An exhausted hardworking team felt the draft of the city life in the rescue vehicle the minute they hit Mlolongo along Mombasa Road. It was a composite din of matatus honking in traffic, the vendors shouting out affordable prices and clustered hordes of people crossing under various flyovers on the highway in the urban concrete jungle. The fatigue and sudden noise that marked the hustle and bustle of city life did not wan their spirits.
The wildlife rescue and de-snaring operations had been successful. The operation had taken place at the tranquil wilderness about 90kms east of the Nairobi capital. This particular rescue came about from an alert by a community member that had been issued that had the Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) team jump into the vehicle and drive out to Maanzoni together with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) team to rescue an eland, a giraffe and a bushbuck that had been caught in snares.
Every month, the rescue team sets out for the bush to investigate and collect snares set up by people sourcing bush meat in Nakuru, Machakos, Kajiado and Makueni Counties in Kenya. The organizations recognize that the community living with and surrounding the wildlife play big vital role in working to ensure that this does not happen. They often act as informants who communicate with the authorities and experts when snaring is happening or has happened, or when an animal has been spotted in a snare. It is due to this collaboration that hundreds of wildlife species have been rescued in the Kenyan wilderness.
*Isaka, for instance, was of great value to the rescue program, He spent his days tending cows and goats with his dog for a neighboring farmer in a community conservancy in order to earn a livelihood. His childhood days in the mountains had brought out a kind of respect and love for nature and animals that had always resided deep within his heart. He was a good contact for the lead of the rescue team. Periodically, he walked for about an hour to the shop to put money on his Mpesa account so that he could easily buy airtime. This was because he wanted to be able to make quick calls when he came upon an animal in a snare.
Sighting animals in distress and ensuring that they are attended to brought great meaning to his life. Community informants are not only effective in conservancies, but they are also key in protecting the environment and natural habitat such as forests, wetlands, parks, oceans, plains, mountains, and lakes. They are also the best placed players to lead and ensure that effective education and awareness is taking place amongst community members.
The informants are mostly volunteers who are passionate about protecting animals and their habitat and are willing to play their part in conserving them. They are mostly aware of what is going on the ground. Some chose to be majorly unknown to the community they are part of as they are afraid of the repercussions they would face. They are consistent in their goal to disclose the ill and harm that come to the animals. They issue alerts to conservation and animal welfare NGOs, KWS or even known individuals that they know informing them of animals in distress through phone calls, social media messages or emails.
The informants are an intricate part of the intelligence network used to support NGOs and KWS to curb bush meat trade and poaching on a large scale. In her presentation, Collaboration and Coordination Efforts in Combatting Wildlife Crime: A Kenyan Prosecutorial Perspective, given during the 1st Africa Animal Welfare Conference - Action 2017, Gikui Gichuhi stated that wildlife crimes lead to economic sabotage, banditry, global terrorism, piracy, human trafficking, child related offences, degradation of the environment and proliferation of small arms from war torn neighboring countries. She further stated that wildlife crime is an organized crime and is the fifth most profitable illicit trade in the world.
As we celebrate rangers all across the world, let us put to mind the community members that risk their lives to protect wildlife. Community informants are the faceless heroes who advocate and fight silently for the voiceless animals.
Policies and implementation plans that have focused on government institutions as the sole protectors of wildlife, the environment and other natural resources have been enacted and have been seen to be unsuccessful. Involving the community has been taken up as imperative by the state actors and has resulted in placing them at the center of wildlife and environmental conservation.
The Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016, forest management under the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) shifted from a non-collaborative approach, where local communities were excluded in decision making in state forests, toward a participatory management regime where communities are actively involved in ensuring the well-being of forests is maintained. According to the Kobujoi Participatory Forest Management Plan, the aims of such a shift towards participatory management include greater accountability, reduced conflict, and ideally address improved livelihoods and better protected resources.
Many organizations employ community scouts to patrol community areas and conservancies, manage human-wildlife conflict incidences, and collect data in an effort to monitor the impact on wildlife populations. Unfortunately, a common challenge and frustration is that enforcement is beyond the capacity of community scouts as it requires specialized interventions by trained personnel.
The drastic change in the scenery, the weather, and the landscape was familiar to the team as the sped to the office before darkness engulfed the city. They dropped the snares, portable kitchen appliances, tents, and other camping equipment at the stores beneath the lobby balcony of the beautiful tucked away building first before heading to their homes. They were ready for the next call. As they go about their daily duties, the team rely on one thing for sure. The success of the program would not be possible without community informants and scouts.
Platforms for discourse bring together different governments, organizations, groups and institutions to deliberate on achievements, strategies, actions, and challenges of programs and projects set up to protect and ensure the well-being of the environment, wildlife for human welfare. The Africa Animal Welfare (AAWC) is one such platform. The 6th Africa Animal Welfare Conference – Action 2022 that will be held in Gaborone, Botswana will give focus to Animals, People, and the Environment in a rapidly changing 21st Century. All are invited to attend the conference which will take place virtually and physically from October 31 -November 2, 2022.