The continuing drought in most regions within the country is fueling human-wildlife conflicts and something needs to be done sooner rather than later. 2023 is the fifth consecutive year of below-average rains, largely brought on by continuing climate change. This makes the drought ravaging parts of Kenya one of the worst in over 40 years, something that is affecting both the human and wildlife populations. At the moment, wild animals such as elephants are forced to wander into human settlements in a bid to look for water and food, often resulting in human-wildlife clashes. Worse yet, the effects of the drought are also being felt by pastoralist communities that are in turn encroaching on wildlife reserves.
The Kenya Wildlife Service recently acknowledged the crisis in a statement that read in part;
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‘KWS takes this opportunity to notify the public that the ongoing dry spell is displacing wildlife from their habitats in search of pasture and water. This has increased human-wildlife conflict as the wildlife comes into contact with members of the public and human activities.
KWS data reports that between 2020 and 2022, over 370 individuals lost their lives from attacks by wild animals while over 2,000 were left injured. Consequently, compensation demands from the government have risen from Ksh 147 million in 2014-2015 to over Ksh 561 million by 2019/2020, either pointing to increased reporting from victims or an increasing number of victims. Either way, the situation is teetering on dangerous levels- both for wildlife and humans.
The government through the Kenya Wildlife Service has made attempts to devise measures to tackle the situation. These strategies include the equipment of KWS rangers with the required resources for swift responses when a wildlife report occurs, tracking of problematic animals, and the deployment of additional rangers to supply food and water to animals living within protected areas. However, the continued rise in the number of deaths and injuries points to these strategies not being enough.
The lives on the two sides of the divide are lives we are intent on protecting, at all costs. Let us come together to approach this issue with the urgency it deserves as we cannot afford to lose any more lives.