Environmental issues in Kenya include deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water shortage and degraded water quality, flooding, poaching, and domestic and industrial pollution. [1]
Environmental issues in Kenya include deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water shortage and degraded water quality, flooding, poaching, and domestic and industrial pollution. [1]
Water resources in Kenya are under pressure from agricultural chemicals and urban and industrial wastes, as well as from use for hydroelectric power. [2] The anticipated water shortage is a potential problem for the future. For example, the damming of the Omo river by the Gilgel Gibe III Dam together with the plan to use 30% to 50% of the water for sugar plantations will create significant environmental problems. Up to 50% of Lake Turkana's water capacity will be lost. Had there been no planning of the irrigation of sugar plantations, the dam itself might have had a net positive effect to the environment, due to the emission-less power generation of the dam. [3]
Water-quality in Kenya has problems in lakes, (including water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria), have contributed to a substantial decline in fishing output and endangered fish species. [4] [5]
There are a wide variety of wildlife species in Kenya, whose habitats are threatened by encroachment of human development and destruction. In rural Kenya, poachers are one of the main threats to endangered animals. Michael Werikhe aka Rhino Man, made huge contributions to early Kenyan wildlife conservation. Werikhe walked thousands of kilometres and raised millions of dollars to fund White Rhino conservation projects. The Blue Wildebeest is currently abundant, but like other more endangered species feels the pressure of habitat reduction. Wildlife facing threats to poaching and trophy hunting include lions, elephants, gazelles, and rhinos. In February 2020, poachers in Kenya killed two white giraffes. [6] The female white giraffe and her calf were found dead in Garissa County, in the North-East part of the country. [7] There now remains only one male, white giraffe left in the world. Other critically endangered species in Kenya include the Tana River Mangabey, Black Rhino, Hirola, Sable Antelope, and Roan Antelope. [8]
During Kenya's colonial era (1895–1963), elephant and rhino hunting was viewed as an elite sport by British colonizers. [9] Post-independent Kenya saw a decrease in over half of the elephant population during the period of 1970 to 1977, [10] even though the country banned elephant hunting in 1973. In 1977, all animal hunting was banned in Kenya. The Kenya Wildlife Service was then established in 1989. The state corporation responded to high levels of poaching, insecurity in the conservation and wildlife parks, and inefficiency and low morale within Kenya's game department. [11] The international ban on the trade in ivory was implemented through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). [11] This law contributed to a significant but temporary decline in elephant poaching, which facilitated population rehabilitation. [11] Wildlife poaching and trafficking re-emerged in the 2000s due to increased demands of ivory and rhino horns, posing threats to extinction in the near future. The Kenyan Wildlife service works closely with Kenyan law enforcement agencies. However, some argue that conservation efforts should not be solved by what is called green militarization, [12] wherein conservation efforts and policies are aided by increased policing and criminalization. On the other hand, there may be circumstances in which militarization is a necessary measure. [13] In any case, scholars and policy-makers are interested in considering the effects of green washing policies in conservation and militarization. [13]
Ivory burning is a public event meant to deter animal poaching. Kenya was the first to burn ivory in 1989, then destroyed the largest amount in 2016 (105 tonnes).
Language and rhetoric from the media on "the war on poaching" can be dehumanizing and do not provide the full picture. The reality is that many Kenyans who face poor living conditions, live in informal housing settlements, and struggle to make a liveable income, turn to poaching. [14] Aside from financial incentives, some of the main drivers for poaching are reported to be related to class, gender inequity, and uneven development across Kenya. [15] These poor conditions can be attributed to Kenya's colonial history. [16]
Elephant tusks and rhino horns have high value on illegal markets. Although Kenya has many national parks and reserves protecting wildlife--elephant and rhino populations are still at risk. These threats of endangerment may be attributed to corruption within the Kenyan government and military. [17] [18] An independent study investigating 743 cases between January 2008 and June 2013 reveal that those found guilty of wildlife crime were rarely getting substantially fined. [17] In many cases, corrupt government officials help poachers and trophy hunters for bribes. [18]
Although all animal hunting was banned in Kenya in 1977, trophy hunting is still allowed--for a high price. Proponents of trophy hunting in Kenya argue that the profits support conservation efforts, and that the killing of animals by humans will not decrease since many encroach on human settlements. [19] It is also argued that trophy hunting should not be banned, but rather reformed, because the animals will otherwise attack humans. [19] However, there is insufficient data to assess whether trophy hunting correlates to a decrease in animal attacks on humans.
This problem is worsened by corruption and some officials supplementing their income by permitting poaching. [20] In The Big Conservation Lie, John Mbaria and Mordecai Ogada wrote that the main problem of the crisis are not poachers, but the alienation of local people from wildlife conservation. [21] In fact, conservation is deeply rooted in the country's coloniality. [21] National parks were established and built for recreational purposes for the European settlers, thereby excluding locals. [21] Today, local populations are still being displaced from their lands through the creation of wildlife parks and conservation areas. [22] About 20% of Kenya's land are in Protected Areas (PAs), which are largely run by non-Indigenous Kenyans who earn immense profits from eco-tourism. [22] Very little of the earnings (less than $5000 USD per year) from eco-tourism go to Kenyans working in hospitality services or as wildlife rangers. [22]
Recently, as animal byproduct sales on the illegal markets increase at a high annual growth rate, new challenges arise in wildlife protection. Controversy over the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project, constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), prompted the Chinese contractors to initiate wildlife protection efforts. [23]
Forestry output has also declined because of resource degradation. [24] Overexploitation over the past three decades has reduced the country's timber resources by one-half. At present only 3% of the land remains forested, and an estimated 50 square kilometres of forest are lost each year. [25] This loss of forest aggravates erosion, the silting of dams and flooding, and the loss of biodiversity. [26] Among the endangered forests are Kakamega Forest, Mau Forest and Karura Forest.[ citation needed ] In response to ecological disruption, activists have pressed with some success for policies that encourage sustainable resource use. [27]
Kenya is in the contient of Africa. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize went to the Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Maathai, best known for organizing a grassroots movement in which thousands of people were mobilized over the years to plant 30 million trees in Kenya and elsewhere and to protest forest clearance for luxury development. [28] Imprisoned as an opponent of Moi, Maathai linked deforestation with the plight of rural women, who are forced to spend untold hours in search of scarce firewood and water. [29]
Widespread poverty in many parts of the country has greatly lead to over-exploitation of the limited resources in Kenya. Cutting down of trees to create more land for cultivation, charcoal burning business, quarrying among other social and occupational practices are the major threats of environmental degradation due to poverty in rural Kenya. Regions like Murang'a, Bondo and Meru are affected by this environmental issue. [30]
Kenya had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.2/10, ranking it 133rd globally out of 172 countries. [31]
Littering and the illegal dumping of rubbish is a problem in both urban and rural Kenya. Almost all urban areas of Kenya have inadequate rubbish collection and disposal systems. [32]
There is the risk of seasonal flooding during July to late August months. In September 2012, thousands of people were displaced in parts of Kenya's Rift Valley Province as floodwaters submerged houses and schools and destroyed crops. [33] It was especially dangerous as the floods caused latrines to overflow, contaminating numerous water sources. The floods can also cause mudslides and two children were killed in September 2012 following a mudslide in the Baringo District, which also displaced 46 families. [33]
Climate change is posing an increasing threat to global socio- [34] economic development and environmental sustainability. Developing countries with low adaptive capacity and high vulnerability to the phenomenon are disproportionately affected. Climate change in Kenya is increasingly impacting the lives of Kenya's citizens and the environment. [34] Climate Change has led to more frequent extreme weather events like droughts which last longer than usual, irregular and unpredictable rainfall, flooding and increasing temperatures.
The effects of these climatic changes have made already existing challenges with water security, food security and economic growth even more difficult. Harvests and agricultural production which account for about 33% [35] of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [36] are also at risk. The increased temperatures, rainfall variability in arid and semi-arid areas, and strong winds associated with tropical cyclones have combined to create favorable conditions for the breeding and migration of pests. [37] An increase in temperature of up to 2.5 °C by 2050 is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme events such as floods and droughts. [34]
Hot and dry conditions in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) make droughts or flooding brought on by extreme weather changes even more dangerous. Coastal communities are already experiencing sea level rise and associated challenges such as saltwater intrusion. [34] Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana and other lakes have significantly increased in size between 2010 and 2020 [38] flooding lakeside communities. [39] All these factors impact at-risk populations like marginalized communities, women and the youth. [36]
Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunting privileges of nobility and territorial rulers.
Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,623 km2 (7,576 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, formerly Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Game Reserve, is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. It consists of 960 km² of hilly topography 280 kilometres (170 mi) north of Durban in central KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. Operated by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the park is the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where each of the big five game animals can be found.
Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the census held in March 2018 which was jointly conducted by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,613. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos ; 387 sub-adults ; and 385 calves.
Zakouma National Park is a 3,000 km2 (1,158 sq mi) national park in southeastern Chad, straddling the border of Guéra Region and Salamat Region. Zakouma is the nation's oldest national park, declared a national park in 1963 by presidential decree, giving it the highest form of protection available under the nation's laws. It has been managed by the nonprofit conservation organization African Parks since 2010 in partnership with Chad's government.
Garamba National Park is a national park in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo covering nearly 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi). It is among Africa's oldest parks and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for northern white rhinoceroses, African elephants, hippopotamuses, and giraffes. Garamba National Park has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature since 2005.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013. At independence, the Government of Kenya committed itself to conserving wildlife for posterity with all the means at its disposal, including the places animals lived, forests and water catchment areas.
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is located in northern Kenya. It was formed in 1995 and is a wildlife sanctuary incorporating the Ngare Ndare Forest covering over 62,000 acres (250 km2). The Conservancy is home to a wide variety of wildlife including the rare and endangered black rhinos, Grevy's zebras and sitatungas. It also includes the big five. Lewa holds over 12% of Kenya's eastern black rhinoceros population and the largest single population of Grevy's zebras in the world.
The wildlife of the Central African Republic is in the vast natural habitat in the Central African Republic (CAR) located between the Congo Basin's rain forests and large savannas, where the human density was smaller than 0.5 per km2 prior to 1850. The forest area of 22.755 million, considered one of the richest storehouses of wildlife spread over national parks, hunting reserves and community hunting areas, experienced an alarming loss of wildlife because of greed for ivory and bushmeat exploitation by hunters – mostly Arab slavers from across the borders of the Central African Republic with Chad and Sudan.
Elephant hunting, which used to be an accepted activity in Kenya, was banned in 1973, as was the ivory trade. Kenya pioneered the destruction of ivory as a way to combat this black market.
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Formed by individuals and institutions, IEF is dedicated to the conservation of African and Asian elephants worldwide.
The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that protects endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists in the field who promote coexistence between wildlife and people. WCN does this by providing its partners with capital, strategic capacity-building services, training, and operational support. WCN has been given a top rating amongst wildlife conservation charities, with a four star rating on Charity Navigator.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) operates an orphan elephant rescue and wildlife rehabilitation program in Kenya. It was founded in 1977 by Dame Daphne Sheldrick to honor her late husband, David Sheldrick. Since 2001, it has been run by their daughter, Angela Sheldrick.
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 360 km2 (140 sq mi) not-for-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya's Laikipia County. It is situated on the equator west of Nanyuki, between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes, and generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and community development.
Satao was one of Kenya's largest African elephants. He was known as a tusker because his tusks were so long that they almost touched the ground. The Tsavo Trust announced that Satao was killed by poachers using a poisoned arrow on 30 May 2014.
World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was officially founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012. Since that time, Patricia Sims continues to lead, support and direct World Elephant Day, which is now recognized and celebrated by over 100 wildlife organizations and many individuals in countries across the globe.
The destruction of ivory is a technique used by governments and conservation groups to deter the poaching of elephants for their tusks and to suppress the illegal ivory trade. As of 2016, more than 263 tonnes (580,000 lb) of ivory have been destroyed, typically by burning or crushing, in these high-profile events in 21 countries around the world. Kenya held the first event in 1989, as well as the largest event in 2016, when a total of 105 tonnes (231,000 lb) of ivory were incinerated.
Many species are affected by poaching, including illegal hunting, fishing and capturing of wild animals, and, in a recent usage, the illegal harvesting of wild plant species. The article provides an overview of species currently endangered or impaired by poaching in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and South-East Asia.
The Big Life Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization created to preserve the wildlife and habitats of the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem of East Africa through community-based and collaborative strategies.
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