The National Government through Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has talked about the start of an authentication process on compensation claims forwarded from human-wildlife conflict.
While speaking in Lake Nakuru National Park during a science cafe for Environment Journalists Mr. Edward Karanja who oversees the park stated that the process will reward those who filled in the required forms and submitted them for verification.
Karanja also noted that scientists are doing all that is required to ensure that the park has the required number of herbivores, especially the buffaloes which have been frequently invading surrounding private farms.
“There is also a compensation scheme for those who have been affected. Again, there are those requirements for one to qualify for compensation and there are those species which are compensated, not all the species and the compensation program is ongoing,” said Karanja.
Moreover, when addressing the human-wildlife conflict issue, Mr. Karanja said KWS has fenced the park adding that the move has reduced the number of incidents because of the park.
Nevertheless, Lake Nakuru National Park is currently the home of more than seven thousand buffaloes, a number that is said to have surpassed the carrying capacity of the park.
However, cases of buffaloes invading the firms of residents living around the park have been on the rise
Furthermore, Esther Wambui, who is a resident of Pwani Village in Njoro Sub County noted that they have been spending the entire day manning their farms from buffaloes and monkeys.
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“We have been forced to watch our farms and escort our children to and from school fearing that they might be attacked by the buffaloes from the park”, she said.
Nevertheless, Mr. Karanja reported that KWS management have put in place strict measures including conservation education among the park neighbors to sort out the human-wildlife conflict.
“When we had the last count, a number of natural happenings have occurred including the drought where we lost a number of them and again to ascertain whether we need to conduct translocation of the buffaloes, there is a need to bring the scientists to count again the number of buffaloes so that they can advise on the process,” Karanja added
