Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
consumption (e.g., wild birds and fi sh) for residues of carbofuran and metabolites. In this same
spirit, we are not aware of any studies having been conducted to assess repercussions to human
health arising from occupational exposure (whether farmers or poachers), exposure to residues
on/in foodstuffs or from consumption of contaminated meat obtained by pesticide-aided
fi shing/hunting. Kenyans (particularly those living in villages) tend to be quite reticent about
providing urine or blood samples, so studies and research approaches will have to be designed
accordingly. Such initiatives will require collaboration with medical experts and researchers.
9. Establishment of rehabilitation capacity
Despite having some of the richest biodiversity in the world, the existing wildlife
rehabilitation facilities in Kenya need further support. In the face of signifi cant wildlife
mortality, proper treatment facilities and release protocols are essential conservation tools. In
this regard, the veterinary departments in universities and related institutions could be called
upon to collaborate in helping to develop and maintain such facilities.
All these recommendations will require adequate funding and considerable support from
the government of Kenya, and the international community, among others, if we are ever
to tackle the underlying issues of human-wildlife confl ict and the extensive environmental
contamination within the country. Wildlife protection efforts should receive equal support to
that offered for forest conservation. We can erect more secure and permanent perimeter fences
to ensure the safety of wildlife and of the people and their farms. Government policies can also
be implemented to deter human population and their activities from encroaching closer into
the protected wildlife areas and the buffer areas. But we cannot manufacture the willingness
and determination that must accompany such gestures. In this chapter, we are extending a plea
to the international community and to the various organisations that draw up treaties regarding
the safe use, monitoring and restriction of agro-chemicals, to help us address this issue now
and not put it off any longer. Researchers and conservationists who have been at the forefront
of this issue as it has unfolded are baffl ed by the muted response received so far, even after the
poisoning of Africa's emblematic lions. As such, we wonder what sort of event would trigger a
more defi nitive response. Would the poisoning of a highly cherished species such as a mountain
gorilla catalyse the international community into immediate action? In the absence of any
other plausible explanation, we are left to draw the inevitable conclusion that the international
community and the government of Kenya have little regard for the health of Kenyans and
are not fully engaged in ensuring the well-being of even our most highly charismatic wildlife
species. Indeed it is ultimately the responsibility of the government and all the people
of Kenya to ensure that we do not lose our precious wildlife; they are our children - unruly,
special, each one irreplaceable, and should be protected at all costs. But we are struggling, and
so, we ask for help to achieve this most monumental of tasks, before it is too late.
Acknowledgements
Peter Otieno's study was funded by The Peregrine Fund (TPF), through the Africa Project. Both
he and Joseph Lalah wish to thank Dr Munir Z. Virani of TPF, Simon Thomsett, Ian Craig, Chege,
Joanne, Richard and all staff of Lewa Conservancy, Kuki Gallman and Philip Ochieng of Gallman
Memorial Wildlife Conservancy, Mbirikani and Kilimanjaro ranches, Darcy Ogada and all staff of
the National Museums of Kenya, and the technical staff of the Chemistry Department at Maseno
University. They also thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a visiting fellow-
ship to J.O. Lalah for research at Bayreuth University, Germany, which enabled the preparation of the
manuscript. Martin Odino's work in Bunyala was made possible largely by a Rufford Small Grant,
and he thanks WildlifeDirect for their support as well. Dino Martins thanks Nature Kenya (East
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