Kenya Wildlife Service is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013. At independence, the

Government of Kenya , image = , caption = Coat of arms of Kenya , date = 1963 , jurisdiction = Republic of Kenya , url = http://www.mygov.go.ke/ , legislature = Parliament of Kenya , meeting_place = ...

committed itself to conserving wildlife for posterity with all the means at its disposal, including the places animals lived, forests and water catchment areas. Kenya Wildlife Service conserves and manages national parks, wildlife conservation areas, and sanctuaries under its jurisdiction.

History

In 1989

Richard Leakey Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (19 December 1944 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife conse ...

was appointed the head of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department (WMCD) by President Daniel Arap Moi in response to the international outcry over the poaching of elephants and the impact it was having on the wildlife of Kenya. Well-armed anti-poaching units were formed and were authorized to shoot poachers on sight. The poaching menace was dramatically reduced. The transformation of the Kenya Wildlife Service got World Bank approved grants worth $140 million. Richard Leakey, President Moi, and the WMCD made the international news headlines when a stockpile of 12 tons of ivory was burned in 1989 in

Nairobi National Park Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitengel ...

. These successes saw David Western appointed to serve as Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) by retired President Moi in 1994. Others who served as KWS Directors are: * Kitili Mbathi * William Kiprono * Julius Kipng'etich * Michael Wamithi * Nehemiah Rotich * Joseph Kioko * Evans Mukolwe On 20 July 2011 Kenya’s President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

set on fire nearly 5 tonnes of elephant ''ivory (''335 tusks), with an estimated value of USD$16m. On 30 April 2016, Kenyan President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

set alight the largest ever pile of ivory for destruction in the

. The pile consisted of 105 tonnes of elephant ivory from about 8,000 elephants and 1.35 tonnes of horns from 343

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

es. Estimates for the total

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

value of the destroyed contraband range from $150 million to $220 million. The

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

was transported to the site in shipping containers then stacked into towers up to 10 ft (3.0 m) tall and 20 ft (6.1 m) in diameter. The ivory towers took personnel from the Kenya Wildlife Service ten days to build. The pyre also contained exotic animal skins. The amount of ivory destroyed equaled about 5% of the global stock. Gabonese President

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

was also in attendance.

National parks and reserves

Kenya has over 39 designated national parks and reserves: *

Aberdare National Park The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east. Overview The park is located about 10 ...

Amboseli National Park Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is a national park in Kajiado South Constituency in Kajiado County, Kenya. The park is in size at the core of an ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. The local ...

* Arabuko Sokoke National Reserve *

Arawale National Reserve The Arawale National Reserve is a designated conservation area managed by the Garissa County in assistance with the Kenya Wildlife Service. It lies in North Eastern Province of Kenya, 77 km south of the town of Garissa. The reserve covers a ...

Bisanadi National Reserve Bisanadi National Reserve is a wildlife reserve in Isiolo County, Kenya. It is adjacent to Meru National Park. The park is home to the lion, African elephant, cheetah, white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoc ...

Boni National Reserve The Boni National Reserve is a national reserve for conservation and lies in the Garissa County, Kenya. The reserve covers an area of and is managed by Kenya Wildlife Service. It was gazetted in 1976 as a dry season sanctuary for elephants in the ...

* Central Island National Park * Chyulu Hills National Park * Dodori National Reserve *

Hell's Gate National Park Hell's Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, north west of Nairobi. Hell's Gate National Park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It wa ...

* Kakamega Forest Reserve *

Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park is situated on the southern coast of Kenya near Shimoni and south of Wasini Island in Kwale County near the Tanzanian border. Kisite park covers while Mpunguti reserve covers . The park covers an area with ...

* Kisumu Impala Sanctuary * Kora National Park *

Lake Bogoria National Reserve Lake Bogoria National Reserve is in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, covering Lake Bogoria and the land immediately surrounding the lake. It is administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Location The lake lies in a trough below the Ngendelel Escarp ...

Lake Nakuru National Park Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley lakes at an elevation of above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast qu ...

* Losai National Reserve *

Malindi Marine National Park Malindi Marine National Park is located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Kenya. It is claimed to be oldest marine park in Africa. The park lies at Malindi, about 118 km north of Mombasa and is protected and administered by the Kenya W ...

* Malka Mari National Park *

Marsabit National Reserve The Marsabit National Park is a national park and nature reserve located at Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya, near the town of Marsabit. It is located 560 km north of Nairobi in Marsabit County in the former Eastern Province (Kenya), Eastern ...

Meru National Park Meru National Park is a Kenyan national park located east of Meru, from Nairobi. Covering an area of , it is one best known national parks in Kenya. Rainfall in this area is abundant with in the west of the park and in the east. The rainfall r ...

Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve is a marine park and national reserve in Mombasa, Kenya. The park is 10 km (2,500 acres) while the reserve is 200 km (49,400 acres). It is located on the coast near tourist areas and is a popu ...

* Mount Elgon National Park *

Mount Kenya National Park Mount Kenya National Park was established in 1949 to protect Mount Kenya, the wildlife and surrounding environment, which forms a habitat for wild animals, as well as acting as an area for the catchment of water, to supply Kenya's water. History ...

* Mount Longonot National Park * Mwea National Reserve *

Ndere Island National Reserve Ndere Island is a small island () in Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria in Kenya. It was gazetted as the Ndere Island National Reserve in November 1986 and has since that time been uninhabited. ''Ndere'' means "meeting place" in Dholuo. According to Lu ...

Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park Ol Donyo Sabuk (in Maasai language, Maasai), or Kyanzavi in Kamba language, Kamba, is both a mountain and a town in Kyanzavi Division, Machakos County. William Northrup McMillan was the first white man to settle here, who had a major influence ...

Ruma National Park Ruma National Park is the only terrestrial park in Kenya's Nyanza Province. Dubbed the "Last Retreat of the Roan Antelope", the park protects the only indigenous population of rare roan antelopes within Kenya. At present, the population is on th ...

Saiwa Swamp National Park Saiwa Swamp National Park is located near Kitale, in Trans-Nzoia County, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is the smallest national park in Kenya, only 3 km, and was created as habitat for the Sitatunga, a rare aquatic antelope. There are a vari ...

Samburu National Reserve The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi. ...

Shaba National Reserve Shaba National Reserve is a protected area in Isiolo County in northern Kenya to the east of the Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves. Together, the three reserves form a large protected area. The Shaba reserve has dramatic scenery in ...

Shimba Hills National Reserve The Shimba Hills National Reserve is a small National Reserve in the former Coast Province of Kenya, 33 km from Mombasa and 15 km from the coast. The reserve is an area of coastal rainforest, woodland and grassland. It is an important ...

Sibiloi National Park Sibiloi National Park lies on the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. Established in 1973 by the government of Kenya for the protection of wildlife and paleontologist sites there, it covers and is internationally known for its ...

* Tana River Primate Reserve *

Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya at 13,747 square kilometres. Situated in a semi-arid area previously known as the Taru Desert it opened in April 1948, and is located near the town of Voi in the Taita ...

Tsavo West National Park Tsavo West National Park is located in the Coast Province of Kenya. The park covers an area of 9,065 square kilometres. The A109 road Nairobi-Mombasa and a railway divides it from the adjoining Tsavo East National Park. Together with adjoining ...

Watamu Marine National Park Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve is located in Kenya. Established in 1968, it was one of Kenya's first marine parks. It is located about north of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city. Its coral gardens are merely from the shore and a ...

Conservation programmes

KWS runs specific programmes to assist Kenyan

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

and their

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

that are in particular danger. They have

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and

Wetland conservation Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas where water exists at or near the Earth's surface, such as swamps, marshes and bogs. Wetlands cover at least six per cent of the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation ...

programmes, as well as specific

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

and

rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

projects to help them recover from

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. The

hirola The hirola (''Beatragus hunteri''), also called the Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a critically endangered antelope species found on the border between Kenya and Somalia. It was first described by the big game hunter and zoologist ...

, which is in danger of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, is also being monitored. Within KWS there are several services, each responsible for a different area of work:

Community Wildlife Service

This branch of the KWS works outside the national parks. They work instead in areas such as

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

s, and teach the communities living there to encourage conservation and look after their resources.

Security Services

The job of this service is to eliminate poaching in the national parks and stop illegal trade. The Kenyan government has also erected fences which keeps the precious animals/wildlife inside the national park. The Kenya wildlife service, through its rangers, offer extensive patrols and protection of the country’s wildlife in its wild spaces and as a result hundreds of rangers have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Veterinary Services

This service ensures that healthy breeding populations of species are maintained throughout the country.

Ranks

Training

KWS has a training institute, also referred to as Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute. The facility located in Naivasha, is a middle-level college registered with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as a TVET institution. It offers specialized certificate and diploma courses in natural resource management, ecology and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in an effort to enhance

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

, management and sustainability of wildlife bio-diversity in Kenya and globally. KWS also has a Law Enforcement Academy is situated in Manyani Area, which caters for all law enforcers' paramilitary training. Manyani area was established in 1990.

Education

KWS run several education centres: *Nairobi Safari Walk *Nairobi Education Centre *Lake Nakuru Education Centre *Tsavo East Education Centre *Tsavo West Education Centre These are located inside National Parks, and run programs to encourage people to care for their environment. It is aimed at local people, particularly school groups, but is open to anyone.

Influential administrators

* Brig. (Rtd.) John M. Waweru, EBS (current Director-General) * Julius Kipng'etich, former Director General (departed 2012) * Ronald kipruto koech * Michael Kipkeu *

, Chairman of the Board of Trustees * Kitili Mbathi, Director General (since 2016)

References

External links

Kenya Wildlife Service
{{authority control Wildlife conservation in Kenya Environmental organisations based in Kenya

Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

Government agencies established in 1990 1990 establishments in Kenya