Kenya has set aside 250 million shillings (about 1.86 million US dollars) for the 2024 wildlife census, an official said Friday.
Patrick Omondi, chief executive officer and director of the state-owned Wildlife Research and Training Institute, told journalists in Nairobi, that the exercise, which will end in June 2025, will seek accurate data on the country's aquatic and land-based wildlife populations.
“We have begun preparations for conducting the 2024 wildlife census which will be the second national scale census since 2021,” Omondi said during the inception meeting for the 2024 wildlife census which marks the commencement of the pivotal initiative aimed at conducting comprehensive wildlife enumeration across various regions of Kenya.
Omondi stated that the counting exercise will involve the use of aircraft, boats, cameras, and geographic information systems to target wildlife species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The census will ensure that wildlife resources are continuously monitored in order to collect data on their status, including trends, threats, challenges, and opportunities.
He stated that the planned census is especially important in light of the devastating drought in 2022, which had a significant impact on wildlife resources, including endangered species like elephants and Grevy's zebras.