• The document says species like amphibians and reptiles are particularly impacted by over-exploitation for local and international trade.
• It states that Covid-19 pandemic is a harsh reminder of the need for revenue diversification.
Habitat degradation, fragmentation and loss, are some of the overriding threats facing biodiversity in Kenya, a new report shows.
It also identifies land use change, physical modification of rivers or excessive extraction of water from rivers, loss of coral reefs and damage to sea floors due to trawling as other threats.
The State of Protected and Conserved Areas in Eastern and Southern Africa report has information on protected and conserved areas in 24 countries, four north of Sudan and six western Indian Ocean island nations.
The region is culturally diverse with an abundance of wildlife, and endemic species of flora and fauna.
“Considerable efforts are being made to conserve the biodiversity of the region, but growing human populations, land use conflict, over-exploitation of resources, unsustainable recreational activities, deforestation and illegal trade are threatening protected areas, species and ecosystems,” the report launched virtually on Tuesday says.
The latest challenge is Covid-19. This has shut down the tourism industry, hence a significant decrease in conservation-related funding for the protected areas.
The pandemic is a harsh reminder of the need for revenue diversification.
The report cites human population growth for exerting pressure on biodiversity habitats and land resources. Poverty is also a leading factor that leads to unsustainable use of land resources and biodiversity. It limits financial resources to support biodiversity conservation.
“Other critical threats include climate change, invasive alien species, over-exploitation and pollution.”
The report says species like amphibians and reptiles are particularly impacted by over-exploitation for local and international trade.
“The illegal international trade in ivory and rhino horn has also been a threat to populations of elephant and rhino, while the lesser known African sandalwood is also seriously threatened by illegal over-exploitation.
"The illegal bush meat trade has seriously impacted many antelope species.”
Kenya has 23 national parks covering 28,844 square kilometres,31 national reserves sitting on 17,941 square kilometres, 411 protected areas on 72,545 km2 of land and 904 km2 of the ocean.
The post-Independence government inherited four national parks and six game reserves, gazetted through a parliamentary process.
Several game reserves are under local authorities' management.
There is also a host of privately or/and communally owned wildlife conservancies.
Of the 12 per cent of land designated as protected areas including forests, 50 per cent are in arid and semi-arid land.
“The current trend shows a sharp decline in animal species diversity and population abundance in these ecosystems,” according to the report.
The establishment of private sanctuaries and community conservancies has gained momentum over the last few decades in Kenya on the realisation that protected areas were incapable of adequately meeting biodiversity conservation goals and providing support to livelihoods.
They are the lifeblood of the protected areas, with more than 70 per cent of large wildlife living permanently or seasonally outside of protected areas managed by government agencies.
Kenya is part of five trans-boundary conservation areas, viz Amboseli-Kilimanjaro-Longido, Mount Elgon, Serengeti-Mara, Tana-Kipini-Laga Badana Bushland and Seascape,Tanga Marine Reserves and Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park and Diani Chale and Kisitee-Mpunguti.
A Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme report on legislation and policy related to protected area management, governance, and equity identified 41 relevant laws and policies in Kenya.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature document says Kenya is endowed with diverse ecosystems and habitats that are home to unique and diverse flora and fauna.
“Over 7,000 plant species have been recorded in Kenya with over 1,000 of those endemic or near-endemic. Some 356 plant species have been assessed through the IUCN Red List process as threatened, a third of which are endemic to Kenya.”
It is estimated that over 5,000 species of fungus occur in the country although only 2,000 have been documented.
Kenya’s 1,100 bird species include eight endemics. Over 200 reptiles (five marine turtle, five tortoise, 100 snake, 100 lizard, one crocodile and five terrapin species) and 110 amphibian species occur throughout the country except at the top of mountains.
The report says Kenya is also home to 315 mammal species, including a number of endemics and near-endemics, including the Grevy’s zebra and the hirola.
“Declines in many mammal species, apart from the African elephant have been attributed to land use change, drought, poaching, disease and competition for resources.”
The report says Kenya’s freshwater and marine ecosystems contain both biologically diverse and commercially important fish populations.
Over 60 of these species are threatened according to the IUCN Red List.
Over 35,000 invertebrate have been recorded, with many thousands more yet to be described.
As a region, Eastern and Southern Africa has 16.54 per cent of the terrestrial area protected in 4,821 protected areas covering 2,120,112 km2.
At least seven countries have exceeded Aichi Target 11 (17%) for terrestrial coverage.
The region is halfway to meeting the coastal and marine coverage target (10%) with 5.60% of the marine and coastal area protected in 411 protected areas covering 473,815 km2.
Three countries in the region have exceeded Aichi Target 11 for marine and coastal protected area coverage.
“There are many challenges in the region, and threats to conservation are growing, but country commitments to international agreements, targets and commitments to ensuring equitable governance and effective management of protected and conserved areas can promote and ensure the conservation of species and ecosystems in the region,” the report says.
These commitments need to be backed up with the necessary political will and resource allocations to ensure full implementation for the benefit of protected and conserved areas.
Accurate, current and comparable data to measure progress against targets and commitments is essential to support planning and resource allocation.
The report hopes to provide the baseline for these data and to encourage improvements in data collection and reporting to ensure equitable and effective conservation.
Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, underpinning most national and regional conservation strategies.
Larger and more natural protected areas also provide space for evolution and future ecological adaptation and restoration: both increasingly important under conditions of rapid climate change.
Protected areas are vital to the cultures and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples and local communities, conserving places of cultural and sacred value.
They provide recreation and renewal, deliver clean air and water, and bring benefits to millions of people through tourism.