The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) has introduced an online Wildlife permitting portal that will ease the process of getting a wildlife research permit in the country.
The move, which is a shift from the traditional paper-based approach will see the duration taken to issue research permits reduced from a month to a day.
This came as the CS for Wildlife and Tourism Rebecca Miano said that the government was keen to increase funding for wildlife research.
Miano termed research as critical in decision making in wildlife conservation at a time when the country’s national parks and wildlife were under threat.
“We are working with partners in raising more funds for research as decisions on wildlife management and conservation cannot be made without research and data,” she said.
Addressing the press after visiting the Naivasha based institute, Miano termed the introduction of the online wildlife permitting portal as a game-changer in conservation.
She noted that in the past, it took days for researchers in different fields to get a research permit, a move that adversely affected many programmes.
“Before researchers had to travel to Naivasha to the Wildlife Research and Training Institute for a permit but this can be done through the government’s e-citizen portal,” she said.
On his part, the Institute Director Dr Patrick Omondi termed the ongoing national wildlife census as successful with the first phase coming to an end.
He said that the census had already been conducted in Maasai Mara, Athi-Kapiti ecosystem and the Amboseli to establish the current status of wildlife populations and their distribution.
Omondi noted that the country’s wildlife landscapes were currently facing multiple challenges, including poaching and increasing human and livestock populations.
“In the second phase we shall be moving to Nakuru, Naivasha and other closed ecosystems like Solai and data obtained will help in decision making in wildlife conservation,” he said.
On her part, the PS in the Ministry Silvia Museiya noted that the country’s wildlife population and water sources were under threat from various quarters.
She noted that the ongoing national wildlife census would come in handy in addressing the challenges which included increase in human population, climate change and emerging diseases.
“Recently the government held the first ever scientific conference and the findings will be critical in shaping the issue of wildlife conservation in the country,” she said.
Others who spoke were the WRTI board chairman David Nkedianye who said that an ad hoc committee had been formed to transfer land from KWS to WRTI.
