Two Sundays ago, I asked the Kenya
Wildlife Service (KWS) to address the worrisome issue of poaching. It
did soon after and, last week the Environment Cabinet Secretary Judy
Wakhungu also weighed in on the matter.
However, Kenya
will not stop poaching of the critically endangered rhino and elephant
by Wildlife Direct accusing officialdom of providing sanctuary for
poachers and KWS of cooking rhino figures.
Kenya will
win the war against poaching of the twin endangered species by
government ensuring KWS has a pervasive, round-the-clock presence of
highly-mobile, well-trained and armed-to-the-teeth rangers.
Rangers
must have state-of-the-art weaponry and gadgetry, including CCTV
surveillance. This means, for example, the rangers must be equipped with
night-vision goggles if they are to own the night when they face
poachers. If poachers own the night, the war is lost. (READ: All night search as poachers kill rhino)
The
rangers must similarly own the skies if they are to effectively patrol
the parameters of Kenya’s eight conservation areas which comprise
national parks, national reserves and sanctuaries. Indeed, KWS should at
this time be considering deploying drones to fight poachers.
The
rangers must out-number poachers and overwhelm them with superior
fire-power. If wildlife is the pillar of Kenya’s tourism and tourism is
our leading foreign exchange earner, then the case is made for each of
its 1,041 rhinos to be guarded by 10 rangers round the clock.
Witness
the following: Kenya’s eight conservation areas comprise 24 national
parks, 29 national reserves, four marine parks, six marine reserves and
five national sanctuaries. These cover eight per cent of the country’s
landmass. That massive expanse of land is supposed to be policed and
patrolled by some 2,700 rangers.
Now they are rangers
because they are in uniform, but not all of them are active on the front
line against poachers. Some are old and cannot chase poachers. Some are
assigned duties other than engaging poachers. So, strictly, the number
of rangers actively combating poachers is under 1,000.
That
is rather like assigning one ranger the task of patrolling the Nairobi
National Park! Now these young people cannot take leave because there is
nobody to hand over to and, therefore, are fatigued most of the time.
KWS must, in the short term, work to triple the numbers of its front
line rangers.
MARCHING ON STOMACH
It
must also pay them well. The famous quote “an army marches on its
stomach” has been attributed to both Frederick the Great and Napoleon
Bonaparte, but its meaning and applicability to the war against poaching
cannot be in doubt. KWS’ army of rangers will only be efficient if
adequately paid and supplied.
Last year, a poacher
offered a ranger Sh500,000 to tell him the GPRS co-ordinates of a rhino.
He declined and instead informed his superiors of the co-ordinates of
the poacher. Rangers earn between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000, which means KWS
must train them to be passionate about protection of animals and not
fall for the temptation that is a poachers’ instant money.
Of
course, KWS is aware that this temptation is not limited to serving
rangers. Ex-rangers who fall for the temptation will turn to their
serving colleagues dangling the promise of instant big money. That is
how cartels are created. KWS must clean its house to clean up its act.
To clean up its act, KWS must share intelligence with the National
Intelligence Service and other security organs.
Next,
Nairobi must wage the anti-poaching war on the diplomatic front. It must
actively join or indeed lead the campaign to educate the Chinese and
Vietnamese, for example, that powder made from a rhino horn or elephant
tusk has neither medicinal nor Viagra-style value.
Therefore, the high demand for rhino horn is misplaced and the huge amounts of money paid is money thrown down the drain.
The
diplomatic front must advance the view that the rhino and elephant are
global resources and the world must protect them. Kenya’s 1,041 rhinos
form the third largest concentration in the world after South Africa and
Namibia. Does the world want to lose these animals? I think not.
That
means as long as the demand for the horn and tusk remains high, the
global counter must be intensive protection of the remaining rhinos and
elephants. But charity begins at home; government must empower KWS
financially for it to effectively fight poaching.
Money, action and speed are of the essence if this war is to be won.
Opanga is a media consultant. opanga@diplomateastafrica.com
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