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The spectacular migration of wildebeest is here again. About 1.2 million wild animals cross the savannah in a 1800 km loop between the Tanzanian Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve in Kenya in pursuit of water and pasture [19659002EcologistshaveshownthatthismigrationisthelargestlandmovementintheworldplaysanimportantroleindeterminingtheecologicalhealthandfunctioningofthecomplexoftheSerengetiandMaraecosystem
A study published in 2017 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Amanda Subalusky and her colleagues revealed that the approximately 6,500 animals that drown in the Mara River each year feed crocodiles, provide half of the diet for fish, add 13 tons of phosphorus, 25 tons of nitrogen and 107 tons of carbon in the ecosystem.
The slow release of nutrients into the bones provides a steady supply of nutrients and habitat to the microbes, which become food for the fish. In addition, migratory wildlife consume more than 4,500 tonnes of grass per day and deposit massive amounts of manure in large areas of savannah.
The value of wildlife and the complex and delicate balance of our diverse ecosystems are essential to nutrition and health. people and our economies. Our survival as a species and civilization is linked to the stability of our ecosystem.
Our rich wildlife heritage and the wealth of our ecosystems must be more than a curious attraction for tourists and their money.
The state of the wildlife and the ecosystems on which they depend are disastrous. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the national conservation authority, is less than inspiring. KWS is plagued by serious institutional, governance and capacity issues. The tragic death of 10 rhinos as a result of a horribly coordinated translocation operation is perhaps the most obvious manifestation of the situation at KWS
Tourism CS Najib Balala said the death of the 10 rhinos was due negligence and miscommunication. by KWS officials involved in the translocation.
KWS has been on a steady decline path for more than a decade. Effective wildlife protection and critical resource management have been severely constrained by human resources and operational capacity.
Is Balala's cleaning house? Executive Director Julius Kimani is fired. Dr. Charles Musyoki, my former classmate, is the Acting Director General. Since its inception, senior KWS leaders, including the board, have tended to neglect science, imagining that healthy conservation and ecosystem science were insignificant in the management of wildlife and wildlife. habitat. The decline in critical wildlife habitat due to accelerated degradation by climate change and the change in human-induced land use requires that the management of our wildlife and its fragile habitats rests on the best scientific knowledge. . Negligent management of critical habitat resources will accelerate the decline and extinction of our wildlife.
I believe that we can and must do good science and strong anti-poaching measures. Can Dr. Musyoki stop the decline of KWS and ensure the survival of wildebeest migration?
Alex O. Awiti is the director of East.
Institute of Africa at Aga Khan University
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