The Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno alongside Tourism Principal Secretary Silvia Museiya and conservationists held the inception workshop for the Wildlife Conservation for Development Integrated Program.
The workshop was meant to share knowledge and experiences, shaping the project’s direction to align with government priorities and global environmental benefits.
The program dubbed, ´Advancing Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Effectiveness in Kenya through an Integrated Approach´ program is supported by the Global
Environment Facility’s eighth replenishment cycle (GEF-8) cycle.
It aims at addressing the root causes of wildlife loss through national, trans-boundary, regional, and global interventions.
In a statement PS Ng´eno noted that the Ministry of Environment allocated USD 10.666,663 million to the program from the GEF 8 STAR allocation.
“As the GEF Operational Focal Point and lead Ministry, we allocated USD 10.666,663 million to the program from our GEF 8 STAR allocation. The project is now in its design phase, led by Conservation International as the GEF implementing agency, the State Department for Wildlife as the lead executing agency, and KWS, WRTI, and KWCA as executing partners. This list may expand during the design phase.” He noted.
In Kenya, 65-70 pc of wildlife populations live outside protected areas, co-existing with people and livestock.
This amplifies human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs), posing a threat to socio-economic development, biodiversity, and food security.
He said the program holds great potential to address these challenges, enhancing tourism industry as well as addressing the challenge of Human-Wildlife Conflict, which affects the ecosystem and leads to biodiversity loss.
The project has identified priority areas, including Tsavo and Laikipia landscapes, based on their high rates of HWCs to activate and operationalize existing management plans and community-led conservancies, focusing on mitigating HWCs, strengthening community conservancy governance, and preventing zoonotic diseases.
According to research Kenya has lost an estimated 68pc of its megafauna over the past 40 years with the primary causes including human population growth, resource pressures, escalating poverty, limited livelihood opportunities, and inadequate institutional capacity to manage human-wildlife conflicts and wildlife crime effectively.
