Kenya Wildlife Service

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a Kenyan state corporation that was established in 1989 to conserve and manage Kenya’s wildlife. It is established under an Act of Parliament Cap 376 (The Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment 1989) Act) with the mandate to conserve and manage wildlife in Kenya and to enforce related laws and regulations. It manages the biodiversity of the country, protecting and conserving the flora and fauna.[1]

Kenya Wildlife Service
IndustryConservation
Founded1990
HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
Key people
David Mwiraria
Board of Trustees Chairman
Brig. (Rtd.) John Waweru
Director-General
WebsiteHomepage

KWS manages most of the National Parks and Reserves in Kenya, the most popular exception being the Maasai Mara National Reserve, which is managed by local authorities. The money collected as conservation fees in the parks is used to help the conservation of the flora and fauna within the parks.

National parks and reserves[2]

Kenya has over 39 designated national parks and reserves:

Conservation programmes

KWS runs specific programmes to assist Kenyan species and their habitats that are in particular danger. They have forest and Wetland conservation programmes, as well as specific elephant and rhino projects to help them recover from poaching. The hirola, which is in danger of extinction, is also being monitored.

Within KWS there are several services, each responsible for a different area of work:

Community Wildlife Service

This branch of the KWS works outside the national parks. They work instead in areas such as wildlife corridors, and teach the communities living there to encourage conservation and look after their resources.

Security Services

The job of this service is to eliminate poaching in the national parks and stop illegal trade.

Veterinary Services

This service ensures that healthy breeding populations of species are maintained throughout the country.

Training

KWS has a training institute, also referred to as Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute. The facility located in Naivasha, is a middle-level college registered with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as a TVET institution. It offers specialized certificate and diploma courses in natural resource management, ecology and tourism in an effort to enhance conservation, management and sustainability of wildlife bio-diversity in Kenya and globally.

KWS also has a Law Enforcement Academy is situated in Manyani Area, which caters for all law enforcers' paramilitary training.

Education

KWS run several education centres:

  • Nairobi Safari Walk
  • Nairobi Education Centre
  • Lake Nakuru Education Centre
  • Tsavo East Education Centre
  • Tsavo West Education Centre

These are located inside National Parks, and run programs to encourage people to care for their environment. It is aimed at local people, particularly school groups, but is open to anyone.

Influential administrators
  • Julius Kipng'etich, former Director General (departed 2012)[3]
  • Ronald kipruto koech
  • Michael Kipkeu
  • Richard Leakey, Chairman of the Board of Trustees[4]
  • Kitili Mbathi, Director General (since 2016)[5]

See also

References
  1. Kenya Wildlife Service Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Kenya Wildlife Service |". www.kws.go.ke. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2016-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Africa Corporate Data | Investment in Africa | Africa Companies". Asokoinsight.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. "Kitili Mbathi BA, MBFD: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
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