KWS has strengthened science-driven wildlife conservation and management. The approaches include monitoring wildlife health through disease surveillance and control, protecting the habitat and wildlife, conserving genetic resources that could develop new or improved food crops, medication, and other products.
The agency makes environmental assessments to ensure sustainable management of wildlife and habitats. It restores ecosystems, especially forest and water towers’ conservation. The 10 marine parks and reserves that the KWS manages are critical breeding areas for sea life and the fishing industry.
The KWS also translocates wildlife to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, management of carrying capacities and genetic variety. It conserves species and ensures the survival of endangered ones. Through bio-prospecting, it boosts the efforts on biotechnology — a strategy for conservation and management of aloe species and identification, discovery and characterization of useful compounds, DNA extracts, genes and microbes from wildlife.
The KWS manages and protects critical water catchments — Mt Kenya, the Aberdares, Mt Elgon, Chyulu and Marsabit. It is also involved, with other agencies, in protecting and restoring the Mau Forest. The KWS thus safeguards the source of much of Kenya’s energy — 70 percent of electricity comes from hydroelectric darns.
Most of them are on the Tana River which flows from Mt Kenya and Aberdares national parks. The second-largest source is the Turkwel Gorge in the Nasolot National Reserve, Pokot. Geothermal power is generated at Hell’s Gate National Park in Naivasha.
Wildlife Clubs of Kenya Description, Vision, Mission, Core values, Contacts, and Image
Wildlife Clubs of Kenya description
It is a youth conservation education and charitable, organization supported by the Government through the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. Kenyan students formed the WCK in 1968, the first conservation organization of its kind in the developing world. The Government gives it annual grants and members are allowed free access to KWS-managed national parks and game reserves.
For the past 40 years, the WCK has led youth environmental conservation, education and domestic tourism organizations in Africa. Kenyan schools and other educational institutions have more than 2,000 wildlife clubs. They are models for conservation education in many other countries; Eighteen African countries have wildlife clubs.
A 20-member council of civil servants, NGO members, citizens, and teachers run the WCK. A national secretariat handles daily activities with the advice of an executive committee of specialists in conservation education, business, and public administration.
The national secretariat co-ordinates WCK’s activities, sends out mobile field units and education officers to schools, runs training workshops, organizes rallies and prepares club publications.
It is a membership organization and members include school clubs and community groups. The categories of membership are primary and secondary schools, and universities and colleges. Associate membership is for adults, companies and community church groups. Currently, the membership stands at more than 2,000 clubs with about 200,000 members.
Through workshops in Africa, the WCK has stimulated a continental wildlife movement. It has also helped develop clubs in Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world. Through WCK lobbying, hunting and wildlife trophies were banned in Kenya, tree planting and soil erosion control activities have increased as has vigorous conservation of natural resources.
It has helped educate more than one million young Kenyans and placed many in positions of influence. Its intention is to ensure that this enormous membership and awareness lead to tangible conservation successes.
Its objectives are to interest and educate the youth about the environment and natural resources, alert the public of the cultural, environmental, aesthetic and economic value of natural resources and develop a better understanding of conserving wildlife and other natural resources.
The Mobile Education Unit is WCK’s most popular conservation education program. It reaches out to clubs at the grassroots, taking conservation messages in a lively manner. The unit visits schools even in remote areas where electricity and water are non-existent. In one year, the unit visits about 400 schools and reaches 90,000 students and residents. In total, it covers more than 40,000km countrywide.
The WCK has established two new mobile units at the Coast (Mombasa) and western Kenya (Kisumu). A unit has three vehicles equipped with a power generator, film, slide and video projector, a public address system and other teaching and learning resources.
The Mombasa Unit traverses the Coast Province, while the one in Kisumu covers Western and Nyanza provinces. The national mobile unit is based in Nairobi and covers the rest of the country.
The WCK Education Officer visit clubs and discusses activities and reports to the headquarters. This provides a link between the head-quarters and the grassroots. This link has facilitated the registration of new member clubs.
Vision
Empowered Kenyans with conservation knowledge for sustainability
Mission
To provide conservation education to the youths and support wildlife clubs through training, information sharing, and advocacy
Objectives
To spread interest and knowledge about wildlife and the environment among the people of Kenya in particular and East Africa in general.
In this way, to make them aware of the great economic, cultural and aesthetic value of natural resources.
To develop a better understanding of the need to conserve national resources for the benefit of the nation and its people.
Core Values
Integrity
Teamwork
Professionalism
Responsiveness & Kindness to the environment
Respect
Core Business
Conservation Education to Kenya youths
Establishment of schools wildlife clubs
Center for Tourism Training and Research (CTTR)
Komba magazine and other publications
Provision of transport facilities
Provision of hostel facilities
Contacts:
Wildlife Clubs of Kenya
P.O Box 20184 00200, Nairobi, Kenya
Langata Road, next to Bomas of Kenya
www.wildlifeclubsofkenya.org
info@wildlifeclubsofkenya.org