Wildlife Conservation in Kenya: from Ecology to Economy
This past summer I had the incredible experience to spend a week in Kenya. My family and I spent many long days out on Safari; photographing everything and regretting nothing. For me, it was a dream come true. Ever since a young age, I had always dreamt of traveling to Africa. What made it so special for me was the wildlife. After all, the environment in Africa is so vastly different compared to what we see in the Northwest. Africa shows a much larger scale of biodiversity, predation, and for me, excitement.
When it comes to wildlife conservation, Kenya is a strong example. Although the country still struggles with poaching and habitat loss, its network of fenced reserves is one to be envious of. My family and I had the excellent opportunity to visit the incredible Lewa Conservancy, a location that harbors 10% of Kenya’s rhino population and 20% of the world’s endangered Grevy’s Zebras. Being a fenced-in location, Lewa works to keep the animals within the bounds but also constructs fenced corridors to other important parks, maintaining past migratory routes.
By far, the biggest issue facing Kenya’s wildlife is the growing human population. As Kenya’s population grows, urban sprawl becomes an issue. An excessive amount of land is taken up for farming and little is left for the remaining animals. Eventually, this growth draws to a halt as villages and farms push up against protected land. It is on these borders that most issues occur. Poachers, desperate for some extra cash, sneak into the park at night to grab some ivory or loot a pelt. Even worse, as much of Kenya is still developing, common people enter the reserves to hunt the grazing ungulates for bushmeat in a process called subsistence poaching. This constant hunt threatens many of Kenya’s species, making it extremely important for conservancies to connect with the people on their border.
The Lewa Conservancy is an impressive example of this. Much of its revenue goes into fueling the native population, whether that be by building schools, hiring locals as anti-poachers, or by providing food to those that need it most. Lewa works to create a symbiotic relationship with its surrounding groups. It is for this reason that they have not seen a single poaching incident in the last six years. Once the locals see the value in having the conservancy around, they no longer violate its rules.
I spoke this summer with the world’s leading lion expert, Craig Packer. He holds a very interesting opinion on the future of wildlife conservation. From what I gathered from him, he believes that conservation will become nothing more than a game of economics. The more that conservancies like Lewa can control the financial situation of the area in which it is located, the better the area will fare. He even recommended to me that if I intend to go into conservation biology, I should first follow the path of an economics major.
With much of Africa’s wildlife in decline, now is the time to act. Unfortunately, at this critical period, funding for wildlife is lower than necessary. It's hard to see what exactly the future will hold for Kenya’s wildlife. But if more places like Lewa emerge, I’m sure it will be a
positive one.
Written by Anders Larson
Photos taken by Anders Larson
