Kenya invests in wildlife conservation to protect the tourism sector

The human-wildlife conflict has cost the Kenyan government KSh1.2 billion ($120 million) in the last five years alone and the figure is set to shoot upwards While the headlines have raised the status of Kenya as a conservation hub, there has been a crisis brewing in the sector In the period under review, KSh569 million ($5.69 million) was used to pay off 163 families whose kin were killed by wildlife in various parts of the country Kenya has always been at the centre of wildlife conservation due to its world-renowned national parks and an active conservation movement. Drawn by the large economic benefits brought about by tourism, wildlife conservation is however increasingly becoming a strained trade. Three events have happened to cement Kenya as the centre for conservation. First, a project to maintain the legacy of the last white rhino in the world received a boost after the country announced the successful fertilization and creation of new embryos from the original bull. This research was conducted by Kenya Wildlife Services, OlPajeta Conservancy both based in Kenya, Berlin-based Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Italian institute Avantea, and DvůrKrálové Zoo based in the Czech Republic. Read: Saving the Serengeti: