The Business of Conservation

As the dusty roads turned to clay, voters streamed to their polling stations like the rivulets of red mud that saturated the floors of bhomas nationwide. The slow release of results of the election were brought into question by national and international observers, sparking outrage and soon violence across the country.

Now nearly a year after that election and subsequent strife that cost  over 1000 people their lives, Kenya is well on its way to rebuilding. Political stability more or less restored, the campaign is underway to repair the one industry that above all else supports the Kenyan economy—tourism.

Tourists in Kenya are attracted by the rich culture and scenic vistas, but above all else it’s the animals.

Home to to a variety and multitude of wildlife almost incomprehensible to western standards, safari tourism allows visitors to feel the sun on the savannah or ride a boat alongside hippos.

It’s a profitable business. Kenya’s 55 national parks and game reserves account for about 10% of the country’s area, and their revenue 95% of the country’s tourism dollars.

But in the 11 months since the election, tourism to Kenya has dried up. Fear of civil unrest has all but driven the popular tourist destinations out of business and is placing endangered animals at risk.

Much of the revenue incurred by tourism goes back into conserving the natural treasures of Kenya. Nairobi boasts an elephant orphanage and a giraffe sanctuary to take care of the abandoned of those species (the giraffe sanctuary also takes in turtles and warthogs).

On the savannah, park officials regularly compensated the local Maasai herdsmen whose livestock are killed by leopards or lions. Parks were well-patrolled to prevent poaching.

Local industry profited from the tourism. Everything from jewelery to spears can be purchased at roadside curios or from local artisans, and local guides are the best at finding the animals on safari.

Since the election, the decrease in revenue has been catastrophic to local economies, and deadly for animals. No longer receiving compensation for lost livestock, herdsmen are forced to exercise their right to protect their herds. No longer able to afford the extra patrols, more and more poachers are making it into parks and coming out with invaluable ivory and animal skins.

In a widely citicized move, the government deregulated part of the Masai Mara game reserve, the home of the Serengeti Plains that extend south into Tanzania and a popular tourist destination for safari-goers to watch the Great Migration or spot the Big Five—lions, leopards, elephants, water buffalo and giraffes.

Deregulation opens this land up to commercial farming, and in a country with few rules regarding the use of pesticides and where large, foreign-owned commercial farms often use crop-dusting, contaminating more groundwater with carthinegins will cause an increase in already high prevelance of throat cancer among local citizens and be detrimental for animal populations.

But the fact is that they need the money.