Poaching figures fake, Environment PS Richard Lesiyampe insists
What you need to know:
- Mr Lesiyampe was responding to queries by MPs during a meeting at Parliament Buildings on Tuesday.
- The PS said public servants are dismayed by reports that poaching is out of control.
Some non-governmental organisations lie about the number of wildlife killed by poachers to get more funding from donors, Environment Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe has said.
He told the parliamentary Environment and Natural Resources Committee to be wary of such NGOs’ projections.
The PS said the lobbies purport to be committed to conservation yet they have other motives.
Mr Lesiyampe was responding to queries by MPs during a meeting at Parliament Buildings on Tuesday.
The Environment ministry and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) presented a report on why poaching should not be declared a national disaster.
INFLATE FIGURES
“We have NGOs that inflate the figures to get resources from all over the world. Money has been raised from races and walks but none of the people involved have supported KWS,” Mr Lesiyampe said.
The PS said public servants are dismayed by reports that poaching is out of control.
KWS Director-General William Kiprono said it is through cooperation with security agencies that a Chinese man described as a major poaching organiser was arrested and deported.
Emuhaya MP Wilbur Ottichilo said the efforts to combat poaching would amount to nothing if the encroachment on parks and reserves as well as the closure of migration corridors is not addressed.
Human settlement close to wildlife habitats, he said, is a major threat.
