KENYA'S BIODIVERSITY

Kenya's biodiversity includes over 35,000 species of fauna and flora that contribute to her rich genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Animals comprise about 25,000 species, vascular plants 7,000 species and 2000 species of fungi and bacteria. The avifauna diversity is about 1100 bird species unparalleled anywhere in Africa. This wide array of biodiversity is found in also a ranging ecosystem including forests, savannas, coastal, inland waters (fresh & saline) and wetlands, and marine with varied environmental conditions that dictate the width and depth of biodiversity. Besides their ecological importance, these ecosystems remain the back bone of Kenya's economy by providing critical ecosystem services to the people. For instance, the tourism sector that earned the country approximately KSh 164 billion in 2019 and about 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kenya. It is upon these ecosystems that the wildlife research agenda is premised.

So far, Kenya has committed 8.2% of its total land area to Protected Areas (PAs) including, 22 terrestrial National Parks, 4 Marine National Parks, 28 terrestrial National Reserves, 6 Marine National Reserves and 5 National Sanctuaries. However, only about 35% of Kenya's wildlife are found inside these PAs, with the remaining 65% inhabiting private or community lands, which are outside the PAs hence the need for an ecosystem-based conservation approach that extend beyond Pas. As a result, about 11% of the Kenya's total (582,646 km²) land mass is conservancies either as community, group, private or co-managed. Wild animals require space for movement, breeding, feeding as well as growth and developmental phases to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The established PAs systems do not provide adequate space for these activities and a main result are rampant human wildlife conflicts that lead to retaliatory killings endangering biodiversity persistence. As a result, research and conservation has moved on to include connectivity by utilizing animal movement data to gain more understanding on corridors, dispersal areas and their connectivity to important wildlife areas. Therefore, research seeks to provide seamless connectivity for Kenya's rich wildlife heritage to promote sustainable development and Kenya's Vision 2030. Furthermore, Kenya's biological diversity faces many and mounting threats including high population, poverty and conflicts, poor land use practices, inadequate and unimplemented laws, policies and institutional framework, un-educated community and failure to involve people. The country cannot and has not been realizing optimal wildlife-based benefits as envisioned due to inadequate scientific data on wildlife population to inform policy direction.

It is against this backdrop that the Wildlife Research and Training Institute was established