Wildlife Security and International Relations

Abstract

Kenya is endowed with an enormous biodiversity of ecosystems and wildlife species. This rich wildlife together with other attractions has for decades made the country an important tourist destination and hub for the lucrative tourist industry. Nonetheless, wildlife species continue to face threats such as commercial poaching for trophies and human wildlife conflicts that hinder their survival. It is important to mitigate these threats to ensure wildlife species do not go extinct and Kenya continues to pull tourists into the country. The absence of wildlife security poses a threat to international relations. This is because wildlife crimes increase global crime rates that often lead to instability in the global arena. Furthermore, wildlife crime has, throughout history, been a source of funding for rebel groups, militias and extremist groups like the Alshabaab in Somalia. These groups undermine good governance and development efforts of states. This study aims at analyzing the key threats to wildlife security in Kenya and international relations, examining the severity of wildlife threats both locally in Kenya and globally and establishing probable solutions that can be tailor-made to address threats to wildlife security in Kenya and international relations