Bushmeat in Kenya

Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Oct 23 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

On Thursday, I spent the better part of my afternoon with over a hundred students from the Bishop Njenga Secondary School in Challa Division outside Tsavo West National Park. I was there to raise awareness on the illegal Bushmeat trade and donate copies of old Swara magazine that EAWLS is giving out to schools in an effort to create interest on biodiversity conservation in School going youths.

On awareness rising, I showed a short film called ‘Mizoga’ - which directly translates to “carcasses”- that was written and Directed by the Born Free Foundation and presented T-shirts carrying Bushmeat messages to students and teachers.

The students, who expected to see the usual wildlife films from the Mara or Serengeti, were pleasantly surprised to see a film produced in Swahili and enacted in one of the villages around the Tsavo ecosystem. The educative film which sends the message through entertainment shows a village grappling with the effects of the illegal bushmeat trade through the thrills, drama and tragedy that surrounds this illegal activity. The photos of the attentive students below tell it all…

Iregi Mwenja

EAWLS

Technorati : Born Free, Bushmeat, Bushmeat trade, Community, Conservation, EAWLS, East African Wildlife Society, Mizoga, Poachers, Poaching, Swara, Taveta, Tsavo, Tsavo West

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Oct 20 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

In Kenya do we have a policy on CBNRM? Why do find it difficult to devolve natural resources management yet the goverment doesn’t have the capacity to manage it sustainably and equitably share the benefits with communities living with this resources (wildlife)? I find the CAMPFIRE example a good one to learn from. Read the article below and share your thoughts.

Community based natural resource management in Zimbabwe: the experience of CAMPFIRE

Russell Taylor

Abstract

Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is a long-term programmatic approach to rural development that uses wildlife and other natural resources as a mechanism for promoting devolved rural institutions and improved governance and livelihoods.

The cornerstone of CAMPFIRE is the right to manage, use, dispose of, and benefit from these resources. Between 1989 and 2006, CAMPFIRE income, mostly from high valued safari hunting, totalled nearly USD$ 30 million, of which 52% was allocated to sub-district wards and villages for community projects and household benefits. Whilst a number of assumptions underlying the success of CAMPFIRE as an innovative model for CBNRM have yet to be met, CAMPFIRE confirms the concept that devolving responsibility and accountability for natural resource management can be highly effective for the collective and participatory management of such resources.

Elephant numbers in CAMPFIRE areas have increased and buffalo numbers are either stable or decreased slightly during the life of the programme. However, offtake quotas for these two species have increased with a concomitant decline in trophy quality. Although the amount of wildlife habitat diminished after 1980, following the commencement of CAMPFIRE the rate of habitat loss slowed down and in some specific instances was even reversed. More recently there has been increased pressure on habitats and other natural resources as a consequence of deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the country. Where devolution has been successful, promising results have been achieved and the recent acceptance and implementation of direct payments to communities is probably the most significant development since 2000.

That this has happened can be attributed to CAMPFIRE enabling communities to maximize their roles within the existing set of rules, and by so doing, allowing these rules to be challenged. Donor (73%) and government (27%) investments into the programme amounted to $35 million during the period 1989 to 2003. Since 2003 however, donor funding has been reduced to <$600,000 over the past 5 years.

Read the full article

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Oct 18 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

It is emerging that the effects of the drought on the country’s elephant population goes beyond familiar causes of mortality - death from starvation or killing arising from human wildlife conflict. The recent rise in poaching incidents in the country has been linked to the rising demand for ivory which is attributed to the influx of Chinese nationals working in Kenya.

Information coming in from the field particularly here in Tsavo blames the rise of poaching on the prolonged drought and brings in a new twist to this worrying trend -a new category of poachers and new drivers. The photos below of elephant carcasses were taken at Ziwani area, outside Tsavo West National Park where most of the Park elephants migrated to during the drought in search of food and water. I am informed that Masai herdsmen who lost most of their livestock during this spell (thereby losing their sole means of livelihood) are the new category of ‘unwilling’ poachers.

The herdsmen, faced with starvation and extreme poverty cannot resist the extra shilling that they are being enticed with by Chinese nationals working in a nearby construction project. It is evident from the crime scene and the carcass that these elephants were killed using spears in a struggle that must have required several men to execute. These are not the ivory poachers we have known for decades who mostly use automatic weapons to kill elephants and have no time for concealing the carcass with twigs as shown above. As Dr Richard Leakey puts it “..People are increasingly becoming desperate and are therefore getting more involved in poaching to put food on the table. The current drought in Kenya has made the situation even worse”

Though we have blamed drought for death of elephants, pastoralist who lost their livelihood from this drought are definitely a new threat that we will need to address seriously if they are to resist the extra shilling from the Chinese. It is the pastoralists who live in the rangelands with most of Kenya’s elephant population outside parks and they could pose a big threat to elephants. Since they are far away from the eyes of KWS Rangers, they are able to kill elephants and conceal the crime. That is why most of these cases go unreported yet we recover ivory on transit heading for export market almost every month. It imperative that the pastoralist be assisted to start new sustainable sources of livelihoods to dissuade them from falling prey to the Chinese workers who are spread across the country in remote areas where they are undertaking construction projects for the government.

Technorati : Dr Leakey, Ivory, KWS, Kenya, Rangers, Tsavo, drought, elephant, elephant poaching, ivory trade, livelihood loss, livestock, starvation

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Oct 17 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

Remember this?

The image above (elephant calf dying from starvation) could be the last for this drought as the much awaited rains started a few days ago in some parts of Tsavo. Yesterday, as I drove through Tsavo West National Park on Voi-Taveta Rd, I counted dozens on zebras, impalas, gazelle, buffaloes (I thought all had died in the drought from the number of I carcasses that I counted the last few months) and a family of elephants with five calves! While we lost millions of livestock, wildlife have proved be resilient enough to survive in our troubled rangelands. Why should we invest heavily on livestock only to lose them all during drought, which is becoming a permanent phenomenon in the semi-arid areas these days? A good reason why we need to rethink about wildlife husbandry so that Kenyans can get direct economic benefits from raising and/or protecting wildlife.

Iregi Mwenja

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Sep 17 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

The East African Wildife Society is implementing a conservation and alternative livelihoods project that is aimed at eliminating the growing illegal commercial bushmeat trade in Taveta. Bushmeat, popular known as ‘katia katia’ swahili for chops is commonly sold in villages by poachers who hunt in the nearby Tsavo West National Park and Ziwani Estate. Studies have shown that the problem is caused by two main drivers; poverty and food insecurity (lack of access to protein).

This EAWLS project has three strategies of fighting this menace;

• Alternative protein and livelihood promotion mainly fish farming and chicken production

• Capacity building for community CBOs through training and material and technical support

• Awareness raising using locally acceptable outreach strategies like drama, film shows and talks in schools

This week we are conducting a training workshop aimed at equipping the community with fish farming skill, small business enterprises management skills and organization capacity strengthening.

Iregi Mwenja

Project Manager

Technorati : Community workshop, Taveta, bushmeat, fish farming, poaching

4 responses so far

Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Sep 15 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

Yesterday marks a milestone for the Taveta Conservation and Alternative Livelihood project. After weeks of consultation, ponds rehabilitation, training and partnership building, the first two women groups received quality fingerlings to start their alternative protein and income project. Murunganyiko and Marekero women groups were the lucky beneficiary.

This project is building partnership with local community in an effort to eradicate the illegal bushmeat trade in Taveta. The project’s approach is to integrate awareness rising and generation of alternative livelihoods in order to reduce the consumption of bushmeat and ultimately eliminate poaching of wildlife for meat in and around Tsavo West National Park.

The quality fish fingerlings were sourced from Bamburi’s Haller Park hatchery. They breed mostly Tilapia for aquaculture and aquarium.

Despite spending 7 hours on the road driving alone from Mombasa to Taveta carrying this delicate cargo and spending a similar amount of time in the morning preparing for the travel and the community training workshop scheduled to start tomorrow, the grin of the face of the women who the received the fingerlings and immediately introduced them to their ponds took the fatigue away as I headed straight to my hotel at around 20:00hours for a meeting with Bidii youth group leaders who had been waiting for me since midday.

That was a day well spent:)

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Sep 13 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

By Dauti Kahura

This year is tough for wildlife. Thousands have died from hunger and thirst due to drought while others play hide and seek to avoid humans who hunt them for food.

Even baboons, monkeys and chimps that once were common along major highways have taken cover.

Conservationists say besides drought, the rapid growth in wildlife meat trade is the other danger facing wildlife.

The growth, they say, is buoyed by the ‘free resource’; hunger and perceptions bush meat is tastier.

“It has now become an informal industry founded on what is regarded as a free resource,” says a biologist, Mr Iregi Mwenja.

He says recent media reports that Nairobi is the hub of game meat and consumption are .. Read More

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Aug 31 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

Slobbering, panting and blinking in the dawn light, the latest weapon in the fight against poachers emerged from the belly of a Kenya Airways jumbo jet.

Packed in two wooden crates, Pension and Drastic, two six-year-old British bloodhounds, got their first glimpse of Kenya last week as they began their new lives helping to protect the country’s wildlife.

After years of decline, poaching is on the increase, and the dogs will be deployed to hunt ivory and bushmeat poachers across a landscape famous for its elephants and home to Kenya’s ……. Read more

Technorati : Bushmeat, Bushmeat trade, Ivory Poaching, Kenya, Poachers, Wildlife Conservation

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Aug 30 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

On Tuesday, August 25^th the East African Wildlife Society, Monsanto Fund and the Taveta community formally launched the Taveta Conservation and Alternative Livelihood Project. The project main goal is to reduce bushmeat poaching through awareness rising, training and provision of alternative protein and income through working with local partners. The event was also the handover ceremony for the Ksh. 4 million check from Monsanto Fund to EAWLS. It was attended by Monsanto’s Mr Kinyua M’Mbijjewe and Mr Daniel Otunge, myself for EAWLS, Area Councilor, Area Chief, Fisheries Officers, Community leaders among others.

Below are photo of the launch,

The planning

Technorati : Alternative livelihood, Bushmeat, Community, East African Wildlife Society, Monsanto, Taveta, fish farming

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Category: Bushmeat kenya | Date: Aug 15 2009 | By: bushmeateastafrica

I have spent the last week in the field working with communities on a bushmeat project that is supporting alternative sustainable livelihoods. Here is a sneak peek of the consultation that is going on!

Technorati : Bushmeat trade, EAWLS, Kenya, Poaching, Taveta, food security

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