qualitative and quantitative data from a target population of 18,724 individuals, including communal ranches registered members, leaders, and visiting tourists. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 392 participants. Results from multiple regression analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship (R = 0.470; R² = 0.221), with 22.1% of the variance in sustainable tourism development explained by key predictors: protection of biodiversity, land use planning, mitigation of community-wildlife conflict, and waste disposal mechanisms. ANOVA confirmed the model’s significance (F = 18.431, p < 0.001), and three predictors biodiversity protection (p = 0.001), land use planning (p = 0.018), and conflict mitigation (p < 0.001) were found to be statistically significant, while waste disposal was not (p = 0.07). These findings, supported by qualitative insights and existing literature, emphasize the critical role of ecological and community-based approaches in achieving long-term tourism sustainability. The study concluded that environmental conservation strategies play a significant role in promoting sustainable tourism development in communal group ranches in Laikipia County, Kenya. The study recommended that the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, should develop and enforce biodiversity protection policies that encourage communal group ranches and local communities to participate in conservation initiatives.