Conservation and Management Strategy for the Elephant in Kenya
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
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Abstract: The future of African elephants is of critical importance to the Government of Kenya for several reasons. Firstly,elephants are a species of conservation concern with numbers reduced dramatically over the last 100 years mainly as a consequence of trade in ivory. In Kenya alone,the elephant population declined from around 167,000 in 1973 to just 20,000 in 1990. Secondly,elephants are a fagship species,a highly charismatic animal that can serve as a rallying point for conservation,capturing the attention of people from all over the world and generating signifcant returns from wildlife-based tourism. Thirdly,elephants are an umbrella species as their conservation depends on large areas of the ecosystems being conserved and protected and therefore serves the objective of wider biodiversity conservation. Fourthly,outside of protected areas,the confict between elephants and people is intense,especially crop raiding and related risks to life and livelihood has major implications for public support for conservation. Fifthly,elephants are keystone species with signifcant roles in ecological dynamics and therefore their persistence is important to the conservation of other elements of biodiversity. The existing framework for the conservation and management of elephants,an annex in the 1991-1996 KWS Framework and Development Programme,largely refects the focus on addressing the unprecedented levels of elephant poaching occurring at the time. This combined with the enhanced capacity of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) anti-poaching unit and the international ban in the trade in ivory successfully reduced the poaching to a reasonable level enabling population recovery. The elephant population of Kenya in 2010 is estimated at around 35,000 and increasing. Elephants have and continue to return to parts of their former range where they havenâ??t been seen for nearly 30 years. However the human population of Kenya has also grown dramatically over this period and the challenge of conserving elephants in Kenya today is quite diferent to what it was 20-30 years ago. Human settlement and cultivation of elephant range areas,associated problems of human-elephant confict,the creation of habitat islands and the compression efect on other elements of biodiversity have all emerged as hugely difcult problems that threaten the future of elephants in Kenya. These problems are not easy to solve. In addition,recent reports from the feld suggest that there is an upsurge in elephant poaching,most probably driven by the demand for ivory in Asia. The recent large seizures of ivory at the sea and airports in the country illustrate the scale of the problem. It is for all of these reasons that a dedicated elephant conservation and management strategy is necessary for Kenya. This 10 year strategy has been developed through a highly consultative and participatory process,involving local stakeholders from across Kenya and international experts from around the world. The process culminated in a National stakeholder workshop,held at Mpala Research Centre and it was here that this strategy document was formulated. The long term vision for the strategy is â??a secure future for elephants and their habitats,based on peaceful and benefcial co-existence with people,now and for generations yet to comeâ?. While the overall goal for the next ten years is to â??maintain and expand elephant distribution and numbers in suitable areas,enhance security to elephants,reduce human-elephant confict and increase value of elephants to people and habitatâ?. This will be achieved by focussing eforts and resources on seven broad strategic objectives,each associated with a set of specifc actions and an associated set of measurable targets to gauge performance (Figure 1). The strategy is bold,ambitious and forward thinking. It tackles problems far more complex than just the poaching issue and involves diferent sectors and proposes interdisciplinary initiatives that take into consideration the potential role of climate change,new emerging funding opportunities,local livelihoods and the sensitive balance that is needed in an emerging economy.