Christine Mwaniki
- @christine
- | She/Her
My first engagement with the Women in Conservation Tech triggered my curiosity to understand poaching and other wildlife crimes from the local community members’ perspectives. I engaged more than 150 community members on offences and penalties as provided for in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act,2013. The act provides that dealing in the carcass or meat of any wildlife species attracts a minimum sentence of 3 years. We also had chats on what drives the community to engage in bushmeat.
Yes, your guess is as good as mine. Wildlife crime is a complex issue stretching beyond law enforcement. Prolonged drought periods, human wildlife conflicts and simply put “lack of money in the pockets” were sighted as the major drivers towards engaging in wildlife crimes. Thanks to ARM and WiCT team I was able to carry out this activity.
Another win from my engagement with the WiCT team is that I was exposed to various tech tools for data collection. Through my mentors, I have been able to design S123 to suit my activities in wildlife crimes data collection in Tsavo.
As a Masters student at Kenyatta University pursuing Environmental Studies – Climate Change and Sustainability, I am hoping to contribute further in counter wildlife trafficking by exploring further the nexus between illegal wildlife activities and livelihood issues in Tsavo.
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