April 2020
 NOTES FROM THE FIELD - COVID-19

Greetings from Nairobi! 

Around the world, people are uniting to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections and keep their neighbors safe. East Africa is no exception.

USAID and partners are trying to strike the difficult balance of continuing essential services while maintaining social distancing.

Our partner Northern Rangelands Trus t is helping northern and coastal community conservancies take preventative measures against COVID-19. One way they are doing that is by searching for ways to help them weather the economic blow of a sudden drop in tourism. (For more on the possible global economic impact of COVID-19, view Moody's COVID-19 Impact Heatmap .)

Our partner Internews is raising awareness of COVID-19 throughout East Africa and helping journalists find conservation stories that still resonate in the midst of a pandemic.

Our partner Kenya Wildlife Service is modeling how to hand wash in rural locations.

On a global level, the State Department and USAID recently pledged $274 million in health and humanitarian assistance  to help countries respond to COVID-19 .

Read more below.

Wishing you all health and safety,
Aurelia Micko
Environment Office Chief
USAID Kenya and East Africa
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
COMMUNITY CONSERVANCIES PREPARE FOR THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19
In Northern Kenya, USAID-supported Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) is rushing to prepare the 39 community conservancies they support for the immediate impacts of COVID-19. For the water-scarce, health-facility-poor and prone-to-conflict area, that means installing critical village-level hygiene stations and assisting community members with transport to health facilities. It also means increasing community policing and encouraging active peace ambassadors.
 
Then there's the fallout from no tourism and disrupted enterprise markets. Similar to many places around the world, Kenyans will lose jobs and households will struggle to meet basic needs as a result of the epidemic. In rural northern Kenya where the population is especially vulnerable, the security of people and wildlife will be at risk.
 
NRT is proposing an emergency fund to help mitigate the risk and is working closely with the Government of Kenya to support policies, laws and finance that promote national security.
Above, an aerial view of bomas (homesteads) near Sarara in Namunyak Community Conservancy, Samburu County.

 Most of the communities NRT supports are in remote locations with little access to water, transportation, or medical infrastructure. They are vulnerable on a daily basis and COVID-19 will compound that vulnerability.

Photo credit: NRT/Juan Pablo Moreiras
TELLING CONSERVATION STORIES IN THE AGE OF COVID-19
USAID supports Internews, through its Earth Journalism Network (ENJ), to improve the calibre of conservation reporting. That task just became harder with COVID-19.

The Earth Journalism Network is preparing a series of webinars with journalists in Asia and Africa on how to cover wildlife and conservation stories during a crisis. The network is also introducing journalists to resources and experts on wildlife, conservation and COVID -19.

Interested in the connection between wildlife trafficking and zoonotic diseases, particularly COVID-19? Read the ENJ article: Coronavirus outbreak may spur Southeast Asian action on wildlife trafficking and check out all the latest news below including The coronavirus pandemic a nd wildlife trade - TRAFFIC’s perspective and How climate change and wildlife influence the coronavirus , by Axios.
A message from ENJ on COVID-19.

Like virtually everyone else these days, we at Internews’ Earth Journalism Network have seen our work and personal lives greatly disrupted by the growing outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
We realize it’s a trying time for everyone, particularly journalists who are trying to cover developments in an informed and accurate way. We also realize the more traditional environmental stories we’ve long tried to prioritize may take a backseat for the moment.

earthjournalism.net
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE RANGERS LEAD THROUGH EXAMPLE
Hand-washing station installed and social distancing observed
KWS on Twitter

The world has taken a back seat to #Covid who has taken the wheel & is a terrible driver. Rangers in S. Turkana Reserve kill four birds with one wash: employ handwashing guidelines; social distancing; conservation by watering trees & innovation...

Read more
twitter.com
TECHNICAL RESOURCES
USAID RESPONDS TO THE COVID-19 VIRUS
Find out what USAID is doing to help countries prepare for COVID-19 by clicking above.
As of March 27, USAID and the U.S. State Department have committed $274 million to help countries respond to COVID-19.

"Because an infection disease threat anywhere can be a threat everywhere."
COUNTERING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING THROUGH KENYA'S PORTS - A RAPID SEIZURES ANALYSIS
Countering Wildlife Trafficking Through Kenya's Ports  provides essential information on wildlife trafficking via Kenya’s seaports, mainly the Port of Mombasa and the evidence of its role in wildlife trafficking.

While there have been no reported seizures linked to the Port of Mombasa since 2017, illegal wildlife trade may still be moving through the port. The lack of reporting means that if seizures were made, they have not been reported.

The analysis within this paper provides key information on trafficking routes and concealment methods that have been used to move illicit wildlife products from and via Kenya to consumer countries.

USAID supports TRAFFIC 's mission of ensuring that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
Countering wildlife trafficking through Kenya's ports -...

Wildlife Trade Specialists Mombasa, Kenya, 24th March 2020⁠ -this paper formed the basis of discussions at the Mombasa Port Stakeholders Workshop in Kenya to Combat Wildlife Trafficking on 23rd-25th October 2019.

Read more
www.traffic.org
ENVIRONMENT NEWS AND OPINION ROUNDUP
(Articles and headlines are taken directly from the sources cited)

A new coronavirus, designated SARS-CoV-2, is causing a worldwide health pandemic with people infected by a new disease known as Covid-19, which can have fatal consequences.
As of 24th March 2020, 16,365 human fatalities had been reported across more than 150 countries with over 378,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Source: Traffic. Read more


The  coronavirus  spreading from China has sickened at least 73,000 people and killed at least 2,000, setting in motion a global health emergency. But humans aren’t the only species infected. Source: New York Times. Read more


As habitat and biodiversity loss increase globally, the coronavirus outbreak may be just the beginning of mass pandemics. Source: The Guardian. Read more


The good news is, climate change is not directly at play with the coronavirus. The bad news: we humans are still root drivers in pandemics like this one.

Driving the news: Buying, selling and consuming wild animals, such as at the  Wuhan, China , market  where this novel coronavirus is believed to have originated, is increasingly spreading deadly infectious diseases, experts say.

By the numbers: Zoonotic diseases — those spread from animals to humans — have “quadrupled in the last 50 years, mostly in tropical regions,”  according to a letter  more than 100 wildlife and environmental groups sent to Congress this week. Source: Axios. Read more
Freeland Founder Steven Galster explains the link between COVID 19 and wildlife markets. Watch .

Freeland protects vulnerable people and wildlife from organized crime and corruption, while revitalizing ecosystems and communities for a more secure world. Its vision is a world free of wildlife trafficking and human slavery.
USAID Kenya and East Africa Environment | www.usaid.gov/east-africa-regional/environment