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Peace and Justice Update - May 1, 2012 - Volume 30, Number X
East Africa
The Peace and Justice Update is published by the interns at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. The views expressed in the Update are not necessarily those of the IPJ or of USD. To subscribe, send an email to updates@sandiego.edu with "Subscribe" in the subject line. Click here for source information.
Kenya’s Attention Shifts to Poaching
As five poachers have been killed in a gun battle with wildlife rangers in Western Kenya April 20, the nation’s attention is shifting to the increase in animals falling victim to poaching activities.
Two rangers were injured in the fire exchange, which tragically followed an April 14 announcement by Kenyan Wildlife Services (KWS) spokesman Paul Udoto stating that rangers were stepping up their game to make poaching “a high-cost, low-benefit activity.”
50 kg of elephant tusks along with three AK 47 guns and 15 rounds of ammunition were recovered as a result of the April 20 incident.
The attack brings the death count of poachers to a total of 11 for the first months of 2012.
In contrast, according to the KWS, approximately 100 elephants are killed every year in Kenya alone - a number that is increasing. The reason is a surge in demand for ivory, despite the 1989 ban of ivory trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The main contributor to this development is the Asian market, primarily China, where ivory is used for ornaments and where it is now worth more than US$1,500 per kilogram.
Kenya has stood as one of the few countries presenting some hope in the struggle against poaching as the illegal activity had declined over the 1980s and 1990s. However, the recent upswing in Asia’s demands for products such as ivory and rhino horn has meant a significant decimation in several species.
A rhino horn is estimated to be worth between $60,000 and $ 65,000 per kilogram, which is more than its weight in gold. An average horn weighs 7kg making it worth nearly half a million dollars. While it is used in traditional medicine it has even gained a reputation for curing cancer. Therefore, it comes as little surprise that the incline in its demand and value has led poachers to undertake even higher risks and fiercer strategies in their attempts to garner the increasingly rewarding resource.
For example, despite the protection of 150 security force members, poachers managed to kill a pregnant female rhino on a reserve in Lewa April 13. The poachers also injured the mother’s two-year old calf, but it is expected to recover.
Sadly, this development is not only true for Kenya; conservationist Ian Craig, who helped found the Lewa conservancy, describes the crisis as “an unfolding disaster for Africa.” He primarily blames the interplay of “governance, corruption and cartels” for it, adding that “it’s about undermining new economic opportunities for communities while eroding the national assets that form the backbone of Kenya’s tourism-based economy.”
The KWS is trying to contain the crisis and is planning to expand Kenya’s elephant population planning by restoring the animals to areas where they were exterminated in the 1980s.
Another attempt has been to sell patches of land to wealthy eco-tourists who thereby finance the surrounding communities’ education and infrastructure, which reduces the incentives for poaching.
To counter the upsurge in rhino poaching, the KWS has started injecting the horns with arsenic to prevent their use as traditional medicine in China.
In the context of the announcement of Julius Kipng’etich, head of the KWS, that 278 elephants were poached in Kenya last year alone, it is hoped that some of these methods will prove effective.
Sources: Die Zeit, Apr. 17; The Telegraph, Apr. 20; BBC, Global Post, Reuters, Apr. 21; NY Daily News, RadioNZ, The Star, Apr. 22; Reuters, Apr. 24; CNN, Apr. 26, 2012.
By Alexander Wowra. Send comments to awowra@sandiego.edu.
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