Community Relations and Education Service Division

Community Relations and Education Service Division

Community Relations and Education Service Division is charged with the management of wildlife outside protected areas. This function is executed through the departments of Community Relations and Outreach, Conservation Education and extension, and the Community Enterprise departments. This is done via different community programs that are carried out by the division staff spread within the country in collaboration with its stakeholders who include; Members of Parliament, Councilor’s, opinion leaders, rural communities, provincial administration, NGOs, Civil society, private ranchers. 

 

DIVISIONAL FUNCTIONS

  • Community education awareness creation, mobilization & extension services.
  • Rendering services to farming and ranching communities in Kenya necessary for the protection of agriculture and animal husbandry against destruction by wildlife;
  • Facilitating wildlife census outside protected areas;
  • Planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of community based conservation projects;
  • Creating partnerships in wildlife conservation;
  • Ensure development of management plans for wildlife conservation areas outside protected areas e.g. for sanctuaries, conservancies, game farms etc.;
  • Offering wildlife technical services to private landowners, communities and County Councils etc.;
  • Establishing mechanism to minimize conflicts between conservation and legitimate human settlement and activities;
  • Design area specific conservation messages or lessons to address negative issues in question
  • Cross-border collaboration on wildlife management issues
  • Monitoring & evaluation of CWS conservation programmes and community initiatives.
  • To protect people and their property from injury or damage caused by wildlife.
  • Facilitate wildlife compensation claims
  • Set systems for facilitation of compensation claims within the counties.

Community Relations & Outreach department

Overview

The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Article 174 recognises the right of communities to manage their own affairs and further their development. Further, the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013 recognises Wildlife conservation as form of land use in public, private & community land and calls for devolution where possible as well as equitable benefit sharing to offset cost of conservation by land user while advocating for the public to be actively involved in the business of wildlife management for sustainable development. This has been embraced through the creation of Community Wildlife Conservation Committees at the County level, as stipulated in section 18 of WCMAm, 2013 to ensure that all wildlife matters within the Counties are addressed adequately in a devolved manner.

 

Composition of the Community Wildlife Conservation Committee

  1. County commissioner (chair)
  2. KWS officer in charge of the county (secretary)
  3. Agricultural officer
  4. Livestock officer
  5. Four persons not being public officers knowledgeable in wildlife matters who are nominated by community wildlife association and appointed by the Cabinet Secretary

The department is charged with the following Functions:

  1. Conservation and management of wildlife outside protected areas
  2. Wildlife compensation issues
  3. Community education and awareness creation
  4. Corporate social responsibility projects
  5. Erection and Maintenance of wildlife barriers
  6. Coordination of Honorary wardens
  7. Human wildlife conflict mitigation

 

COMPENSATION

Individuals who have suffered loss occasioned by wildlife, as listed in the 3rd schedule of the Act, are eligible to claim for compensation (for loss of life, injury or damage to property)

WILDLIFE SPECIES IN RESPECT OF WHICH COMPENSATION MAY BE PAID

Schedule 3 of the WCMA, 2013

  1. Death and Injury
    1. Elephant
    2. Lion
    3. Leopard
    4. Rhino
    5. Hyena
    6. Crocodile
    7. Cheetah
    8. Buffalo
    9. Hippo
    10. Wild dog
  2. Crop, livestock and property damage
    1. Elephant
    2. Lion
    3. Leopard
    4. Rhino
    5. Hyena
    6. Crocodile
    7. Cheetah
    8. Buffalo
    9. Hippo
    10. Zebra
    11. Eland
    12. Wildebeest
    13. Snake
    14. Wild dog

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

KWS support to communities that neighbor protected areas and interact with wildlife is based on 4 pillars

  1. Support of existing education institutions: construction of classrooms, purchase of school books and desks
  2. Provision of water: boreholes, water tanks
  3. Support to existing health facilities
  4. Technical /funding support for enterprise projects

 

Community Enterprise Department

The main goal of the department is to develop the capacity of communities and private landowners to establish and manage economically viable and sustainable nature-based enterprises within targeted landscapes of Kenya.

The department is charged with the following Functions

  1. Capacity build community institutions and private landowners for sustainable wildlife conservation & management;
  2. Provide technical assistance, business & legal advice for wildlife related enterprises
  3. Facilitate communities and private landholders to engage in marketing and joint ventures for benefits;
  4. Facilitate the creation of an enabling environment for investment and growth in nature-based enterprises; and
  5. Enhance networking and partnerships for enterprise development amongst wildlife industry players

Establishment of Conservancies

Any person or community who owns land on which wildlife inhabits may individually or  collectively  establish  a  wildlife  conservancy  in  accordance  with  the  provisions of  the WC&M Act. 

 A person or community may register a:

    1. private conservancy; or
    2. community conservancy,

Requirements for the establishment of a conservancy

  • a list  of  the  wildlife  conservancy    conservation activities  in  which  they  are  involved  in and  in  the  case  of  an  association  their membership;
  • for  associations,  the  constitution  with clear governance structures;
  • a draft plan for the association or privately owned  wildlife  conservation  area detailing; type  of  wildlife  resources  in  their area  and  type  of  wildlife conservation  initiatives  being undertaken; measures  and  type  of  wildlife conservation  activities  that  are being proposed; type  of  wildlife  user  rights  being proposed  that  will  enhance conservation  and  survival  of wildlife in their area; land  use  practices  in  the  area  and proposed  measures  to  ensure  land  use  compatibility  with  wildlife; methods  of  monitoring  wildlife and wildlife user activities; community  wildlife  scouting  scheme  that  will  help  to  provide wildlife  surveillance  and  assist  in addressing  problem  animal control

KIds Corner