The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has announced plans to erect a 93Km electric fence in Tsavo for containment and prevention of perennial conflicts towards elephants from locals.
Ms. Zainabu Salim, KWS Tsavo Community announced the plans and said that monitoring data indicates Kasighau, Sagalla, Mbololo and Maungu in Voi Sub-county; Kishushe in Wundanyi Sub-county and Maktau, and Bura in Mwatate Sub-county are the classified as the County hotspots where conflict incidents are reported with alarming frequency.
The authority has already finalized an extensive public participation exercise in readiness for the construction project. This is the longest electric fence done by the Ministry of Wildlife in the region. It will cut across Mgeno area and Sisal Estate in Mwatate before passing across Sagalla, Maungu and Kasighau and end at Bachuma near the border of Taita Taveta and Kwale County.
Illegal settlements
Once complete, the proposed fence will push the total length of fences constructed by KWS across the County to over 300 kilometers. Other fences already in place and working include the Kamutonga-Bura, Ndii-Ndara, Maktau-Ndii and Jipe-Salaita amongst others.
“With the public participation exercise concluded, we are now set to roll out the construction of the fence that will curb these conflicts. Our survey shows farms that were previously raided along the fence yielded adequate harvest last year because of the fence. This is why we continue to advocate for use of fences to avoid conflict and empower the communities in terms of food security,” said Ms. Zainabu.
One major factor that exacerbates the conflicts between jumbos and local residents is the spread of illegal settlements along the Standard Gauge Railway’s (SGR) underpasses specifically built to allow elephants to cross in Tsavo National Park from ranches.
Such settlements are at Ndii, Maungu and Bachuma area where hundreds of residents have settled between the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway and the SGR embankment and in close proximity to the underpasses. As a result, migrating elephants become nervous and often turn back to the community areas.
