Henry Neondo in Africa Science News: Kenya has started the process of developing the country’s first ever National Wildlife Climate Change Adaption Strategy. The process is spearheaded by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in conjunction with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) and other stakeholders.The strategy is aimed at inspiring and enabling wildlife resource managers and other decision makers to take the much-needed actions in order to adapt to the changing climate and preserve the precious wildlife resource for posterity. Such adaptation actions are fundamental towards sustaining Kenya’s ecosystems and wildlife resources as well as the livelihoods and values that the wildlife provides.
Speaking while opening the National Wildlife Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Inception workshop in Nanyuki, the KWS Deputy Director in charge of Biodiversity, Research and Monitoring Dr. Samuel Kasiki said apart from poaching, climate change is another silent threat to Kenya’s wildlife.
The workshop, which brought together wildlife and tourism stakeholders, university scholars, conservation scientists and key policy makers from across the country discussed the impacts of climate change to the country’s wildlife and the various ways of mitigating the adverse effects brought about by them.
In emphasizing the importance of the Strategy, the KWS Assistant Director for Ecosystems Conservation and Management Dr. Erustus Kanga, pointed out that over the years, Kenya has suffered greatly from the effects of climate change, These include loss of wildlife as a result of prolonged drought, increased cases of human wildlife conflict due to change in wildlife migratory patterns and change in home ranges, increased wildfires and invasive species as well as extreme weather patterns and events that have negatively impacted on the country’s infrastructure...
A lion in Kenya, shot by Paul Mannix, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
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