61st ANNIVERSARY OF KENYA’S INDEPENDENCE: KENYA: A LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

TEXT: Environmental conservation and tourism have co-existed and developed alongside each other for a very long time. As travellers became more enlightened on the need for environmental conservation, so has the concept of conservation become more popular across the tourism landscape. In some economies, tourism would hardly exist without the environment and nature because it entirely depends on it.

In such cases, conservation becomes critical for the survival of the sector. The key issue is to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment while maximising the benefits to the surrounding community.

Uncontrolled tourism can be detrimental to the natural environment. It can put pressure on an area and lead to challenges such as soil erosion, increased pollution, increased pressure on endangered plant and animal species. It can also put pressure on natural resources like water which eventually leads to human-wildlife conflicts. Increasing tourism activities around the world also mean that carbon emissions due to more travel through air, road, and rail transport are also continuously increasing. It is therefore critical that tourism is controlled to ensure the environment can cope.

AWARENESS

Tourism plays a major role in increasing public appreciation of the environment by spreading awareness of environmental conservation. This is as it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment which makes them more aware of the value of nature and makes them become environmentally conscious. Conservation in tourism allows people from all over to continue enjoying the Earth’s most stunning wildlife while at the same time helping protect endangered species and ecosystems. Tourists increasingly come to Kenya for nature-based activities that rely on abundant wildlife and attractive landscapes, coastal and marine environments. As such, Kenya has been a leader in conservation efforts in a various ways aimed at reducing harmful pollutants and limit human activity that contributes to climate change through regulations. For instance, Kenya banned the use of all single-use plastics such as water bottles from all national parks, beaches, forests and other protected areas. This was a follow-up to the manufacturing ban and use all plastic bags in the country. The aim is to promote sustainable tourism and to finding a balance between communities, travellers, and conservation to ensure the wild remains sustainable for as long as possible.

CLEAN SEAS

In 2017, Kenya also became one of 57 countries to join the United Nations’ Clean Seas Campaign; committing to promote recycling, protect national water bodies from pollution because of plastics. On the same note, through the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya continues to care for our wild animals in established protected areas like game parks and conservancies. The Kenya Forestry Service also plays a huge role in the management and protection of the country’s forest areas. As a result of these efforts, Kenya has managed to protect some of the endangered species of plants and animals, and these have begun to thrive again.

In 2020, for instance, Kenya saw a great increase in the number of wildlife resources in parks and conservancies. For example, in Amboseli National Park, which is one of the main national parks, reported the birth of more than 170 elephant calves during the year. Overall, the country’s elephant numbers have more than doubled since 1989, increasing from 16,000 in 1989 to 34,800 by the end of 2019. The number of elephants poached in Kenya in 2020 has also dropped significantly from previous years as just seven elephants were killed by poachers during the year, compared to 34 in 2019 and 80 in 2018. Aside from that, our rhino population has also significantly increased during this period which is good for our tourism as rhinos are key tourist attractions for the destination.

Last year, Kenya made commitments during COP26, among them being:

• To restrict by 2030 the use of vehicular transportation within all National Parks and Reserves to those that use non-fossil renewable energy.

• To require all hospitality and tourism facilities in Kenya to adopt renewable energy and circular economy in their operations by 2030

• To mobilise the ecological assets in Kenya’s vast protected areas that act as carbon sinks to maximise global carbon credit facilities available to raise additional resources; to play an active role in meeting our national goal of a net carbon-neutral nation.

• To restore degraded areas in our National Parks and Reserves with a concerted reforestation effort

• To increase Kenya’s marine conservation areas network.

Conservation remains a key component of Kenya’s tourism sector now and in the future as tourism remains a key economic activity. Cognizant of this importance, Kenya continues to partner with the private sector as key stakeholders to ensure our tourism remains sustainable

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024