Government To Eradicate Poaching And Illegal Trade in Wildlife – 6/08/2024

The government is finalising the development of a five-year strategy to eliminate poaching and illegal trade in wildlife in private, community, and government wildlife conservation ecosystems across the country.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade in Wildlife (ITW) project Manager, Ms Netty Jemutai, said the Strategy supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has designed a framework that will integrate a coordinated and multi-stakeholder approach to address critical wildlife conservation challenges and eradicate wildlife crimes.

During a stakeholder validation workshop in a Naivasha hotel, Ms Jemutai said the five-year strategy has been developed through consultations and collaborations with relevant government agencies, conservation organizations, local communities, and international partners.

She said that once the roadmap is finalised and implemented, enhanced law enforcement capabilities are expected through capacity building and the provision of equipment to protect wildlife, sustain engagements with wildlife stakeholders, and improve livelihoods for communities coexisting with wildlife.

The official said modern technology will be used to fight illegal trade in wildlife and improve intelligence and data gathering and sharing. She added that the strategy has factored in guidelines to ensure comprehensive legal structures are adopted to detect, deter, and prosecute wildlife crimes effectively to sustainably maintain ecological balance for national economic prosperity.

During the deliberations, participants drawn from line Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and County governments observed that there was a need to urgently deal with wildlife crimes because, besides threatening to drive some animal species into extinction, wildlife crimes undermined national security, economic stability, and community livelihoods.

The participants noted that fighting and eliminating poaching and illegal trade in wildlife is important to preserve natural heritage for future generations, safeguard wildlife as a natural resource to support sustainable development and thrust Kenya’s position as a global leader in wildlife conservation.

Mr Evans Lokabel the project consultant from the Policy Research and Evaluation Centre (PREC) noted that illegal wildlife trade involves harvesting, procuring, transporting and distributing wild animals and plants, as well as their parts and products locally and internationally, violating existing laws and treaties. Mr Lokabel said IWT is a multi-billion shillings industry that involves international crime syndicates that require the intervention of regional and international governments. He attributed the proliferation of wildlife crime in Kenya to a lack of strategy, inadequate resources, and the country’s strategic location, which makes it an origin and transit point for illegal wildlife and wildlife products.

Among the critical strategic interventions to combating poaching and IWT in the strategy document include the push for the strengthening of laws and policies to effectively deter wildlife crimes, increase the capacity and resources of law enforcement agencies, integrate local communities and tap into their indigenous knowledge and local resources in monitoring and prevention of anti-poaching and IWT efforts, public education and awareness on the importance of wildlife conservation and collaborating with international partners to combat transnational wildlife crime.

The road map also outlines a structure for efficient cooperation between national and county law enforcement authorities to address wildlife crimes, a complex issue that has received significant attention on a national, regional, and global scale. In view of the international nature of wildlife crime, the strategy envisages cross-border and international collaboration to combat illicit wildlife trafficking.

The strategy document identified international demand and high prices for wildlife products, unclear formula for sharing wildlife conservation benefits, corrupt practices in the justice systems, inadequate low enforcement capacity and proliferation of small arms in some parts of the country as some of the reasons that fuel wildlife crimes.

The blueprint cites climate change as an emerging issue that significantly influences illegal wildlife trade and poaching trends in Kenya, posing a challenge to conservation efforts. The document notes that rising global warming and unpredictable adverse weather patterns exert pressure on wildlife habitats, leading to habitat loss through degradation and fragmentation. The blue print observes that the changes disrupt ecosystems and alter the distribution and behavior of wildlife species, causing the animals to be vulnerable to exploitation by poachers. Additionally, the strategy document cites the climate-induced changes in vegetation and availability of water as factors that spark human-wildlife conflicts as wild animals are compelled to encroach into human settlements in search of resources. The document identifies climate change as a factor also associated with socio-economic vulnerabilities that drive marginalized communities to engage in illegal activities such as poaching as a means of coping with environmental stresses and economic hardships.

Other emerging issues include the advent of zoonotic diseases and invasive weeds that affect wildlife health and the food chain, respectively.

The Strategy identifies the need for conservation areas to have robust conservation plans to safeguard wildlife species and the need for focused research to understand wildlife ecosystems and threats. It notes that the data obtained will inform the development and implementation of conservation strategies.

The document highlights the importance of engaging the public through awareness programs on wildlife conservation efforts and the need to advocate for Early Age Awareness and Sensitization to instill environmental consciousness in children and empower them as future stewards of wildlife and nature.

By Cheruiyot Korir