The Association of Wildlife Conservancy Rangers in Kenya (AWCRK) joined Kasigau Wildlife Conservancy and community on 30th July 2022 to commemorate and honour rangers across the world. The event was hosted by Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (TTWCA) in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) , County Government of Taita Taveta, AWCRK, Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF), WWF, Wildlife Works and Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW).
The event was graced by several guests including TTWCA leadership led by the vice chair, Mr Charles Mwaiseghe. Mr Charles Mwaiseghe acknowledged the work of rangers in protecting over one million acres of land under conservancies in Taita Taveta county and expressed excitement on youth involvement in the rangers workforce terming it a sign of good progress in job creation by conservancies. KWCA CEO Mr Dickson Kaelo thanked the International Ranger Federation (IRF) and Thin Greenline Foundation for designating 31st July as a day to honour rangers across the world. He acknowledged the role of rangers in conservancies citing that Kenya has over 4,000 conservancy rangers, of which 270 are female rangers. He appreciated the work conservancy rangers do by highlighting that they go beyond surveillance and security, to serving as mediators between people and wildlife even though they often risk their lives to discharge their duties demonstrating selfless sacrifice and courage.
Speaking during the event, Mrs. Nancy Githaiga, the Country Director for AWF, congratulated the rangers for being conservation warriors and for the unity that all the conservation partners have shown in the landscape to drive the conservation agenda forward. AWF donated a Landcruiser vehicle to TTWCA to help conservancy rangers patrol the landscape while carrying out their duties. AWCRK interim chairman, Daniel Ole Sambu and Game Rangers Association Africa (GRAA) East Africa representative, thanked TTWCA for hosting the the event and introduced AWCRK as a membership association affiliated to IRF and GRAA that works to take care of the interests and welfare of conservancy rangers in Kenya. He stressed that the association was not a union, rather a membership body that provides a platform for conservancy rangers to engage, learn and improve their professionalism. He urged all rangers to join AWCRK as members in order to take advantage of the opportunities that come with the association.
He commended them for their gallantry, patriotism and sacrifice and referred them as the country’s conservation heroes who work behind-the-scenes endangering their lives to protect nature and biodiversity. He acknowledged the efforts of KWS intelligence and security teams and praised the KWS management team for creating the right environment noting key achievements in infrastructure development, digital payments of park fees, Zuru promotional campaign, KWS band performance among other efforts.
The guest of honour, Environment Director at Taita Taveta County government Mr. John Mlamba praised Taita Taveta ranches for adopting the conservancy model which has incorporated rangers to protect huge numbers of wildlife in community lands. He called upon all the development partners to continue supporting the rangers and conservancies. He called on the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to fast track completion of the rangers’ security hub funded by UNDP and implemented by the County government of Taita Taveta praising it as a resource that will build the capacity of conservancy rangers to carry out their work.
Hon Najib Balala giving a speech at KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani during World Rangers Day Celebration.
On July 31st, AWCRK joined Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to commemorate World Rangers Day at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy (LEA) in Manyani, Taita Taveta County. The event was graced by the chief guest Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife (MoTW) Hon. Najib Balala alongside other designated guests from government and the conservation sector. In his speech, Hon. Najib Balala paid tribute to the all rangers who lost their lives in the line of duty, as well as every person working to conserve the country’s natural capital. He commended them for their gallantry, patriotism and sacrifice and referred them as the country’s conservation heroes who work behind-the-scenes endangering their lives to protect nature and biodiversity. He acknowledged the efforts of KWS intelligence and security teams and praised the KWS management team for creating the right environment noting key achievements in infrastructure development, digital payments of park fees, Zuru promotional campaign, KWS band performance among other efforts. Further, he recognized the role of conservancies as wildlife buffer zones and the efforts by KWCA and the conservancies in conserving and protecting wildlife outside of protected areas. He recognized government efforts in supporting community conservation highlighting support to community conservancies through the Economic Stimulus Programme, which supported conservancy ranger salaries in fiscal year 2020-2021 and recruitment of community wildlife scouts to support KWS anti-poaching and conservation activities.
