Conservation and Management Strategy for the Elephant in Kenya

36 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE ELEPHANT IN KENYA
3.3 Strategic Objectives
[ BELOW ] Plate 31.
KWS armed rangers tracking poachers foot mark
in Isiolo area, Northern Kenya - Charles Ooro,
Kenya Wildlife Service
3.3.1 Protection
[ OPPOSITE RIGHT ] Plate 32.
Defensive elephant behaviour.
- Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Save the Elephants
Protect elephant populations
by minimising poaching through
effective law enforcement
measures and stakeholder
collaboration.
Rationale and considerations
The 1970s and 1980s were a catastrophic period for elephants in Kenya, resulting in the loss of 88% of the population
over a period of just 20 years, due to poaching by heavily armed gangs. This poaching was stimulated by
international trade in ivory, apathy, lack of effective governance and an ineffective security force. These criminal
gangs, through the sale of ivory, were able to purchase more weapons and fund criminal activities that included the
theft of livestock and other property, and the terrorizing of rural communities. The formation of KWS in 1989, its
security department and armed wing (with automatic weapons, equal to the firepower of the gangs) was a
milestone, with dramatic improvements in wildlife security, which was focused on elephant in gazetted PAs. Law
enforcement and a CITES ban on international ivory trade led to a decline in poaching pressure and this resulted in
elephant population recovery in Kenya. Success in curbing poaching related to the establishment of an effective,
well-equipped, resourced and deployed paramilitary force, combined with an intelligence partnership with local
communities and landowners.
The rationale for the current strategy is to consolidate this successful policy and sustain its impact in the face of
increasing poaching pressure and renewed proliferation of firearms through a force modernisation programme.
A key priority is to secure former range areas in northern Kenya for elephants to move in and thus relieve pressure in
the existing core populations in Central Kenya. It is clear that demand for ivory is threatening elephant populations
across the African continent. Indeed, there have been major ivory seizures recorded elsewhere in the world,
identification of active major ivory transit routes to Ethiopia, Somalia and elsewhere, active ivory markets in China
(found to be importing raw and recently poached stocks) and Japan (seemingly legal with working of old or ‘legal’
ivory) and, a price increase in ivory raising concerns that commodity speculators may be buying ivory as a bolster
against the recession.The need for greater stakeholder collaboration, especially across borders is emphasised by the
increased threat to elephants from unstable neighbouring countries.
To counter this trend, Kenya will be more active on the diplomatic front with major consumer countries such as
China which is becoming a major trading partner, as well as focusing on enhanced elephant security. Area-specific
strategies will need to be developed with strategic deployment of security units, intelligence cells and investigation
units, particularly in the north of the country, with enhanced fire power and aircraft based surveillance to enable
expansion of elephant distribution. Capacity will be improved through routine induction of new rangers and focused