Kenya's New Project in the Global Wildlife Program

NAIROBI, Kenya (July 10, 2024) —The Wildlife Conservation for Development Integrated Program (WCD IP) is among the 11 integrated programs under the Global Environment Facility’s eighth replenishment cycle (GEF-8). The Global Wildlife Program (GWP), is one of the largest global partnerships created to combat wildlife poaching, trafficking, and demand. In 2019, the GWP expanded its focus to include the promotion of wildlife-based economies to create economic benefits from conserving wildlife and habitats.

The Kenya WCD Child Project, henceforth known as the GEF-8 Kenya GWP Child Project, was among the countries that applied to be part of the program in 2023 and was officially included in the program in the 5th February 2024 Council meeting here. This marked the start of the project design phase.

Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) is a serious threat to the survival of many endangered species in the world. It’s not restricted to geographical regions or climatic conditions but is common to all areas where wildlife and human population coexist and share limited resources.

In Kenya, HWC is one of the most pressing issues facing biodiversity conservation and sustainable development as identified in the Wildlife Policy 2020 where it has been highlighted as a focus thematic area. The proliferation of HWC is a threat to socioeconomic development and food security It remains a growing challenge as economies grow and competition for land and water increases, resulting in injuries, tragic loss of human life, destruction of crops and infrastructure, loss of livelihoods, and retaliatory killing of wild animals. Moreover, in Kenya 65-70% of wildlife populations reside outside protected areas where they co-exist with people and livestock, amplifying Human-Wildlife Conflicts (HWCs).

The US$10.6m GEF-8 Kenya GWP Child Project will be implemented by Conservation International as the GEF accredited agency and the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, State Department for Wildlife as the Lead Executing agency. Other executing partners include The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI), Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) and others to be identified in the project design phase.

The GEF-8 Kenya GWP Child project aims to adopt an integrated approach to HWC management including promoting policy coherence, community-led approaches, technology and infrastructural support in selected landscapes. Further it will support learning and knowledge sharing on HWCs mitigation and emerging zoonosis and epidemiological surveillance of wildlife, helping reduce risk to humans and livestock.

On July 10, 2024, the inception meeting to launch the project was held in Nairobi. The meeting focused on orienting partners on the proposed project expected outcomes, understanding current initiatives and especially those used to enhance human wildlife co-existence.

The meeting was opened by Ms. Silvia Museiya, Permanent Secretary, State Department for Wildlife in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and Dr. Eng. Festus. K. Ngeno, Permanent Secretary, State Department for Environment and Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.

The PS, State Department for Wildlife emphasized the need to ensure that the project address the root causes of human wildlife conflict. Similarly, the program should respond and operationalize the existing landscape management plans. She encouraged the program to address areas in Kenya that are less resourced with lower government footprint. Further, she encouraged the program to include science and data to help the country understand the economic effects of Human Wildlife Conflict.

The PS, State Department for Environment and Climate Change emphasized the vital role of the program for the country as most of the wildlife live outside the protected area and reaffirmed that the Ministry was committed to providing support throughout the design and implementation phase to ensure timely and impactful delivery.

Other key speakers included the DG, KWS, CEO WRTI, CEO KWCA and CEO WCK who expressed their institutional support for the success of the program.

The Country Director, Conservational International Kenya Dr. Seif Hamisi emphasized CI’s role in the project and commitment to delivering the final project documents to the GEF on time with support of the partners.

In the next 5 months, the project will continue with consultations and project document writeups to design an impactful program for the Wildlife Sector in Kenya.

ABOUT

About Conservation International: Conservation International works to protect the critical benefits that nature provides to people. Through science, partnerships, and fieldwork, Conservation International is driving innovation and investments in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, supporting protections for critical habitats, and fostering economic development that is grounded in the conservation of nature. Conservation International works in 30 countries around the world, empowering societies at all levels to create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable planet. Follow Conservation International's work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About the Global Environment Facility: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the world’s largest funder of biodiversity protection, nature restoration, pollution reduction, and climate change response in developing countries. It finances international environmental conventions and country-driven initiatives that generate global environmental benefits.

About Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, State Department for Wildlife: The core mandate of the State Department for Wildlife (SDW) is provision of strategic policy, direction and leadership in wildlife conservation and management in Kenya

About Kenya Wildlife Service: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) conserves and manages Kenya’s wildlife for the Kenyan people and the world. It’s mandated to conserve and manage wildlife in Kenya, and to enforce related laws and regulations. KWS undertakes conservation and management of wildlife resources outside protected areas in collaboration with stakeholders. It works with other partners to conserve, protect, and sustainably manage wildlife resources.

About Wildlife Research and Training Institute: The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) is a state corporation established to provide coordinated wildlife research, data and capacity building to inform policy decisions, management approaches, and create innovative wildlife-based products and services in the wildlife sector.

About Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association: KWCA main mandate is to ensure

local communities derive multiple benefits from the management of land and natural resources under sustainable wildlife conservancies. Programmes under KWCA include Wildlife management, land and natural resource management, peace and security, livestock management, tourism, infrastructure development and community engagement.