The Kenya Wildlife Service will get its own prosecution unit as part of a raft of measures announced by Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu for the protection of elephants.
Wakhungu made the announcement at the inaugural Giants Club Summit in Nanyuki on Friday.
In addition to the in-house prosecution unit, the KWS will also set up a rapid response unit with special training and equipment to fight poachers.
The Jubilee administration also committed to coming up with, “innovative ways,” to finance conservation initiatives including through the setting up of an endowment fund.
Fourth, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government committed to the construction of a 120Km electric fence to keep small holder farmers, starting in Tsavo and Laikipia, from losing their livelihoods to elephants; this in an effort to change the view that elephants are destructive and make it possible for man and wildlife to live together in harmony.
And lastly, Kenya committed to upgrading its mobile game capture unit so human-wildlife conflict situations can be resolved in a timely manner.
The commitments precede Kenya’s burning of 105 tonnes of elephant ivory on Saturday – the largest cache burnt by a single country at one go.