A new rapid response team has been formed to curtail poaching, logging, charcoal burning and bush fires at conservancies in Taita Taveta county.
The Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association will use the unit of rangers to further protect wildlife along the migratory corridors in the vast Tsavo ecosystem and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
The group of rangers shall be trained in combating the vices and preserving scenes of crime for the successful prosecution of offenders.
TTWCA coordinator Alfred Mwanake said some 40 community rangers have already undergone rigorous firefighting training.
Last year, about 10,000 acres were cleared by fierce fires that swept across the vast ranches and the Tsavo National Park.
The conservancy is inhabited by thousands of wildlife species, including the big five.
The fires greatly threaten the wildlife, vegetation and livestock in the region, which is rich in ranching and tourism activities.
“Fire menace is an aspect that has always posed a great challenge to conservancies, leading to loss of wildlife, destruction of their habitat, and loss of grass for livestock,” Mwanake said.
He said poaching and wildfire were not only a threat to ranches but also to the protected areas of Tsavo and therefore stringent measures should be put in place to control the recurrence of last year’s fires.
The Tsavo National Park is rich in biodiversity and contains both animals and plants of high ecological value. It is Kenya’s largest national park.
Mwanake said the community rangers should be provided with fire-beaters, safety boots, gloves, water bowsers to easily respond to cases of wildfire.
The more than 524 community rangers are in charge of 33 conservancies and ranches spread across one million acres, including critical wildlife dispersal and migratory corridors at the Tsavo ecosystem.
African Wildlife Foundation researcher Amos Chege said rangers in the rapid response unit will be taken through continuous training in cybercrime to crack networks of poachers in the region.
“The unit will be key in controlling human-wildlife conflict and protecting wildlife along the Kasigau corridor where wildlife cross from the Tsavo East to Tsavo West National park,” Chege said.
Further, he said the community rangers shall lead patrols, community education and awareness programmes within the community on the Wildlife Management Act, 2013.
The unit was formed in the wake of a push by the county government for TTWCA to admit new members as part of compliance with the Community Land Act.
Governor Granton Samboja directed group ranches to admit new members of the community who have been locked out from joining for ages.
“The ranches must comply with the law and recruit more interested members. As of now, only a few members own over 100,000 acres of community land, while deserving residents are locked out of their ancestral land,” Samboja said.
Only 8,810 people in the county are members of group ranches that cover more than 127,540 acres of the county land.
-Edited by SKanyara