By Eddah Waithaka
Conservation organizations and wildlife experts are urging the Kenyan government to halt the legislative process for the proposed Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill, 2025, citing critical gaps and potential risks to biodiversity.
The groups, representing a coalition of conservation practitioners and community advocates, acknowledge the government’s intent to modernize wildlife governance but warn that the current draft requires broader consultation and refinement.
Conservationists warn that Kenya’s proposed Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill, 2025 risks undermining biodiversity by fully repealing the 2013 Act instead of amending it, allowing mining in protected areas without sufficient safeguards, and creating redundant institutions like the Wildlife Regulatory Authority, which overlaps with KWS and the National Environment Tribunal.
They also criticize the bill’s weak controls on wildlife use, fearing expanded farming and harvesting could threaten vulnerable species, while unclear compensation rules leave communities exposed to human-wildlife conflict.
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Experts urge a pause in the legislative process to strengthen protections and ensure inclusive stakeholder input.
The coalition proposes concrete solutions, urging authorities to convene a multi-stakeholder review forum for inclusive input, strengthen existing institutions like KWS rather than establishing redundant new bodies, ban mining in protected areas entirely, implement stricter wildlife use regulations, and align the legislation with international standards including CITES and UNEP’s Core Principles on Human Rights and Conservation to ensure robust environmental protections.
“Public participation should not be cosmetic. We must go back and ensure a truly consultative process,” said Ben Wachira, Conservation Advocate.
“Kenya’s wildlife cannot sustain expanded consumptive use without irreversible harm,” said Raabia Hawa, Wildlife Expert.
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