WLCI in Africa

Third World country Kenya has some of the largest and most beautiful national parks of Africa. These parks were founded to give wildlife a safe haven and to preserve them for future generations. However, there’s a thin line between safety and danger.

Many causes can threaten the safety of wildlife:

• Bush fire
• Constricted movements (normal wildlife corridors have been blocked by human settlement)
• Poaching
• Charcoal production
• Drought

A mistake made by many wildlife NGOs is putting their focus on just wildlife. This way all the problems that are caused by and for the community are forgotten or missed.
We are trying to make a difference by working with the settlements and showing them we do care about them, and that it is through wildlife that this is made possible. In this manner we hope that the people will start looking positively about the wildlife they live with.

Bush fire

In the 1990’s, almost half of Tsavo-East national park was destroyed by bush fire. Many animals like: Lions, Cheetah, Gazelle, Tortoises, Birds and Insects  perished in the blaze.

This enormous destruction was probably caused by a charcoaler or a tourist that dumped his burning cigarette butt.

Constricted movements

People always like to live in the vicinity of water, for this is essential for them to survive. By building a town around such a water place the way for animals is cut off.

Also these towns are expanding very quickly, the population of Kenya is the fastest growing nation in Africa. Due to this growth herdsmen take their cattle deeper into the bush and claim more land that has been set aside for wildlife, creating even more conflicts.  At times Lions take the opportunity to take an easy snack by killing a goat or cow.

Poaching

Still there’s a lot of poaching in Kenya, even in the protected parks.  KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) is fighting a war against the poachers and bandits, mostly of Somali origin. Many Elephants and Rhino are being killed on a weekly basis.

Charcoal productions

In Africa most people cook on a charcoal fire because they don’t have the means to buy other kinds of fuel. Trees are being cut and are chopped up into small chunks. With this charcoal is made. This causes a lot of damage to the environment.

Drought

Due to charcoaling and lack of rain, large parts of Kenyas forests are gone and in place there’s just erosion. No food and no water means that the battle is on between wildlife and man over these necessities of life. Then the conflicts rise deep within the community.

Protection of wildlife

Protection of wildlife starts with the local community, so we believe. If we don’t have their full cooperation, every chance of successfully protecting the wildlife is in vain..

In our projects in Kenya, every aspect of preservation is done with the full involvement of the local community. The way we work makes us unique in the world of conservation.