KWS NEW DIGITAL RADIO SYSTEM FOR WILDLIFE SURVEILLANCE

Date Published:

Monday, December 4, 2017 - 16:30

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has put in place a state-of-the- art digital radio system to improve its efficiency in surveillance of wildlife in the country.

The project has been accomplished through assistance from the French government which extended a 700-million shillings loan to the Kenya government to help improve communication among security personnel in three KWS conservation areas namely; Tsavo, Southern and Central Rift.

French minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Mr. Nicholas Hulot commissioned the digital radio system on December 4, 2017 at KWS headquarters in Nairobi at a ceremony also attended by French ambassador to Kenya Antoine Sivan and acting KWS Director General, Mr. Julius Kimani.

The new digital radio system is capable of covering a wide area compared to the previous analogue system, besides being configured to send audio and text messages. It is also secure with inbuilt encryption and the sound is clearer.

The system has the capability of transmitting data as well as GPS tracking among other features that are set to revitalize wildlife protection and management by KWS.

The minister said France is encouraged by the stringent efforts KWS is making to conserve and manage wildlife, noting wildlife security is mainly dependent on timely intelligence communication among security personnel.