WILDLIFE SCENE IN KENYA AND POSITION OF MANAGEMENT BILL 2013

The trade in wildlife and its products poses a major challenge in wildlife conservation. Elephants are killed for ivory, while the rhinos are killed for the horns. The elephants and rhinos in Kenya, like in other African states are under severe and escalating levels of poaching threats, which is one of the greatest threats to wildlife conservation. In fact, poaching and wildlife trafficking has now become more organized, lucrative, and widespread than ever before. These challenges are undermining the anti-poaching and wildlife trafficking interventions by the Government and the international community over the last twenty five years.

KWS Rangers on foot patrol

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill, 2013 was published in the Kenya Gazette on 22nd July, 2013. The purpose of the Bill is to broaden investment in the wildlife sector, in order to support livelihoods of the Kenyan people, among others. In particular, enactment of the Bill will lead to enhancing the fight against poaching of endangered species by stiffening the penalties meted on offenders. The Ministry is committed to the fast-tracking of the enactment of this Bill and calls upon all relevant stakeholders to support this initiative to conserve and protect our national heritage for posterity.

Consultations so far point towards common understanding of the need to enhance the penalties – both sentences and fines – as stipulated currently in the Bill that is before Parliament. Section 79, Offenses relating to endangered and threatened species, states that “Any person who commits an offense in respect of an endangered or threatened species or in respect of any trophy of that endangered or threatened species shall be liable upon conviction to a fine of not less than ten million shillings or to imprisonment of not less than fifteen years or to both such fine and imprisonment.” Various stakeholders have advocated that the fine should be raised to twenty (20) million shillings and the sentence enhanced to life imprisonment.

On its part, the Ministry, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other arms of Government have partnered to form a special anti-poaching unit named the Elite Inter-Agency Anti-Poaching Unit, comprising of security officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the Administration Police (AP) and the General Service Unit (GSU). The special unit, which shall be under the command of KWS, is undergoing a joint training at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy (LEA) at Manyani before deployment to poaching hotspot areas of Narok, Tsavo and Isiolo.

The Government is committed to provide facilitation and equipment to support the Elite Inter-Agency Anti-Poaching Unit operations. In order to support the Unit, the Government has engaged partners, including the governments of United States, China and the United Kingdom for assistance. Plans are underway to recruit an additional 1000 KWS rangers to effectively tackle poaching.

The Government shall also deploy aerial surveillance support to enhance their capacity to deal with poaching incidents. Already, the Government has established an Inter-Agency Task Force to advice and co-ordinate wildlife security management interventions across the country.

KWS has also adopted a multifaceted approach to eliminate the poaching vice. The organization has actively engaged communities living next to wildlife sanctuaries, through conservation education on the negative impacts of poaching. Consumers of illegal wildlife products, both local and international are being sensitized on their indirect contribution to poaching by buying such products.