Why ongoing national wildlife census is crucial

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Dr. Alfred Mutua flags off an aircraft during the launch of the National Wildlife Census 2024 at Narok Airstrip in Narok County on June 19, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Kenya boasts of myriad creatures in unique ecosystems, but whose numbers fluctuate due to climate change, poaching, pests and diseases, human-wildlife conflict and other factors. As the government launched a wildlife census in Narok earlier this week, the importance could not be gainsaid.

A systematic counting of animals is critical to inform conservation strategies, reduce the effects of climate change, and prevent biodiversity loss. A reduction in the number of lions, for instance, or their increase in human-inhabited areas, tells more, including about the health of their habitats. Such information is vital, especially in a country like Kenya, where tourism contributes more than eight per cent to the GDP and directly employs over one million people.