Why ongoing national wildlife census is crucial

The Mara and its iconic wildebeest migration is an attraction for tourists and a source of revenue to Kenya. For tourists to arrive at the Masai Mara to watch the wildebeest migration, an airline, crew, and food company will earn. A transport company will benefit from moving them from the airport. More businesses, including a farmer who supplies fresh produce to tourist hotels, also benefit. As a result, families will get basic needs and children go to school.

In this case, information on the number of wildebeests in the Mara, an ecosystem shared with Tanzania, their behaviours, why the population is reducing on the Kenyan side, and where they go, is important when marketing Kenya as a tourist destination, and interventions to have more of them.  

In all these, the role of communities, which sometimes have a deeper understanding of the local environment and wildlife, is key. Communities such as the Maasai, who interact with wildlife, can tell changes in animal behaviour and movements, providing information that cameras may not capture.

Engaging communities in such censuses enhances their sense of ownership and responsibility towards wildlife. This can reduce human-wildlife conflicts and livestock predation by big cats that often cause retaliatory killings.

Besides, conservation initiatives are a source of livelihood and reduce over-reliance on livestock, which mitigates overgrazing that worsens land degradation. Pastoralists are on the front line of climate change, usually suffering losses when their livestock are killed by drought or floods, or the domestic animals’ productivity is reduced as a result of unconducive temperatures. Changes in rain patterns and temperatures also affect pasture availability and quality. Integrating local communities in such activities as census and wildlife conservation projects enhances the resilience and survival of both wildlife and domestic animals.

Wildlife censuses are effective in ensuring conservation and providing the data needed to address climate change and biodiversity loss. An integrated approach, therefore, offers an opportunity for conservation and preservation of Kenya's rich biodiversity for future generations.