Moses Makonjio Okello

Threats to biodiversity and their implications in protected and adjacent dispersal areas of Kenya.

This study identified threats against biodiversity and conservation in Kenya, and their prevalence across protected areas. The susceptibility of protected areas to the threat factors was also assessed. Ten threat factors were identified from information obtained through interviews with protected area officers. The most prevalent threat factors were the bush meat trade, poaching, prevalence of human–wildlife conflicts, human population density and encroachment, and loss of migration corridors and dispersal areas. Most of the protected areas were susceptible to more than half of the threat factors. All marine protected areas, a majority of forested and protected areas popular with tourists were highly susceptible to most of the threat factors. The findings suggest that biodiversity and most of the protected areas in Kenya are currently faced with various threats. Forest ecosystems, marine protected areas and wetlands need urgent and focused conservation strategies to safeguard them and their biodiversity. Tourism is, however, not a major primary threat; paradoxically some of the other threats identified may be a threat to Kenyas tourism industry.

A Survey of Tourist Expectations and Economic Potential for a Proposed Wildlife Sanctuary in a Maasai Group Ranch near Amboseli, Kenya

This paper looks at the ethical, ecological, community, economic and management issues in extending wildlife tourism and conservation beyond national park boundaries in Kenya. It specifically examines the proposed Kuku Community Conservation Area (KCCA). Prerequisites, including the availability of diverse tourist attractions, local community support, the support of tourism investors and other stakeholders are considered. Research focused on interviews with tourists and tour operators visiting the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem. Wildlife was the number one attraction for over 75% of tourists, though some were attracted by the Maasai culture. Most of the tourists (over 75%) were willing to visit a community wildlife sanctuary. This willingness was independent of their belief that the Maasai were actually benefiting from wildlife resources (p > 0.20) but was dependent (p < 0.001) on their desire to have the Maasai benefit. Most of them (over 70%) wanted the Maasai Community to benefit from wildlife and tourism, even though a majority (over 70%) did not know the role the community played in conservation, or (over 80% of them) the socio-economic burden that wildlife places on local communities. A majority (over 60%) of tourists had not visited a Maasai cultural centre, but most (over 70%) would have visited if they knew what was presented there. Based on a simple management model of 46 staff, KCCA could potentially generate a net Ksh10.35 million (US

Population Status and Trend of the Maasai Giraffe in the Mid Kenya-Tanzania Borderland

147,867) annually, in addition to revenue from a proposed cultural centre and resource access benefits for the local community. With the existing tourist attractions in the area and with potential partnerships with tour companies, maximum benefit to the community from the successful tourism industry already operating in the area can be realised, hence legitimising wildlife conservation for the community.

Factors Influencing Domestic Tourism for Urban and Semiurban Populations Around Nairobi National Park, Kenya

The Maasai ostrich (Struthio camelus) is a the largest avian species in East Africa and though it’s not considered to be a species of conservation concern, some populations are on the decline and this is attributed to bush meat activities, predation on their eggs illegal consumption by humans, habitat destruction and forage competition with other large wildlife species. Climate change is also emerging to be another major threat due to interference with food availability which in turn interferes with the breeding rhythm. Thus, this study examined the population status, trend and distribution of the Maasai ostrich in the Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania borderland after the 2007 to 2009 drought. The results showed that the species was found across the entire borderland but the Amboseli region had the highest number and density of Maasai ostrich (726.00 ± 100.9; 0.08 ± 0.01 ostriches per km), followed by Lake Natron area (330.8 ± 69.8; 0.05 ± 0.01 ostriches per km) and the least was in West Kilimanjaro (85.5 ± 18.0; 0.03 ± 0.01 ostriches per km). Drought caused a decline in the population of the Maasai ostrich but the Amboseli area experienced the highest decline in density (−13.44 ± 12.61) compared to other borderland sectors. However, the populations increased in most sectors after the drought, and wet season numbers and densities were higher than the dry season. The highest positive increase in number and density was in Lake Natron area (+85.65 ± 91.06) followed by West Kilimanjaro (+68.39 ± 59.54), and the least was in the Magadi area (+22.26 ± 32.05). There is a need to enhance conservation of avian species like the Maasai ostrich other than just focusing on the charismatic species such as the African elephant and black rhino. We therefore recommend joint collaboration in monitoring all large wildlife populations across the Kenya-Tanzania borderland with a view of underHow to cite this paper: Okello, M.M., Kiringe, J.W., Kenana, L., Warinwa, F., Maliti, H., Sitati, N.W., Kanga, E., Bakari, S., Ndambuki, S., Muruthi, P., Gichohi, N., Massawe, E., Kimutai, D., Mwita, M. and Muteti, D. (2016) Population Status and Trend of the Maasai Ostrich in the Mid Kenya—Tanzania Borderland. Natural Resources, 7, 558579. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/nr.2016.710047 Received: March 22, 2016 Accepted: October 28, 2016 Published: October 31, 2016 Copyright