NOTES FROM THE FIELD
For those of us working to support national and international biodiversity conservation efforts, particularly to combat wildlife poaching and trafficking, October 2018 was another milestone month. With the
London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT)
, global attention once again focused on the continuing battle to protect endangered and threatened wildlife species from the harm caused by an estimated $20 billion annual illicit global criminal network.
First Lady Melania Trump visited Kenya and Nairobi National Park
, where she engaged with Kenya's First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and Kenya Wildlife Service (KSW) leadership, and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. In London, United States' Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a
statement
on behalf of the U.S. government, which drew on the rich and significant history the U.S. has placed on wildlife protection and pledged $90 million worth of global projects to combat IWT in the coming year.
The incredible stories in this month’s newsletter demonstrate a range of partnerships which are making a difference.
Frontline protection
continues to be a high-priority, with support to Kenyan regional organizations like the Northern Rangeland's Trust (NRT), Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) and the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (AET), working through partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, Big Life and African Wildlife Foundation. We also support
anti-poaching initiatives
with both the Tsavo Trust and Tsavo Conservation Group, as well as others through Elephant Crisis Fund. In these landscapes, critical habitat for elephant and rhino among many others, USAID supports community conservancy capacity for local governance, anti-poaching, and sustainable development. Special emphasis is placed on ensuring rangers have both the training and equipment they need to carry out their duties. Working in close partnership with the KWS, USAID recently rolled out a new, $5 million award to ensure Kenya remains a leader, and improves capacity, in
ranger training, forensic evidence and prosecutorial capabilities
. With the Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Association, USAID recognizes the importance of the policy and regulatory enabling environment, and we'll continue to support development of critical regulations under the Wildlife Management Act of 2013, as well as roll-out of the new
National Wildlife Conservation and Management Strategy
, also supported by USAID working in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. Our
grants to Kenyan researchers
, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, are yielding incredible results, as you'll see from the DNA- bushmeat story below.
On the diplomatic front,
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec
continues to place wildlife conservation as one of his top priorities, through the recent formation of the private-sector led Conservation Innovations Group, as well as in
direct policy dialogue with the Government of Kenya
. Just last week, Ambassador Godec and I met with Mr. John Waithaika, Chairman of the Board of the KWS, to hear about the progress of this critical parastatal charged with wildlife conservation in Kenya. We also delivered an important message: the U.S. government, while congratulating KWS for meeting it's reporting requirements under the CITES' National Ivory Action Plan process, also made clear that Kenya now has an opportunity to ensure that the gains it has made in reducing poaching over the past six years do not backslide.
In this moment Kenya has the opportunity to demonstrate global leadership by investing in wildlife conservation
, both through properly funding KWS and through careful development planning which prioritizes and recognizes the important economic and intrinsic value of wildlife, and wildlife habitat, for Kenya's future.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and as always, we
welcome your feedback
and opportunities to create new linkages and partnerships.
|
|
Juniper Neill
Environment Office Chief
USAID KENYA and EAST AFRICA
|
|
|
In 2017 Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT) conservancies had the lowest number of elephants poached since 2007, and the Kenya Wildlife Service confirmed an increase in the numbers of elephants and reticulated giraffe populations in the ecosystem in which NRT conservancies reside. A number of hardworking people contributed to these results. The story of one of those people is below. Experience USAID's latest Exposure impact piece by clicking on
An End to Poaching
.
|
|
An end to Poaching by USAID publications on Exposure
Josphine Ekiru was once held captive by elephant poachers. She saved her life armed only with words.
Read more
usaidpubs.exposure.co
|
|
|
|
|
|
PUTTING IN PLACE THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND TOOLS TO COMBAT WILDLIFE CRIME
|
The WILD App.
USAID supported the development, testing and rollout of the Wildlife Information and Landscape Database (WILD) to combat wildlife trafficking. WILD is a simple smart phone app for real-time biodiversity data collection, monitoring, analysis, and reporting. Mara community rangers are using the app to strengthen existing wildlife anti-poaching and human wildlife conflict deterrent efforts in Maasai Mara.
The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) and the USAID PREPARED project (Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development) trained 12 conservancy managers and 159 rangers on the use of the WILD application. A total of 63 ranger teams covering 12 conservancies have a smartphone installed with the WILD application for data collection during their patrols.
Headquarters Opening - Maasai Mara
Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association recently celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Aitong, Maasai Mara. The USAID-supported headquarters provides an operation base for MMWCA, whose mandate is to bring together key stakeholders in an all-inclusive manner for conservation and improved livelihoods of the people in the Mara. The new headquarters enable MMWCA to engage with and support communities from a local home base for the first time since MMWCA was established in 2013.
Watch
a video of the opening celebrations by clicking to the right.
|
|
|
TSAVO CONSERVATION AREA GAINS 15 NEW FIELD SCOUTS -
Kenya Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Academy hosts graduation ceremony for new community rangers
|
The newly graduated Tsavo Trust community rangers work alongside Kenya Wildlife Service rangers to protect and manage Kenya's extraordinary wildlife and conservation areas.
USAID supports efforts in two community conservancies under the Tsavo Trust ‘Tackling Wildlife Crime By Enhancing the Community Conservation Movement in Tsavo East’ program as an integral step to sustaining Kenya's biodiversity for the benefit of all. The program helps to create secure buffers bordering the formal Protected Area while generating economic opportunities for communities that live alongside National Park boundaries. The 15 recent graduates are members of the Shirango and Kamungi community conservancies bordering Tsavo East.
|
|
Tsavo Trust Scouts, Simon Musyoki Koti (left) and Johnson Parkusaa (right), received top awards during the KWS graduation ceremony. Simon won "Best in Drill and Turnout" and Johnson received "Best All Around."
|
|
Pangolins are the most widely trafficked mammal in the world. Covered from head to tail with large protective scales, they are anteaters that walk on their back two legs and are quick to roll themselves into a ball if attacked -- but that only saves them from other animals.
To stop the poaching and trafficking of this unique animal, USAID, Interpol, and partners are working with police and wildlife agencies from across Africa and Asia to share information on the import and export of illegal wildlife species shipments. As a result of a July 2018 meeting in Malawi, Interpol now has a list of seven companies involved in the illegal trade of more than 15 tons of pangolin scales between Africa and Asia.
USAID supports INTERPOL's Environmental Security Program to enhance regional law enforcement capacity building efforts, and advance transcontinental capacity to address the illegal wildlife trade between Africa and Asia. INTERPOL equips national enforcement agencies with the necessary technical knowledge and skills to conduct intelligence-led investigations and enforcement actions across borders and in collaboration with other agencies and countries around the globe.
|
|
The University of Washington is genetically tracking the illegal pangolin trade to identify poaching hotspots.
Visit
USAID's Natural Resources Management Development Portal to learn more.
|
|
One giant framed by another: Mt Kenya, the tallest peak...
@pedromcbride "One giant framed by another: Mt Kenya, the tallest peak in this country looms over 17,000 feet..."
Read more
www.instagram.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Geographic filmmaker Peter McBride was in Kenya for the month of October to capture footage for an upcoming USAID-supported documentary series on the community conservancy movement of northern Kenya which has transformed a once intensely conflict-prone region, rife with poaching and lack of economic opportunity, into a vast landscape of opportunity. Stay tuned for more fantastic shots like the one above over the coming months, culminating in the premier of the documentary in May 2019.
|
|
10 Women for SDG 10
With USAID support, the Northern Rangelands Trust supports resilient community conservancies and contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 10: reducing inequality within and among countries. The Facebook posts below showcase 10 strong women who contribute to and embody SDG10. To see all #10Women posts, visit NRT's
Facebook page
. Learn more about NRT by visiting their newly redesigned
webpage
. NRT's work is also highlighted above in the opening story,
an End to Poaching
.
|
|
Board Chair to Peace Ambassador: Communities and Rhinos Win
#10Women "Our society is now changing and starting to see the value of women's leadership. At first they would ask - how can a woman lead us? By my second term, I was elected unopposed...
Read more
www.facebook.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Star-beader" Finds Financial Stability and Gives Back
#10Women "These days, we rarely ask the men for anything, they say: these women are now supporting themselves!"- Josephine Aliyaro, Star Beader, Salamis Women's Group
Read more
www.facebook.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION WORKING WITH LUMO CONSERVANCY
|
Transforming Lumo Conservancy
USAID is partnering with the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) through the Community Conservancy Seed Grant Program to advance local leadership and improve community governance systems in critical wildlife ecosystems and corridors. AWF is supporting the Lumo Conservancy Board of Directors to develop and implement a highly strategic, transparent, and community-focused management system that will benefit both people and wildlife. USAID support focuses on institutional strengthening and the provision of necessary equipment and training for the conservancy to carry out its mandate. Improved conservancy operations have resulted in a doubling of revenue to local communities, leading to a variety of benefits including the procurement of desks for the nearby Kongoni Primary school.
The partnership also supported eight scouts to participate in the Kenya Wildife Service scout training program highlighted above. The eight graduates will help manage and protect the LUMO Conservancy for the benefit of the community and the Conservancy’s rich natural landscape, a critical wildlife dispersal and migratory region of the greater Tsavo Conservation Area.
|
|
Click
here
to find out more about African Wildlife Foundation and USAID's recent vehicle donation.
Below, Ms. Malemba from Lumo conservancy received an award for best student in academics.
|
|
DNA PAVES THE WAY FOR PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED WILDLIFE
|
Obscuring the identity of bushmeat has become a successful workaround for many traffickers of endangered wildlife throughout Africa. Even when there is suspicion that confiscated products are illegal in nature, inspectors lack the certainty needed to prosecute the offenders. Dr. Henry Ndithia at the National Museums of Kenya is spearheading a team determined to put an end to this uncertainty that thwarts law enforcement efforts. In partnership with USAID/Kenya & East Africa, the
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research
(PEER) program, Kenya Wildlife Services, and the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Ndithia is on a mission to sequence the DNA from all endangered wildlife throughout Kenya. A sister team in Tanzania hopes to do the same. This database of ‘DNA barcodes’ has already empowered law enforcement to prosecute traffickers using DNA evidence and subsequent nationwide training amongst wildlife officials and courtroom prosecutors aims to phase in DNA testing as standard practice. Dr. Ndithia is confident this will detract many from poaching activities as the prosecution rate rises through the use of DNA forensic evidence.
|
|
PARTNERSHIPS FOR ENHANCED ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH - DNA barcoding to combat wildlife crime. Click above to read.
|
|
ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE CONFERENCE LONDON 2018: VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
|
Kenyan community conservation members and rangers traveled to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London to share their on-the-ground experiences in conservation management. Watch by clicking on the video to the right. Dickson Ole Kaelo of
Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association
introduces the panel.
"It is vital that governments: recognize and guarantee community rights to land and to manage and benefit from wildlife; give status to indigenous and local knowledge in equal measure to scientific knowledge for conserving wild species in the face of combating the illegal wildlife trade and broader conservation threats, and include and give an equal voice to communities in international meetings like this and recognize us as equal partners in conserving our wildlife on our land,” said Mr. Ole Kaelo.
|
|
The UK Government hosted an international conference about the illegal wildlife trade from October 11 - 12 in London. The conference brought together global leaders to help eradicate illegal wildlife trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.
Find out more about the conference
here
. Click abov
e to listen to the community and ranger panel.
|
|
The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has a negative impact on African economies and their development. It destroys ecosystems and biodiversity, undermines institutions, and channels scarce state resources away from critical social programmes. In Africa, elephant poaching alone is estimated to cost between £3-5 billion per year in lost natural capital
. Source: The Independent.
Read more
Over 50 countries have adopted the
London 2018 declaration
committing to action to protect endangered species around the globe, with more expected to sign today and in the coming days. Source: Gov.UK.
Read more
Last week, our wildlife and forest campaigners were at the 70th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC70) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (
CITES
) in Sochi, Russia. This is a major event in our calendar and in the world of conservation in general.
Read more
The world is rapidly running out of time to scale back greenhouse gas emissions, dimming hopes of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, beyond which catastrophic planetary changes. Source: Huffington Post.
Read more
Increased amounts of ivory are flowing into China from Myanmar, according to a new publication by Save the Elephants. The report ‘
Myanmar’s Growing Illegal Ivory Trade with China
’ released today (subs: October 2, 2018) shows that one town in particular, Mong La - a frontier town in the notorious Golden Triangle on the border of China - has experienced a ‘prolific growth’ in ivory trading. The number of new ivory items seen for sale in the town grew by 63% in three years, and now accounts for over a third of the ivory seen in the country. Source: Save the Elephants.
Read more
|
|
USAID Kenya and East Africa Environment Office | www.usaid.gov/east-africa-regional/environment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
