Extincting Africa? What it means to have a 4 Degree Warmer World

Njenga Hakeenah

19^th November 2013

Africa, a continent which is among the poorest of continents, has its future teetering as the financial burden on several fronts soar.

Unless something is done urgently, a warmer globe will mean huge financial challenges in adapting to climate change for a continent which emits the least of greenhouse gas emissions.

These aftermath of a 4 degree warmer world are contained in a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that spells out the costs faced by the continent if governments fail to close the “emissions gap” to keep warming below 2°C. 

Njoro township in Nakuru. This would be come a costly town to live in
due to degradation and limited resources   Photo: Njenga Hakeenah  

Adaptation costs for Africa could reach approximately USD $ 350 billion annually by 2070. This is if the two-degree target will be significantly exceeded, while the cost would be around USD $150 billion lower per year if the target was to be met.

The report; Africa’s Adaptation Gap, released today and endorsed by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) whose secretariat is hosted by UNEP, confirms the World Bank’s Turn Down the Heat Reports that there is a 40 per cent chance that we will inhabit a ‘3.5-4°C World’ if mitigation efforts are not stepped up from current levels. 

The African continent already faces adaptation costs in the range of US $7-15 billion per year by 2020. These costs will rise rapidly after 2020, since higher levels of warming will result in higher impacts. 
The combination of adaptation costs with “residual” damages could reach 4 per cent of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2100, under a 3.5-4°C scenario. 

 If no adaptation measures are taken, damages are expected to cost 7 per cent of African GDP by 2100 in a ‘3.5-4°C World’, according to the Africa Gap report.

The report further cautions that, even if the world does manage to get on track to keep warming below 2°C, Africa’s adaptation costs will still hover around USD $35 billion per year by the 2040s and USD $200 billion per year by the 2070s —with total costs reaching 1 per cent of the continent’s GDP by 2100.

“Missing the 2°C window  will not only cost governments billions of dollars but will risk the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people on the African continent and elsewhere,” said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner.  

 “Even with a warming scenario of under 2°C by 2050, Africa’s undernourished would increase 25 - 90 per cent. Crop production will be reduced across much of the continent as optimal growing temperatures are exceeded. The capacity of African communities to cope with the impacts of climate change will be significantly challenged.”

“I would like to welcome the decision by AMCEN to endorse the recommendations of the Africa Gap report; an important step towards strengthening political will and building resilient national policies.”

“Additional adaptation funding and technical know-how are imperative if Africa is to move towards a climate-resilient green future path. There is for example a need to develop drought-resistant crops, build early warning systems, invest in renewable energy sources and ensure that the catastrophic impacts of climate change are controlled or, better still, avoided ,” he added.

UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report -  launched days ahead of the UN Climate Conference in Warsaw – analyzes in much more detail and confirms that current pledges by individual countries to limit emissions by 2020 would lead to a global temperature increase of about3.5-4°C warming by 2100 – unless emissions are reduced now and substantially reduced afterwards.

Even if nations meet their current climate pledges, greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 are likely to be 8 to 12 gigatonnes of CO₂  (GtCO₂e) above the level that would provide a likely chance of remaining on the least-cost pathway consistent with holding warming below 2°C. 

Dubai Downtown Night Scene. Most of  Dubai's energy
is diesel generated  Photo: Get in Travel

“Africa cannot risk failure of implementing serious adaptation measures, especially with Africa’s predicted population rise of 2 billion by 2050 and the current ecosystem degradation trajectory,” said President of AMCEN and Minister of State for the Environment, United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Terezya L. Huvisa.

Africa Warming

In a ‘3.5-4°C World’, Africa’s coastline is expected to undergo sea-level rise 10 per cent higher than the rest of the world, with several countries particularly hard hit. 

In Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and The Gambia, up to 10 per cent of the entire population would risk flooding risks annually by 2100.

Arid areas in Africa, which already represent about half of the continent’s land area, are expected to increase by 4 per cent. 

If we enter a ‘3°C World’, effectively all of the present maize, millet, and sorghum cropping areas across Africa would become unsustainable for current strains.

In a ‘4°C World’, southern Africa will likely see decreases of up to 30 per cent in rainfall each year. 

At the same time, north, west, and southern Africa will also see declines of 50-70 per cent in groundwater recharge, according to the study.

The study further details how agriculture, fisheries and water access—among other sectors—will be impacted. 

The degree to which these sectors will be impacted will depend on whether commitments are kept and whether better adaptation practices can be implemented.

The study points to a high risk of biodiversity loss, as species may be unable to migrate to suitable climates. 

Up to 97 per cent of the 5,000 plant species studied could undergo range size reductions or shifts, while up to 40 per cent could experience total range elimination by 2085 in a ‘2°C World’ scenario.

At the same time, a ‘3.5-4°C’ scenario projects fish declines in freshwater lakes across places such as Chilwa, Kariba, Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria, which would jeopardize the source of more than 60 per cent of the protein needs of the surrounding communities. 

Perhaps the most drastic example of the effects of climate change in Africa is that coral reefs—which are essential support systems for marine fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection against sea-level rise and storm surges—are projected to be entirely extinct before we even enter a ‘4°C World’.

Adaptation Funding: Opportunities and Challenges 

How well Africa deals with these climate impacts, now and in the future, will be co-determined by the funding it receives. 

Adaptation measures such as early warning systems and coastal zone management to counter sea-level rise offer a possibility of minimizing these impacts, but Africa’s capacity to adapt depends critically on access to funding. 

Traceable funding disbursed in Africa for climate change adaptation through bilateral and multilateral channels for the years 2010 and 2011 amounted to USD $743 and $454 million, respectively, although this figure does not fully account for the funding channeled through Development Finance Institutions, for example the World Bank, or national development banks.

To meet the adaptation costs estimated in the report for Africa by the 2020s, funds disbursed annually would need to grow at an average rate of 10-20 per cent a year from 2011 to the 2020s. 

There is currently no clear, agreed pathway to provide these resources.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s developed country Parties have committed to provide funds rising to USD $ 100 billion annually by 2020 through the “Green Climate Fund”—established by the 2010 Cancun Agreements—from public and private sources, for both adaptation and mitigation actions in across all developing countries by 2020. 

However, rules drawing up the allocation of funding for adaptation have yet to be defined and await negotiation.

At this stage, there is no clear sense of how much of these funds would benefit countries in the African region, nor of the likely allocation between adaptation and mitigation funding. 

Until these issues are resolved it is not possible to assign a share of the USD $100 billion annual commitment by 2020 to Africa.

Assuming funding for adaptation efforts in Africa reached adequate levels by 2020 and assuming the world gets on track to limit warming to below 2°C, annual funding for adaptation efforts in Africa still needs to rise a further 7 per cent a year from the 2020s onwards to keep pace with continuing sea-level rise and warming peaking below 2°C after the 2050s. 

This is considerably less than the funding challenge if the current mitigation efforts were not increased, and warming reached 3.5-4°C by 2100. 

In this case, the scaling up of annual funds would need to be 10 per cent every year after the 2020s.

Challenged Capacity

In all scenarios, the capacity of African communities to cope with the effects of climate change on different economic sectors and human activities is expected to be significantly challenged, and potentially overwhelmed, by the magnitude and rapid onset of climate change impacts.

To reduce the magnitude of the impacts and their repercussions for African livelihoods, adaptation measures at different levels, from households to national and regional levels, are being planned and implemented and need to be further supported and strengthened. 

A shrinking river in Kajiado County, Kenya.  Photo: Njenga Hakeenah

The measures include developing early-warning systems for floods, droughts or fires to help populations anticipate and prepare for the occurrence of extreme events, irrigation, improvement in water storage capacity, reforestation to protect surface water systems, sustainable use of groundwater resources, desalinization of seawater, and rainwater catchments and storage to maintain sufficient and reliable access to freshwater for human and agricultural needs.

Most of the Middle Eastern countries already desalinate their water but it comes at a huge cost to the govt. This would mean it could be unachievable on the continent unless resources are available large scale.

Other measures include city infrastructure protection measures such as seawalls, dykes, wave breakers and other elements of coastal zone management, as well as city-level food storage capacity and urban agriculture to enhance food security and improving design and drainage technology of sanitation facilities to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases in the aftermath of extreme weather events.

The majority of these and other adaptation measures require an anticipatory and planned approach, as well as large investments. The need for planned capital-intensive adaptation is greater at high than low warming levels. 

Dwindling Agricultural output and 40 Million+ Kenyans to feed

Addressing food insecurity in Kenya through seed quality assurance

Njenga Hakeenah

November 15 2013

Since the discovery of the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease MLND in Kenya in the year 2011, efforts to manage it have been in high gear.

This is to ensure that the country does not suffer food insecurity where maize is the staple food.

The Constitution of Kenya declares access to food as one of the basic Human Rights thus underscoring the importance of seeds and agricultural productivity.

Agriculture, livestock and fisheries Cabinet secretary Felix Koskei says globalisation and creation of trade and marketing blocks has expanded the market. Due to this, he says, Kenya envisions becoming “a globally competitive, prosperous country with a high quality of life for all its citizens” by the year 2030, as spelt out in the latest development blueprint: The Kenya Vision 2030.

He adds, “This should serve to encourage collaborators and the private sector to participate in the agricultural industry. This can be attested by the harmonization of seed policies, laws and regulations that have been going on in the EAC, ASARECA, and COMESA which are now in the implementation stage.”

Koskei says this will greatly influence the faster and efficient movement of seed in the region, hence access by the farmer challenging the Seed industry to take up the challenge and satisfy the market needs.

The Kenya Government has established-with funds from the Syngenta and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations established the Naivasha Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening facility.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center CIMMYT's Dr George Mahuku says MLND  affects seed production which in turn affects food security.

Dr. George Mahuku explains the MLND to seed trade stakeholders
at the Marula Farm Test Site in Naivasha Photo: Njenga Hakeenah

“If seed quality is compromised, all other inputs will not help much as the source of crop life is not completely viable to give quality life”, adds Dr. Mahuku. This in turn he says, compromises productivity affecting yields as well as probably contaminating future crops if the seeds are harvested and used later.

In a country where biotechnology is frowned upon and treated with scepticism, Dr. Mahuku opines that it could be the solution to managing MNLD as genetics could play a key role towards this end. He also advocates crop rotation and using clean seeds.

Kenya’s reliance on maize has threatened other food crops-mostly referred to as orphan crops- making it hard to address food insecurity.

Dr James Nyoro, an agronomist says of the overreliance on maize, “When there's no maize, Kenyans say there's no food even when there's a lot of yam.” Nyoro adds Kenyans need to move away from this mentality and adopt other crops for food if they are to avoid the perennial food shortages and in many cases droughts.

Orphan crops like sorghum, millet and others have for long been sidelined from meal tables which gave maize an edge but risking the country’s food security.

“The country needs to diversify if it is to comfortably feed the burgeoning population. Otherwise if we stick with the same old policies and structures, this will remain a dream for a country aiming to be a middle income country by 2030.” Nyoro quips.

The adoption of several food crop varieties would give Kenya an advantage in feeding the burgeoning population. The government is in the meantime mulling a two child per family policy in a bid to slow down population growth.

With this growth and speaking at a time when the country has experienced huge losses occasioned by the MLN disease, Dr. Nyoro opines that policies should also be put in place and implemented especially surrounding seeds whose quality determines the harvest outcomes.

He opines that Kenya's seed industry is dominated by one company and which is a threat to food security. He adds that the company had access to publicly developed materials and continually receives subsidies from government so it can offer seed prices at subsidized levels. However this lack of a level playing field has occasioned high costs but low quality seeds risking food insecurity.

The newly commissioned Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening facility in
Naivasha Photo: Njenga Hakeenah 

Kenya’s vision 2030 is heavily premised on the success of ICT and agriculture which remains the single biggest employer at 24% of the GDP.

Syngenta East Africa’s MD Walter Njenga says food demand is on an increase and it’s challenged by low productivity. He says technology can play a major role in ensuring that Kenya becomes food sufficient. This is echoed by the Kenya seed Trade Association of Kenya STAK’s Chair Azariah Soi who intimates that adopting innovative technologies will increase agricultural productivity placing Kenya in an advantage position to deal with food insecurity.

Storify link: http://storify.com/Hakeenah/stakcongress

The issue of biotechnology and especially around genetically modified organisms GMO remains shrouded in mystery in Kenya. Those against GMOs fear that the foods will be a threat to health and also to indigenous farming. Those who are pro-GMO say that the fears are unfounded and this means will keep experiencing the perennial food shortages. They say that biotechnology should be used to augment agricultural output.

Wanjiru Kamau from the Kenya Organic Agricultural Network says it is better to continue with conventional and traditional farming rather than introduce a technology which may prove fatal in the future.

As an organic farmer she feels investing in GMOs would be a risk and a gamble with the future food security issues.

http://www.mixcloud.com/Hakeenah/do-not-outsource-africas-food-security/

And as this tug of war between those pro and con Biotechnology continues, the country is losing billions invested in research as well as unnecessary deaths due to lack of food.

If this continues, then it means that the country's ambition of attaining food security and the Blueprint Vision 2030 remains a mirage.

Malaria Vaccine Candidate Possible as Early as 2015

Malaria a significant public health burden, claiming 660,000 lives a year - mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa

Malaria kills approximately 660,000 people per year in Kenya.

Around the world, it causes illness in hundreds of millions more, most of them children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria Endemic Areas    Source: CDC

Results from a large-scale Phase III trial, presented today in Durban, show that the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S, continued to protect young children and infants from clinical malaria up to 18 months after vaccination.

RTS,S is a scientific name given to this malaria vaccine candidate and represents the composition of this vaccine candidate and aims to trigger the immune system to defend against the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite when it first enters the human host’s bloodstream and/or when the parasite infects liver cells. It is designed to prevent the parasite from infecting, maturing, and multiplying in the liver, after which time the parasite would re-enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells, leading to disease symptoms.

Based on these data, GSK now intends to submit, in 2014, a regulatory application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that a policy recommendation for the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate is possible as early as 2015 if it is granted a positive scientific opinion by EMA.

Uncertain Future for African Elephants

Enhanced Law Enforcement, International Collaboration and Reducing Demand Required to Avert Crises

By Njenga Hakeenah

March 6, 2013

KWS Deputy Director in Charge of Biodiversity Research Dr. Samuel Kasiki (left) receives the Award from CITES Secretary General John Scanlon on behalf of 13 KWS rangers, who died in the line of duty. Photo: KWS

Elephant populations in Africa are in a continual severe threat as the illegal ivory trade proliferates.

Double the numbers of elephants have been killed and triple the amounts of ivory seized over the last decade. 

A new UN report entitled “Elephants in the Dust – The African Elephant Crisis” says increasing poaching levels, as well as loss of habitat are threatening the survival of African elephant populations in Central Africa as well as previously secure populations in West, Southern and Eastern Africa.

The report - produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) - says that systematic monitoring of large-scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia is indicative of the involvement of criminal networks, which are increasingly active and entrenched in the trafficking of ivory between Africa and Asia. 

At sites monitored through the CITES-led Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme alone, which hold approximately 40 per cent of the total elephant population in Africa, an estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011. Initial 2012 data shows that the situation did not improve that year. However, overall figures may be much higher. 

These threats compound the most important long-term threat to the species’ survival – increasing loss of habitat as a result of rapid human population growth and large-scale land conversion for agriculture, providing for international markets. 

UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner says, "CITES must re-engage on illegal wildlife crime with a renewed sense of purpose, commitment, creativity, cooperation  and energy involving range states and transit countries to consuming nations of products such as ivory." 

He adds, "The surge in the killing of elephants in Africa and the illegal taking of other listed species globally threatens not only wildlife populations but the livelihoods of millions who depend on tourism for a living and the lives of those wardens and wildlife staff who are attempting to stem the illegal tide". 

John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, “This report provides clear evidence that adequate human and financial resources, the sharing of know-how, raising public awareness in consumer countries, and strong law enforcement must all be in place if we are to curb the disturbing rise in poaching and illegal trade.” 

The report recommends critical actions, including improved law-enforcement across the entire illegal ivory supply chain and strengthened national legislative frameworks. Training of enforcement officers in the use of tracking, intelligence networks and innovative techniques, such as forensic analysis, is urgently needed. 
  
“Urgent action is needed to address the growing challenges elephant populations are facing, but it will only happen if there is adequate political will to do so,” said Dr Holly Dublin, Chair of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group. 

Better international collaboration across range states, transit countries and consumer markets - through the UN Office for Drugs and Crime, CITES, INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, the World Bank and other international actors – is needed in order to enhance law enforcement - from the field to the judiciary - to deter criminal activities and combat illegal trade.   

These efforts include the need to fight collusive corruption, identifying syndicates and reducing demand. 

TRAFFIC’s ivory trade expert Tom Milliken said: “Organized criminal networks are cashing in on the elephant poaching crisis, trafficking ivory in unprecedented volumes and operating with relative impunity and with little fear of prosecution”. 

Elephants are also threatened by the increasing loss of habitat in around 29 per cent of their range as a result of rapid human population growth and agricultural expansions. 

Currently, some models suggest this figure may increase to 63 per cent by 2050, a major additional threat to the survival of the elephant in the long-term. 

Other key findings: 

Other key finding in the report indicate that large-scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia have more than doubled since 2009 and reached an all-time high in 2011. Also noted are large movements of ivory that comprise the tusks of hundreds of elephants in a single shipment indicating the increasing active grip of highly organized criminal networks on Africa’s illicit ivory trade. 

These largely Asian-run, African-based criminal networks operate with relative impunity as there is almost no evidence of successful arrests, prosecutions or convictions. 

Globally, illegal ivory trade activity has more than doubled since 2007, and is now over three times larger than it was in 1998. The prevalence of unregulated domestic ivory markets in many African cities, coupled with the growing number of Asian nationals residing in Africa also facilitates the illegal trade in ivory out of Africa. 

In 2011, poaching levels were at their highest since MIKE began monitoring the trends in illegal killing in 2001, and indications suggest that the situation did not improve in 2012. 

Poaching is spreading primarily as a result of weak governance and rising demand for illegal ivory in the rapidly growing economies of Asia, particularly China, which is the world’s largest destination markets. The high levels of poaching are, in some cases, facilitated by conflicts that, through lawlessness and ensuing abundance of small arms, provide optimal conditions for the illegal killing of elephants. 

The report was released in Bangkok, at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CITES convention - combines information from sources including the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) African Elephant Specialist Group, MIKE and the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), managed by TRAFFIC on behalf of CITES. 

The threat to the elephant population additional reads:

New York Times:           Gabon Elephant Poaching

Kenyans take up arms to protect wildlife

And at the ongoing CITES conference, 13 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers killed in the line of duty have been posthumously honoured.

They were awarded with the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award with nine other recipients from around the world.

KWS Deputy Director in charge of Biodiversity, Research and Monitoring Dr. Samuel Kasiki received the award on behalf of the departed heroes.

Stop Ivory Trade     Photo: Stephff Tribal Art

This year’s recipients included Ranger Mohamed Osman Abdi, Ranger Bernard Mwakio, Cpl Adan Sheikh Mohamed, Ranger Seneu Ole Narankaik, Ranger Daniel Njagi, Pilot/Capt. Moses Lelesit, Ranger Gabriel Mghalu Malemba, Ranger Haron Kipyegon Langa, Cpl Koyati Parsaip, Sgt Bake Alio Adan, Ranger Florence Hadia Abae, Ranger Francis Otieno Ochieng, and Cpl Dismas Kimtai.

Ranger Florence Hadia Abae was the first KWS female ranger to be killed in the line of duty. She was killed alongside a male colleague while patrolling one of the Taita ranches last March.

The two AK 101 rifles, three magazines and 20 rounds of ammunitions that were stolen from them were recovered last month buried in a bush at Kiziki area near Bombi village in Malindi County following a tip off from members of the public. Three magazines and 20 rounds of ammunitions were also recovered. Earlier engagements with local elders in Bangale village in Tana River County yielded to the surrender of the second rifle and an empty magazine in January 4, 2013.

In 2007, Mr Samson Ole Sisina a KWS ranger, who was killed while on an undercover operation against illegal game meat trade in Naivasha was among eight other people honoured with the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award at CITES conference held in The Hague for “fighting wildlife crime with diligence, professionalism, trust and integrity, and in remembrance of his ultimate sacrifice in protecting the wildlife of Kenya”.

The Bavin Award, named after a former chief of the law enforcement division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recognizes accomplishments in combating wildlife crime involving species protected under the CITES treaty. It is presented during the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to deserving recipients working in the field of wildlife law enforcement across the globe. It is sponsored by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), under the umbrella of Species Survival Network (SSN), an international coalition of over 80 non-governmental organizations, including AWI.

The meeting ends on March 14.

The Pachyderm Annihilation 2

Taking action

By Njenga Hakeenah

23^rd February 2013

Kenya loses at least one elephant daily to poaching and over 365 elephants annually.

A rotting elephant carcass    

Photo: KUOPA/Sheldrick Trust

 

Current data shows that the current demand for ivory exceeds any possible supply of elephants, and that demand must reduce if elephants are to survive.

By 2011, illegal killing of elephants was nearly triple that of the 1990s. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of Save the Elephants, said that while in terms of sheer numbers killed the 1970s and 1980s was worse, the situation today is a "very big crisis" and in "other ways it is much worse."

Kenya’s wildlife which is the largest foreign exchange earner is under threat!

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) affirms that the security of the Elephants is under threat as there has been a gradual escalation in their poaching since 2005. This is due to market dynamics influenced by escalation in the black market prices driven by demand in the Asian countries.

Over 80% of Kenya’s elephants populations are outside protected areas – national parks and reserves. The critical Kenya’s elephant range areas are the northern coast; the Tsavo-Chyulu-Amboseli-Kilimanjaro ecosystem; the Aberdare-Mt. Kenya-Laikipia-Samburu-Northern Area ecosystem; the Nguruman-Mara-Serengeti ecosystem and the Nasolot-Romoi-Kerio Valley ecosystem. The loss of over 80% elephants has been due primarily to killing for ivory; natural habitat loss and human population has tripled reduction in elephant range since 1970.

KWS says that of all the elephant poaching cases in year 2012, 300 elephants, (representing 78% of poaching cases) were poached in wildlife dispersal areas outside the parks with 22% of poaching occurring in protected areas. 12 rhinos were poached outside protected areas (representing 63% of all poaching cases) while seven rhinos were poached in the National Parks.

Kenya remains an important conduit to international destinations for illicit consignments of wildlife products and particularly ivory.

Some of the ivory seized in Kenya was on transit from Angola, South Sudan, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo among others. Destinations for the ivory contraband include China, Nigeria, Malaysia and Thailand. Ivory is being poached in every part of the continent and political instability in most of the countries is fuelling it.

A rotting elephant carcass    

Photo: KUOPA/Sheldrick Trust

In June 2012, 345 pieces of elephant ivory weighing 601 kg stuffed in six wooden boxes were intercepted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The contraband was being smuggled to Lagos, Nigeria.

In September 2012, another consignment of 62 pieces of raw elephant ivory weighing 255 kg was seized at the same Nairobi airport. The contraband, whose origins are yet to be established, was en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On 15th January 2013, a 20 feet container suspected of containing ivory was subjected to verification and it turned out that it was containing elephant ivory wrapped in bundles of gunny bags and concealed by layers of slabs of local stones commonly known as Mazeras stones.

These seizures confirm what has already been established as a link to rob not only Kenya but Africa of its natural resources.

A kilogram of ivory retails for as much as $ 2,000 in the Far East and in Kenya it fetches between Ksh 12,000-18,000 (approx. $ 140-210). A big bull carrying 100 kg of ivory would bring in the equivalent of 1.5 years’ salary of a wildlife ranger or 15 years’ salary for the worker. The Kenya Elephant Forum KEF says the incentive to poach is enormous. The large seizures of ivory at the port of Mombasa illustrate the scale of the problem and if this trend continues, the national elephant population may decline considerably, given the current mortality rate of 4% compared to a growth rate of 2% in 2011.

The Wildlife Ministry Permanent Secretary Hyslop Ipu has assured that the law governing wildlife will be amended to give deterrent sentences. However, a lot more needs to be done to ensure that the problem is nicked in the bud. There’s been talk of complacency and compromised KWS staff which could have worsened poaching.

KWS Director William Kiprono says they are recruiting 1,000 rangers to deal with poaching in national parks and private sanctuaries.

He said the rangers will be recruited in two phases starting in July this year while the rest will be employed next year.

Kiprono notes that shortage of rangers and inadequate funding had been frustrating the war against poaching among other wildlife related crimes.

The government is also planning to conduct a major head count of Kenya’s endangered wildlife in the wake of increased poaching in the country.

Head of Civil Service Francis Kimemia said the audit will be conducted by a multi-stakeholder team that will also include the private sector.

He said a team comprising members from the intelligence service and the police, and KWS rangers will be set up to patrol all national parks and ensure that the menace is dealt with once and for all.

KEF has requested for a Commission of Inquiry into poaching of elephants and rhinos with an expanded mandate to investigate individuals suspected of colluding in poaching and ivory trafficking, examine the long chain of companies involved in the transport, warehousing, clearing and shipping of containers found to be carrying ivory and but not limited to the quantification of the social and economic impact of elephant poaching and trafficking of ivory in Kenya. This includes the cost of insecurity and resulting loss of life and livelihoods as well as loss of their heritage.

A rotting elephant carcass    

Photo: KUOPA/Sheldrick Trust

The multi-stakeholder KEF also called for a review of penalties and making necessary adjustments to adequately punish Wildlife Criminals and the recognition that the wildlife of Kenya belongs to the people of Kenya and that they have the right to participate in its protection.

Former Kenya Wildlife Service Director Nehemiah Rotich says that the losses occasioned by poaching have negative effects beyond the tourism industry and affects 5 Kenyans not directly employed in the sector.

He adds that blame should not be pegged on under-staffing and equipping alone but on making everyone accountable.

A 484 km walk inspired by the late Michael Werikhe, the Rhino Man appealed globally to friends and organizations who care about elephants conservation to raise awareness and funds to establish and support Community-based Elephant Monitoring Programs (CEMP) in the following areas; Loita-Koromoto in Maasai Mara (Serengeti), Amboseli-Namanga( Kilimanjaro), Kora Bisinadi and Tsavo larger ecosystem in collaboration with the local communities.

The walk was flagged off on the February 9th 20313 at the Nakumatt Likoni by Jim Nyamu- founder of Elephant Neighbors Center and a research scientist- and ends at the Tree Centre, Nairobi Arboretum grounds on Saturday 23rd February 2013.

The campaign is a collaboration partnership between Governments, the Private Sector, and NGOs. It has collected over 10,000 petitions that will culminate in a unified message from Kenya to the world.

The petitions will be delivered to the 177 governments meeting in Bangkok from March 3-14 for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to begin "a formal procedure that would lead to a total ban of the ivory trade."