Ivory recovered at JKIA

A consignment of contraband ivory weighing 260kg has been intercepted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Friday.

A joint operation involving officers from Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Airports Authority, National Police Service, National Intelligence Service and Swissport security service unearthed the 1350 pieces of worked ivory packed in 12 cartons at Swissport Cargo Service premises at JKIA.

The cargo, declared as being exhibition commodity from Nairobi Exhibition Company Limited, was disguised as wood carvings and painted black and red. The ivory was destined for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was set to be transported through Turkish Airline.

The consignment had been delivered at the airport on Thursday (July 24, 2014).

It was intercepted at the point of declaration where fake declaration forms had been filled indicating that the cartons contained live dogs.

Investigations are underway to establish the source of the ivory.

Kshs 18million equipment secured to support Night Vision

From L to R Looking at the Night Vision equipment, Jack Marubu Community- Warden, Ibrahim Ogle- Assistant Director, Reza Sadeghi of ATM Inc, Edwin Wanyonyi-Ag. Deputy Director Strategy & Change and Dr. Bill Clark KWS Liaison Officer in USA.

Kenya Wildlife Service has received a significant boost in its fight against poaching with a pledge of Kshs. 17.8million (US $ 210,000) towards the purchase of night vision equipment. 

The support was made to the KWS team while attending the recently concluded 2014 Smithsonian Folk Festival – Kenya Mambo Poa in Washington DC. The night vision equipment which has high performance capability will enable the KWS rangers to “own the night”.

The pledges were made by the Wood and Tiger Foundation Kshs 5.5million (US $ 64,000), Pegasus Foundation Kshs 3.8million (US $ 45,000), and Wild Cat Foundation through Animal Welfare Institute will provide Kshs. 8.5million (US $ 100,000.

Kenya recognized for exemplary enforcement efforts

The Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Mr John E. Scanlon, has awarded four CITES Secretary-General’s Certificates of Commendation for exemplary wildlife law enforcement efforts.Among those displaying the certificates is Mr. Patrick Omondi - KWS Deputy Director Wildlife conservation (fourth from right) .Also in the picture is Ag. Director general Mr. William Kiprono (1st Right)

China, Kenya and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) were awarded Certificates of Commendation for collaborative efforts to take down an international criminal syndicate smuggling ivory from Kenya to China. The joint action occurred during Operation COBRA II – an international wildlife law enforcement operation involving 28 countries that took place in January 2014 – and resulted in the extradition of a Chinese national from Kenya to China and the arrest of more than 20 smugglers and domestic ivory traders in China implicated in the activities of the syndicate. The Certificates of Commendation presented to China’s National Inter-agencies CITES Enforcement Coordination Group on behalf of Chinese authorities, Kenya Wildlife Service on behalf of Kenyan Authorities and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force recognized the exemplary collaboration, including the daily exchange of real-time intelligence, which underpinned the joint investigation.

The fourth CITES Secretary-General’s Certificate of Commendation was awarded to Nepal in recognition of its exemplary efforts to combat wildlife crime. In 2011 no rhinoceroses, tigers, or elephants were illegally killed in Nepal, and in 2012 the country lost just one rhinoceros to poaching. On the first UN World Wildlife Day, 3 March 2014, Nepal for the second time celebrated 365 days with zero poaching. The Certificate of Commendation, received by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal on behalf of all national agencies involved in wildlife law enforcement, acknowledged the many innovative measures implemented by Nepal to combat wildlife crime, including strong inter-agency collaboration, combined patrols by rangers and the Nepalese army in protected areas supported by community-based anti-poaching units outside of parks, and intelligence-led enforcement actions leading to the arrest of key players at the top of the criminal chain.

The Certificates were presented at an International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) event taking place as part of the 65th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 7-11 July. Two events were held by ICCWC, with the first highlighting the consortium’s efforts to increase the use of modern forensic technology in combating wildlife crime and the second covering ICCWC tools to support effective wildlife law enforcement at a national level and  a synopsis of Operation COBRA II

In addition to the certificate of commendation, Kenya was praised for having consistently implementing and reporting on progress with implementation of actions identified in 2013 during CITES CoP16 as components of the National Ivory Action Plan towards controlling illegal trade in ivory.

Kenya's four quarterly reports against which the country was evaluated to determine levels of Government's commitments in combatting illegal trade in ivory were highly rated  and said to be very comprehensive compared to reports from the other seven countries forming the group of 8 countries of concern regarding illegal trade in ivory. These other seven countries are : united Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda as source countries for illegal ivory, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam as transit countries and Thailand and China and Hong Kong SAR as destination countries for illegally traded ivory. 

With this positive evaluation of Kenya with regard to efforts in combating elephant poaching and illegal trade in ivory, KWS has requested the Standing Committee to review the country's classification and remove us from the infamous group of 8. - Gang of 8. 

The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is the second highest decision -making organ of the CITES Convention. The ongoing meeting in Geneva; 7-11 July is the 65th meeting of the Committee.

Kenya as a member Party to the CITES Convention is being represented by a delegation of 5 headed by the Director General of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Kenya Wildlife Service is designated the CITES Wildlife Management Authority and Scientific Authority for purposes of implementing and reporting on implementation of the CITES provisions in the country. Members of the country delegation are: KWS Ag. Director General William Kiprono, Patrick Omondi, the Deputy Director of Wildlife Conservation, Solomon Kyalo, the Senior Scientist responsible for  CITES matters, Ibrahim Lubia, the Chief Licensing Officer and Dr. Samuel Kasiki, the Deputy Director, Biodiversity Research and Monitoring.

Kenya and US Establish Park Relationship

The National Park Service and Kenya’s Wildlife Service and National Museums of Kenya signed a sister park agreement between Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and Sibiloi National Park and the National Museums of Kenya on June 30, 2014 to promote international cooperation and collaboration. This is the first time the National Park Service (NPS) has established a sister park agreement with an African nation.

From left to right, US National Parks Regional Director, National Museums of Kenya Director General Dr. Ahmed Yassin, Ag KWS Deputy Director, Strategy & Change Edwin Wanyonyi, Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and the Arts Dr. Hassan Wari

The signing ceremony took place during the Smithsonian Museum’s annual Folklife Festival, which is highlighting Kenya this year. US National Park Service Deputy Director Christy Goldfuss and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Superintendent Judy Geniac joined Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and the Arts Dr. Hassan Wario, Ambassador Jean Kamau, Kenya Wildlife Service Deputy Director for Strategy and Change Mr. Edwin Wanyonyi and Director General National Museums of Kenya Dr. Ahmed Yassin. Scott Miller, Deputy Under Secretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support for the Smithsonian moderated the event.

“These two sites have significant fossils, history, and current-day resources,” Superintendent Geniac said. “Research in both locations is helping the world to understanding past climate fluctuations and species’ responses, something that may help us address the world’s future.”

“We are happy to be associated with U.S. National Park Service for this historic signing of the sister parks relationship between Sibiloi National and Hagerman,” Deputy Director Wanyonyi said. “The sister parks agreement we are signing today will go a long way in strengthening relationships between Kenya Wildlife Service and US National Parks Service and reaffirms our commitment to conserve the last great species and places for posterity.”

The five year agreement between the sister parks will increase information sharing and direct park-to-park contacts to address issues the parks share in common. Both parks are known for their important terrestrial paleontological localities and have produced fossils that represent a large diversity of species.

The agreement resulted from a Kenyan delegation’s visit to the 2013 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. While in Washington, DC, KWS met with staff from the National Park Service Office of International Affairs to discuss possible collaborative ventures. Establishing a Sister Park was suggested as a simple way to get the two agencies working together. Following their visit, Hagerman Fossil Beds expressed an interest in partnering with Sibiloi National Park. The parks will exchange technical and professional knowledge, collaborate, and share experiences. Shared information may include best practices and advancements in park management, customer service, conservation, data collection techniques, and tourism development.

Hagerman Fossil Beds, located in the Hagerman Valley of south central Idaho, is a site of one of the world’s richest fossil deposits. Assemblages date from the early to middle Pliocene epoch. It is best known for its preservation of several hundred individuals of Equus simplicidens, which is the earliest example of the modern horse genus. Over 60,000 specimens are housed in collection facilities on-site with additional specimens at museums across the United States and around the world.  This is an important birding area known for its winter residents of waterfowl and shorebirds as well as the bald eagle, cormorant, and pelican.

Sibiloi National Park is on the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya approximately 800 kilometers from the capital city of Nairobi. The fossiliferous Koobi Fora region contains sites of paleontological and paleoanthropological significance with over ten thousand fossils, including hominin fossils, recovered.  Sibiloi is best known for its specimens of the genus Homo. Sibiloi’s fossils also provide an opportunity to trace the evolution of numerous mammalian lineages back in time and to study the effects of climate change and human activity on local fauna. Today, Sibiloi provides a breeding habitat for many types of fish and its unique, diverse biodiversity includes such animals as the Grevy’s zebra, Beisa onyx, Grant’s gazelle, Topi, lion, hyena, and jackal. It also forms part of an important flyway for migratory birds. Sibiloi is also known for its Petrified Forest which draws tourists from around the world.

Ban Ki-Moon adopts a Lion Cub

The UN Secretary General, His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon on June 28, 2014 adopted a lion cub in Nairobi Animal orphanage as a sign of support for conservation and efforts against the trafficking of animals around the world.

“I adopted this lion cub with the hope that all human beings and animals can live in peace and harmony,” Mr. Ban told a gathering at Nairobi Animal Orphanage, located within the Nairobi National park. “Human beings should know how to live harmoniously with our Mother Nature.”

Mr. Ban also said he adopted the six-month old cub, whose Kiswahili name Tumaini means “hope”, to show solidarity for the preservation efforts of the Kenyan people, and as a token of his concern for the Kenya Wildlife Service and park rangers.

“Wildlife crime is not simply a threat to animals,” Mr. Ban said. “With its links to organised crime and even insurgent groups, it is a major security issue. The same routes used to smuggle wildlife and timber across countries and continents are often used to smuggle weapons, drugs and people,” he added.

The occasion was attended by among others Cabinet Secretary for environment, Water and natural resources, Prof. Judi Wakhungu, the Principal Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Richard Lesiyampe and KWS acting Director General Mr. William Kiprono.