prompt payment
For 30 years down the road, Kisero has tried to scare elephants off his farm by lighting tin cans, lighting bonfires and hanging metal sheets around his land to make noise when the wind blows. But nothing keeps them away for long.
According to the latest figures from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), from 2014 to 2017, there were more than 5,000 cases of crop or property damage caused by wild animals – mainly elephants, but also hippos, snakes and others, more than 450 People were killed and 4,555 others were injured.
Alfred Mwanke, head of the Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservation Association (TTWCA), said conflicts between humans and wildlife in the Tsavo region of southeastern Kenya are increasing as drought conditions worsen, leading to loss of grassland, vegetation and water bodies in local wildlife reserves. are drying up.
“Large mammals, such as elephants and buffalo, move from these protected areas into community areas, and elephants destroy water tanks and water pipelines in search of water,” Mwanke said.
Chesire at AB Consultants said that after an attack, field chiefs use their mobile phones to report the incident with the location and type of damage — loss of livestock, crops or property, and specified codes for injury or death. will do.
Community members would then verify the claim by visiting the farm and taking photographs of the aftermath, which they would submit through an app along with testimonials from chiefs, neighbors and local KWS officials.
TTWCA’s Mwanke said that if the claim is deemed valid, an insurance company will pay compensation “hopefully in a maximum of three months”.
This is much faster than the payments KWS currently makes to victims of wildlife damage, which villagers say could take years – if they are paid at all – until the next harvest season The system sucks for families trying to survive in the U.S.
A recent government report said that between the first KWS payment in 2014 and 2018, it released 1.2 billion Kenyan shillings ($9.8 million) in compensation funds to the KWS.
Last year, the KWS announced the release of a further 500 million shillings for conflict compensation, which it said would help clear the backlog of claims.
Mwanke said it is expected the new insurance will replace the KWS compensation system, with the government using money in subsidies to pay for insurance premiums, making the scheme affordable or free for members.
KWS did not respond to requests for comment.