Nairobi: Residents of Wajir County have called for urgent amendments to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill, citing prolonged delays in compensation. Speaking during a public participation forum held in Wajir town, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Yakub M. Dahiye, faulted Section 7 of the draft Bill, describing the current definition of a wildlife conservancy as exclusionary.
According to Kenya News Agency, Mr Dahiye noted that the Bill fails to accommodate integrated land uses such as pastoralism and livestock ranching, which are vital to livelihoods in arid and semi-arid areas. "We recommend revising the definition to include conservancies as areas of private or community land managed through a legal entity for wildlife conservation alongside other compatible land uses," he said.
The CECM also highlighted lack of clarity on the role of county governments in establishing and managing community conservancies, especially on trust lands, calling for their inclusion in national wildlife planning and policy frameworks. He at the same time opposed the creation of a new Wildlife Regulatory Authority, instead advocating for empowering a directorate within the State Department of Wildlife to handle regulation and registration functions. Mr Dahiye urged that counties be involved in licensing processes to enhance own-source revenue.
Community members and local leaders at the forum expressed frustrations over recurring wildlife attacks, delayed compensation, and slow government response mechanisms. "People are attacked, livestock killed, yet compensation takes months or even years to come, if at all it does," lamented Mr. Mohamed Dagane from Wajir South. Participants proposed that claims valued below Sh1,000,000 be handled at county level to improve access and reduce backlogs.
They further urged that compensation decisions and payments be completed within four months, down from the current six-month period. Concerns were also raised over the exclusion of children under 18 years from temporary disability compensation with residents terming the clause discriminatory and called for its review. "A lion or snake does not check your age. Every life, young or old, is valuable," said elder Mr Ibrahim Ashkur.
The inclusion of species frequently causing damage, such as giraffes and snakes, in the compensation schedule was another key demand, especially in counties like Wajir and Garissa. Mr Dahiye recommended aligning livestock compensation to current market prices and proposed listing the endangered Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) under the Sixth Schedule of the Bill.
Participants expressed concern over Article 181, which requires wildlife incidents to be reported within 48 hours. They described the timeline as unrealistic due to vast terrain, insecurity, and poor road infrastructure, suggesting an extension to 96 hours. Calls were also made to decentralise compensation committees to sub-county level and empower chiefs and elders to verify wildlife incidents in place of delayed police reports. "Let chiefs and elders be empowered to verify incidents instead of relying solely on police reports that often come too late," said Mr Osman Mohamed, a former conservancy official.