New Kilifi centre to boost blue economy

Fishermen from Lake Naivasha move to restock the water-body with over 200,000 tilapia fingerlings. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

Over-exploitation, habitat degradation, and the effects of climate change have been identified as major threats to Kenya’s marine biodiversity.

According to the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI), the situation has been aggravated by overfishing and pollution in the country’s key water bodies.

To address these challenges, the institute has established the Coastal and Marine Research and Training Centre in Malindi, Kilifi County.

WRTI Director Dr Patrick Omondi said Kenya had intensified its efforts to safeguard marine biodiversity through research, conservation, and innovation.

Speaking in Naivasha ahead of the commissioning, Omondi said that the marine centre would come in handy in conservation efforts and data management. He noted that the centre would serve as a regional hub for scientific research, training and innovation focused on coastal and marine biodiversity.

The centre would also address the issues of fisheries, blue economy initiatives and climate resilience around the Coastal region. “The establishment of the Coastal and Marine Research and Training Centre marks a major milestone in strengthening Kenya’s capacity for marine and coastal ecosystem research,” he said.

Omondi added that the centre would coordinate the creation of a Coastal and Marine Data Portal, linked to the National Wildlife Data Portal. “The new Centre will facilitate the sharing of scientific data across institutions and support evidence-based conservation and policy formulation,” he said.

It will also bring together researchers, conservation practitioners, local communities and development partners.

Earlier, Dr Omondi revealed that WRTI, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), had begun developing a national red list of endangered and endemic wildlife species.

He added that WRTI was finalising a national wildlife data portal to consolidate scientific information into one database by the end of the current financial year. “We have been developing a national wildlife data portal to bring wildlife information into one database,” he said.