We must tame the growing threat to our wildlife

By Judy Wakhungu

Wildlife occupies a special place in Kenya’s national image and interest. Kenya’s diverse ethnic communities have strong cultural attachments to wildlife. Visitors to Kenya often come specifically to see our game in its habitat. Equally, the spaces that remain for wildlife are often critically important biodiversity conservation areas, which offer a wide range of ecological, scientific, educational, cultural and aesthetic benefits.

Unfortunately, wildlife crime is as old as the republic, and in the last three years, poaching and illicit trafficking of wildlife have become grave challenges for Kenya and the international community.

The severity of the matter is clear: poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking threaten biodiversity as well as human peace and security, while undermining our economic and social development.

In the late 1980s, poaching in Kenya spun out of control. Organised poaching and the loss of critical habitats threatened our populations of elephant and rhino with extinction: Between 1976 and 1989, Kenya lost 85 per cent of its elephant and 98 per cent of its rhino.

In 1989, alarmed by the sector’s dismal performance, government acted decisively.

It amended the Wildlife Act and created a new parastatal, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which resorted to bold measures: strengthening KWS’s management capacity, establishing and equipping a fully-fledged security department, and mobilising community support for the protection of wildlife outside the protected areas. Within two years, the situation had begun to improve.

The challenges to wildlife security today are not dissimilar to those of 1980s. But the regional and global environment makes them even more complex.

The problem demands a rigorous response; close collaboration between law enforcement agencies both at home and abroad, stiffer penalties for criminals, and diplomatic engagement with the market countries to kill the demand for wildlife products.

In pursuit of these goals, Parliament enacted the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013. The new legislation came into force on January 10, 2014 and has perhaps the toughest penalties related to poaching and illegal trade in wildlife in the world. It is expected that these stiff penalties, together with other measures, will help curb the menace.

The capability of the wildlife protection unit is being improved through purchase of equipment, vehicles and related security accessories. To strengthen and expand its anti-poaching capability, KWS will recruit at least 1,000 rangers in the next two years. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources has already received Sh300 million for the first recruitment of 600 rangers from the national treasury.

As KWS prepares to recruit, train and deploy additional rangers, interim arrangements have been made to deal with the escalating problem. A crack anti-poaching unit comprising personnel drawn from specialised units of KWS, Administration Police and the General Service Unit has been established, jointly trained and deployed in the poaching hotspots of Tsavo, Isiolo/Laikipia and Narok.

Community–oriented initiatives that were established in the 1990s are being revitalised. The primary aim here is to support wildlife conservation and the integrity of parks and reserves over the long term by involving communities living in or near important wildlife areas in our programmes. Our efforts, we realise, cannot succeed without their cooperation and partnership. The initial emphasis will be on poaching hotspots and wildlife dispersal areas that represent essential ecological extensions of key parks and reserves.

The ministry is also working with other government law enforcement entities, including the Judiciary, to prosecute wildlife criminals.

The government realises the severity of the problems now facing our natural heritage. I wish to assure Kenyans of our commitment to secure wildlife and the safety of our visitors.