Chapter 17 - The Management of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources in Kenya: Origins, Present Challenges and Future Perspectives

Abstract

This chapter examines the challenges facing the management of wildlife and fisheries in Kenya using the historical perspectives of the current systemic weaknesses therein. Statutory institutions managing wildlife and fisheries resources in Kenya still operate under the colonial ‘policing’ model that presumed absence of any local management capacity in situ . Examples are given of unsuccessful attempts to manage wildlife and fisheries resources over the years using interventions that failed to include local human dimensions. The colonial model is thus demonstrated to be still in place but inapplicable to address the current challenges in Kenya. The chapter finally recommends the deliberate inclusion of local communities as intellectual participants to ensure socially and environmentally sustainable management of wildlife and fisheries resources in Kenya.