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The government of Kenya has stopped issuance of new licences and permits for wildlife conservation projects in several areas in the country until a new land policy is developed to address related tenure systems.
In a letter dated July 24 addressed to the Cabinet Secretaries for Tourism, Lands, and Environment, the President’s Chief of Staff Felix Koskei said the presidential directive followed a meeting between wildlife conservation players and the President.
Koskei said land management issues, including ownership, adjudication, and change of user, were identified as some of the biggest impediments to “sustainable wildlife conservation and management in the country.”
By addressing them, experts say the State will significantly boost conservation efforts in the country.
Read: Reformed poachers join patrol to stop illegal activities in Aberdare
The presidential directive ordered the Ministry of Lands to fast-track the implementation of the Community Land Act of 2016, which was meant to allow for registration of communally owned lands in the country and issuance of joint title deeds for them.
Community lands
Gladys Warigia, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, argues that this will enable the optimum and productive use of such community lands, which account of about 70 percent of Kenya’s land.
“The long term success of investments in conservation and other land uses are pegged on communities in Kenya having secure tenure,” she said.
The Act allows the State to zone and regulate the use of community lands, hence can allow for successful conservation projects in areas with wildlife, giving room for controlled land use in specific zoned areas.
Read: Kenya launches toolkit to fight illegal wildlife trade
According to Jackson Mwato, CEO of the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust – a wildlife conservancy in Kajiado County in Southern Kenya, this directive will help solve the uncontrolled land use in conservation areas that sometimes comes with the subdivision of community lands.
“People should develop land based on what’s allowed according to the zone. The President’s directive helps us let people know that it doesn’t matter that you have a title, what matters is what zone it is in?” Mwato said.
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