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Experts mull strategies to curb wildlife trafficking in Kenya

Xinhua, April 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenyan and U.S. wildlife experts were meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday to seek ways of combating wildlife trafficking in Kenya where rampant poaching threatens the wildlife in the country.

The inaugural meeting, which addressed key conservation challenges, will also identify national priority actions to combat the illegal killing and trafficking of wildlife in Kenya.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General William Kiprono said at the opening of the meeting that the illegal killing of terrestrial mega-fauna such as elephants and rhinos, and marine species is now causing a conservation crisis.

"The government has remained steadfast in supporting conservation through a deterrent wildlife law, inter-agency security collaboration mechanism, more efficient and better coordination at ports of entry and exit, as well as budgetary support for ranger recruitment and routine operations," he said.

The forum was convened by TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, in collaboration with the KWS and supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Wildlife Trafficking Response, Assessment and Priority Setting (Wildlife TRAPS) Project.

Conservationists say with the growing demand, major challenges have emerged, notably, the rapid escalation in poaching and trade of endangered species.

They have also decried the entry of organized crime syndicates into the illegal wildlife trade, most notably of rhino horn and elephant ivory, which they said, has created a crisis situation in many African countries.

Poached ivory is believed to be exchanged for money, weapons and ammunition to support conflicts in the region

"This workshop provides an excellent opportunity for different players to sit down together and plan a united, cohesive response to some of the key challenges of conservation," said Wildlife TRAPS Project head, Nick Ahlers.

The Wildlife-TRAPS Project, implemented by TRAFFIC in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), strengthens the knowledge base, resolve and cooperation of governments, inter-governmental organizations, the private sector and NGOs, in tackling wildlife trafficking between Africa and Asia.

The project is currently developing a report that outlines the scope and scale of illegal wildlife trade in Kenya and linkages to illegal wildlife trade dynamics in the East Africa region. Endi