The Laikipia government has started resettling more than 15,000 families who have been squatting at Kirimon Game Reserve for over three decades.
They will be resettled on 14,000 acres, part of 43,000 acres that has been at the centre of a dispute pitting the National Youth Service, the county government and the squatters.
The 14,000 acres are located on the boundary of Laikipia, Samburu and Isiolo counties.
In April, President William Ruto intervened to have the dispute resolved amicably.
Governor Joshua Irungu said on Tuesday the resettlement plans were on course.
He spoke during the closing ceremony of a three-day Indigenous Women Council conference in Nanyuki.
The governor said women would be included in the squatters resettlement committee.
“We decided to set aside 14,000 acres to resettle the squatters. Women have asked for their right to be included in the resettlement committee for their views to be heard,” Irungu said.
He was responding to concerns of the pastoral women, who said they were likely to get a raw deal in the resettlement drive, since they had been left out in the local committee.
The conference brought together women leaders from 14 arid and semi-arid lands to deliberate on women inclusion in key decision-making organs, including land ownership and the effects of climate change.
The land, where the squatters will be resettled, was declared a wildlife conservation area in 1991 by former President Daniel Moi but efforts to utilise it for the intended purpose has over the years been hampered by ownership wrangles and uncontrolled human settlement.
The land was initially under the ownership of Livestock Marketing Division, but was later taken over by the National Youth Service in 1982 and converted into a livestock fattening ground.
Previous efforts by the former Laikipia County Council and the Laikipia government to take control of the wildlife migration corridor were unsuccessful, until Ruto intervened.
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife announced steps aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute and supported the Laikipia government to have its first game reserve without evicting families on the land.