By Liz Anyango
Oloitoktok, Kajiado County: In the heart of Oloitoktok, where the majestic Amboseli National Park resides, a vibrant celebration marked World Wildlife Day 2024. Students, conservationists, and community members joined hands for a lively procession, with a school band playing as they marched against the breathtaking backdrop of Africa’s iconic Kilimanjaro Mountain.
One of the highlights of this year’s event was Amboseli National Park’s showcase of its cutting-edge digital conservation tools, aligning with the theme of “Connecting people and the planet, exploring digital innovation in wildlife celebration” From advanced elephant satellite monitors to CCTV cameras aimed at deterring poachers, the park demonstrated its commitment to utilizing technology for wildlife protection.
Ambosseli National Park assistant director Paul Wambi stated that Ambosseli takes pride in hosting four out of the five members of the Big 5: Lion, Leopard, Rhino, and Elephants therefore the ecosystem has fully embraced technology in Wildlife conservation.
Guest speaker, Gender, Co-operative, Culture, Tourism, and Wildlife CEC Janet Sereu praised Amboseli as a leading ecosystem that lives harmoniously with the surrounding communities.
’However we must find ways of using technology to speed up compensation for human-wildlife conflict victims,’’ emphasized Sereu, noting its potential to improve human-wildlife relations and reduce retaliatory killings of wildlife. Sereu further shed light on the inefficiencies of the current compensation process, describing it as slow, unreliable, and inefficient.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya’s Amboseli-Chyulu Sublandscape Programme Coordinator, Dr. John Kioko emphasized that Digital innovation is critical since it has played a big role in conservation at the grassroots level. “We have provided 10 boreholes to conservancies, distributed 150 solar lights to communities, and helped install 10 predator-proof fences in the ecosystem.”
Kioko added that these initiatives directly address the habitat loss and wildlife activities in Amboseli National Park. “The use of innovative technologies such as the Solar Powered Elephant fence mitigates human-wildlife conflict while camera traps monitor wildlife movement that helps in identifying poaching hotspots.”
Other key partners in the conservation efforts including other conservation organizations such as the African Conservation Center (ACC), Kenya Wildlife Service, Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (AET), BIG LIFE, and Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT echoed these statements and joined in the colorful celebrations.
The event was also attended by non-conservation partners such as KCB, Cooperative, and equity banks.
Similar events were organized nationwide by different organizations and stakeholders, spreading the message of wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship.
World Wildlife Day is typically celebrated on March 3rd each year, but this year’s official events were held on March 4th due to the day falling on a weekend.
