Chinese Non-Profit Engagement in Wildlife Conservation in Kenya: New Dynamics in China- Africa Relations and African Conservation?

Chinese non-profit engagement in African conservation has risen in prominence over the past decade, constituting a ‘new’ arena in both international cooperation in conservation and China-Africa relations. Focusing on a case-study of Kenya, this research represents the first in-depth examination of this emergent field and seeks to better understand the nature and dynamics of the engagement and its implications for African conservation and China’s renewed links with Africa. It draws on semi-structured interviews with participants involved in or affected by Chinese non-profit engagement in Kenyan conservation, as well as NGO and government documentary sources, and Chinese and African media reporting. Chinese non-profit engagement in Kenyan conservation involves a diverse set of actors and often hybrid forms of activity. This highlights a significant blurring of boundaries in the types of Chinese engagement and between Chinese and non-Chinese actors. The entanglement with and, to some extent, reliance on, Chinese state and for-profit actors and international NGOs is significant for understanding the extent to which this engagement is distinctly ‘Chinese’ or represents a novel dynamic in China-Africa relations. Kenyan perceptions of Chinese conservation actors and activities are also diverse, bringing more nuance to the discussion of Chinese engagement in Africa. An important perspective is that Chinese conservation engagement is introducing a more humble and ‘mutual’ dynamic that somewhat disrupts ‘Western authority’ in conservation and demonstrates a greater role for Kenyan agency. While this speaks to the ideals of ‘South-South cooperation’, Chinese non-profit engagement in Kenyan conservation is also linked to key Chinese state visions and wider diplomacy associated with China-Africa relations. In this context, such engagement is seen as a channel for Chinese ‘soft power’, particularly in the form of what is framed as ‘conservation diplomacy’.