URGENT ACTION ON KENYA GIRAFFE SURVIVAL, THREATS AND CONSERVATION.

 TO 

JON PAUL RODRIGUEZ.

CHAIR.

IUCN-SPECIES SURVIVAL COMMISSION.

24 Day of February, 2021.

We the citizens republic of Kenya , members of civil society, religious bodies, International Communities,  Wildlife Champions, Game Warders, Scouts Movement, Human and Environmental Right Defenders based in Kenya under the East Africa Climate Change Network and Baraza La Taifa  Platform.

Primarily concerned by the reports that in the past 2 Months over 11 Giraffes have been electrocuted by illegally established  electric poles/masts within Nakuru County-Soysambu Conservancy Area.

 Shocking that Kenya Wildlife Service through a press statement dated 21st February 2021 casually seem to acknowledge 2 giraffes electrocution, without explaining how such electric power cables were rerouted inside a conservancy and other parks countrywide some along animal migratory paths, the online photos of 3 dead giraffes indicates vilest disfigured carcasses, nearby communities claim over 11 giraffes have befallen such fate. 

THAT KENYA number of giraffes totals 28,850. The detailed breakdown of the same, indicates 12,717 Masai Giraffes, 15,524 are reticulated giraffes and 609 Rothschild giraffes.  

HISTORICALLY IN 1900 there was a conference on conservation effors in africa, which  produced the convention for the preservation of wild animals,birds and fish in Africa.

THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE convened in 1933 London, a meeting which produced convention for the protection of Africa Flora and Fauna its main task on complex's classification of  animals. Thus the age of Africa National Parks began with the international agreement of 1933 London Conference

THAT BETWEEN 1940 TO 1970 , Seven protected areas were established -Nairobi National Park, Ambosseli, Tsavo National Park and Masai Mara National Reserve, Seregeti, Tarangire, and lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania.

KENYA is signatory state to CITES-Convention on International  Trade in endangered Species  of Wild Fauna and Flora- and designated Kenya Wildlife Service, the CITES Management Authority and CITES Scientific Authority as its representative.

WE ARE CONCERNED with triggers towards some extinction of Big Five animals in Kenya and East Africa region,especially now desert locust are swarming in our region, this mandate we believe  falls within the IUCN Red List and Green Status of Species which was adopted in 1993 through Convention on Biological Diversity.

THE RESOLUTION WCC-2012-RES-41,by Kenya Government to International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red Lists of threatened species, which indicated some species  and ecosystems being lost and the protected areas being degraded,similar to Syosambu Conservacy.

NOTING that the extinction of species and the diminution of their populations both contribute

to biodiversity loss, and that this loss leads to degradation of natural ecosystems and to a

decline in the provision of ecosystem services.

ACKNOWLEDGING the invaluable role played by the IUCN Red Lists in assessing the extinction risk of species and risk of collapse of ecosystems, and of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) in promoting the good management of protected area systems globally.

KPLC & KWS INSTALATION

 

We therefore DEMAND:-

1. We demand immediate sacking by the appointing authority the Kenya Wildlife Service- Director General-Brig.(Rtd) John Waweru, the KWS Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, members Kenya Office CITES Management Authority and Kenya Office CITES Scientific Authority ,Director, Kenya Power & Lightning Co.Ltd. KENGEN, KETRACO.
2. Urgently request a detailed report from the the secretariat of Convention on biological diversity the measure government of Kenya is undertaking towards protection of wild animals focusing especially grassland and herbivorous in Kenya, given the ongoing locust invasion to their habitat and countermeasures of  government initiative on chemical aerial spraying .
3. We demand within 21 Days the Director of Public Prosecution to launch a criminal proceeding against all the parties involved through Wildlife related offences.
4. We demand for status of shared natural resources and benefits accrued from tourism towards local indigenous communities especially communities residing within protected areas, that is Maasai, Samburus, Redille,Borana,Mijikenda,Turkana and Teso community.
5. We demand updated assessments, audit and status of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) surveys of Kenya Parks, Games Reserves, Conservancies, National Museum,  Animal corridors and Marine in Kenya and East Africa by the CITES secretariat through the relevant committees.

6. We demand President Uhuru Kenyatta to reinstate NEMA (EIA Levy), Parliament establish a minimum Environmental Assessment Charge and its increment from (0.1 % to 5%) of standardized total project cost.
7. We demand the National Assembly to review and Fasttrack the environmental impact assessment and Audit amendment regulation 2016 , gazette on 19 th August 2016 via special gazette supplement no 137I
8. We demand the fastracking of two interrelated Bills 1. The Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Bill ( Senate Bills No.4 of 2019) a bill stuck before Senate Committees on land ,environment and natural resources awaiting second reading.
9. We call for a uniformed coherent Public Participation Bills- (Senate Bill No.4 of 2018) Public Participation Bill-(National Assembly)  Bill No 69 of 2019  and the Public Participation Bill No.79 of 2019.
10. That the above bills seek to provide framework for Public Participation, defining parameters of accessing public participation effectiveness, the obligations of state organs and public offices, creating effective community participation in decision making processes.

Cc. 1. IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group Co-Chairs email: Stuart Nixon and Julian Fennessy

2.President Republic Of Kenya. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StateHouseKenya Insta.  https://www.instagram.com/state.house.kenya/

3. Kenya Wildlife Service - Director General Email: kws@kws.go.ke

4. Kenya Parliment -The Clerk. Michael Sialai, EBS, clerk@parliament.go.ke, csenate@parliament.go.ke

Greetings to all.We are delighted to inform you that IUCN Has responded to the online petition on the plight of 11 electrocuted Giraffes at Soysambu Conservancy.

IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group

1 March 2021

Position Statement Regarding Electrocuted Giraffe in Soysambu Conservancy The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG) is an internationally recognized voluntary expert body of giraffe research and conservation practitioners with the stated mission of supporting conservation actions designed to ensure the long-term survival of Giraffes across the African continent.

Like many, we have become aware of the recent electrocution of multiple giraffe in Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya. While all individuals of a species are important, Soysambu Conservancy contains an important population of near threatened Rothschild’s giraffe, the deaths of which represent a nontrivial loss for this unique and imperilled taxon.

Acknowledging the importance of electrical transmission infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing human population, we focus our efforts on productive ways to ensure coexistence with giraffe (and other wildlife) and people living with them across these important ecosystems. Incorporating the ecology of wildlife into preconstruction environmental impact assessments (EIA) is an important part of ethical development in sensitive systems.

We are aware of the mitigation actions taken by the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to assess the current height of transmission lines, with recommendations to raise the height of the lines to accommodate giraffe, eliminating the risk of electrocution.

We welcome these efforts and encourage more explicit guidelines for mitigating conflict with wildlife into future EIA’s - similar work has been conducted in numerous countries across Southern Africa.

To ensure that no giraffe in future are impacted by such development, we propose the following suggestions:

• Increasing the height of transmission lines to 8 metres to prevent potential impact with giraffe and other large animals such as elephant.

• Implementing more systematic EIA protocols for baseline abundance and movement data of critical wildlife populations.

• Assess the viability of alternate routes and methods of building power lines in wildlife rich environments.

• Developing more robust protocols and monitoring to ensure compliance with the existing EIA process. As an example, assess and develop similar guidelines to that proposed in the UNEP produced “Guidelines on How to Avoid or Mitigate Impact of Electricity Power Grids on Migratory Birds in the African-Eurasian Region” (https://www.unepaewa.org/.../ts50_electr_guidelines...)

•

IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group

• Considering that the issue of electrocution of giraffe is recognised as a threat in the Soysambu Conservancy in the current version of the ‘The Recovery and Action Plan for Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Kenya’, future reviews should propose specific priority actions that are adopted by relevant authorities.

We are optimistic that under the leadership of the Kenya Wildlife Service [and other important regulatory bodies], practical and science-based EIA protocols can be reviewed to promote a better coexistence with giraffe and other wildlife in these important environments.

We were encouraged by the immediate actions undertaken by the relevant authorities in this circumstance and do hope this sets a standard for future situations. As the IUCN SSC GOSG we happily offer technical expertise in the review of these EIA protocols when related to giraffids, as and where appropriate.

IUCN Position Statement Regarding Electrocuted Giraffe in Soysambu Conservancy

Salutation to all, we are delighted to update you of the progress we are making in line with recent electrocution of several Giraffes. The IUCN responds to hundreds of online petition we embarked on with a deadline tomorrow 3rd March 2021-World Wildlife Day, the two petitions addressed to IUCN-Species Survival Commission.

Position Statement Regarding Electrocuted Giraffe in Soysambu Conservancy dated 1st March 2021.

Target 1000 signatures - https://www.thepetitionsite.com/149/005/898/urgent-action-on-kenya-giraffe-survival-threats-and-conservation/

Target 10,000 Signatures - https://www.thepetitionsite.com/961/134/207/urgent-action-kenya-giraffe-threatssurvival-and-conservation/?taf_id=67531208&cid=fb_na#bbfb=402772924

View the attached:-

file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/Position%20Statement%20Regarding%20Electrocuted%20Giraffe%20in%20Soysambu%20Conservancy_March%202021%20(1).pdf

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