Kameri-Mbote, Patricia --- "Wildlife conservation and land rights in Kenya: competing or complementary agendas?" [2019] ELECD 2652; in Cullet, Philippe; Koonan, Sujith (eds), "Research Handbook on Law, Environment and the Global South" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 169

Book Title: Research Handbook on Law, Environment and the Global South

Editor(s): Cullet, Philippe; Koonan, Sujith

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Wildlife conservation and land rights in Kenya: competing or complementary agendas?

Author(s): Kameri-Mbote, Patricia

Number of pages: 21

Abstract/Description:

Species loss around the world, and in the developing world specifically, has become a key concern of law and policymakers. The greatest threat to species and their habitats remains human interventions in ecosystems as well as use of resources. The competition for resources between humans and wildlife pits conservation against people’s welfare, and conservation is perceived as compounding poverty by taking land that would otherwise be available for use. This chapter looks at wildlife conservation and land rights. It argues that there is no natural co-relation between secure land rights and sustainable wildlife management. It further emphasises that the scale and level at which the rights are allocated determines the capacity of land rights to promote wildlife management as does the elimination of contradictory rules being applied which could fan unsustainable harvesting or decimation of wildlife resources.