FOOD DONATED TO COMMUNITIES ADJACENT TO AMBOSELI PARK

Communities living adjacent to world-renowned Amboseli National Park have been aided with famine relief food in the face of a devastating drought that ravaged the area prior to the onset of current long rains.

A total of 1,500 hampers of relief food were donated by the National Government through the National Steering Committee on Drought Response. Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage Hon. Peninah Malonza led top officials from the National Government, KWS, and the County Government of Kajiado in distributing the relief supplies to the needy.

Hon. Malonza said climate change has resulted in unpredictable weather conditions in Kenya, particularly in the rangelands, where wildlife and livestock are found in abundance. She noted that there has been no rainfall in the southern rangelands of Kajiado, where Amboseli ecosystem is located, for the whole of 2022. “This drought relief food package highlights that the Kenya Government is aware that food is a pathway to peace; indeed, it brings together humans from all walks of life, and fosters peaceful co-existence between humans and, by extension, wildlife”, she said.

The Cabinet Secretary thanked the communities living adjacent to Amboseli National Park, and other conservation partners such as group ranches, for their dedication to ensuring that wildlife populations in the Amboseli ecosystem thrive. She added, “I urge KWS and the communities to continue to collaborate closely for the sake of maintaining peaceful co-existence between wildlife and humans in Amboseli ecosystem”.

Kenya Wildlife Service acting Director General Dr Erustus Kanga said the Service is committed to strengthening relationships with stakeholders and partners, and support for communities neighbouring Amboseli National Park. “I thank the communities living here for your sacrifice, resilience, selflessness, and love for nature and our wildlife which defines Kenya’s heritage that is the envy of people across the world”, said Dr Kanga.

KWS Board of Trustees Chairman Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Walter Raria Koipaton said KWS supports communities in Amboseli ecosystem, given that they are the number one collaborators in conserving wildlife gem, adding that he is aware of the challenges local people have gone through in the last couple of months, owing to a devastating drought.

The Joint food distribution exercise will benefit Inchakita/Risa, Enkongu Narok, Namelok, Olmoti and Ildepen, among other neighbouring villages.