gilbert koech/Environment CS Judi Wakhungu has said the ministry is determined to control the increasing wave of human-wildlife conflict.
She said the the conflict is as a result of the changing climatic conditions as well as human encroachment on wildlife corridors and dispersal areas. “During periods of drought most wildlife come in contact with human beings, resulting in conflicts,” Wakhungu said on the phone, adding that most wildlife are outside protected areas.
The CS said as population grows, people encroach on wildlife dispersal areas. In July last year, Wakhungu’s ministry launched a report detailing Wildlife Migratory Corridors and Dispersal Areas.The report showed that most wildlife dispersal areas and migratory corridors are under threat. They have been interfered with by human activities and some have been blocked.
Fifty eight migratory routes and corridors were identified in the report. These are the southern Kenya rangeland ecosystems — Maasai-Mara ecosystem ( 17 ), Eburu Forest and Lakes Naivasha-Elmentaita-Nakuru conservation and ecological area (eight), Athi-Kaputiei and Nairobi National Park (seven), South Rift (eight), Amboseli and West Kilimanjaro (eight) and the Tsavo Conservation Area ( 10 ).
The ministry is mulling over plans to transfer the compensation of human-wildlife conflict victims to a yet-to-be-named insurance company. It has identified loopholes in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013.
Last year, Wakhungu said her ministry may not be able to pay snakebite victims Sh1.5 billion compensation, as it is difficult to prove. “The issue of injury by wildlife is in the law but we want to remove snakebites because many people get bitten by snakes, even from their own compounds or houses,” she said.
“If you look at the schedule of the number of claims, the highest number is for snakebites. Somebody can say they have been bitten by a snake; how do you prove it?”
The Environment ministry has received Sh250 million since 2015 for compensation. In 2014 and 2016, about 62 per cent of claims received were from snakebites. Section 25 of the Wildlife Management and Conservation Act, 2013 stipulates that in the case of death, Sh5 million is paid to beneficiaries.
Cases of injury resulting in permanent disability will attract a Sh3 million payout, the Act states.