Government pays Sh2.8 billion for wildlife attacks

Kenya's efforts to compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict have seen the government pay out a staggering Sh2.8 billion over the last two years.

This marks a significant step in addressing the increasing number of cases involving damage from wildlife, which has affected communities living near national parks and reserves.

The total compensation disbursed since 2018 has now reached Sh4.8 billion, following reports of 57,006 human-wildlife conflict incidents over the past 15 years.

These figures, released by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, reflect the ongoing challenge faced by both the government and local communities as wildlife frequently encroaches on human settlements.

Rebecca Miano, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, stated that the government has made significant progress in addressing compensation claims.

However, she noted that a number of challenges, such as inadequate funding and delays in manual claim verification, continue to hinder the swift settlement of all claims.

"As of February 2023, the outstanding compensation claims stood at Sh4.16 billion. The government has paid Sh2.8 billion in compensation since the current administration took office, but we still have Sh1.36 billion in claims yet to be disbursed," Miano explained.

"We face challenges such as shortfalls in funding, delays in verifying claims manually, and unresolved legacy claims dating back to 2014."

The compensation payments have been distributed over two financial years, with Sh908 million allocated in the 2023/24 year and Sh950 million in the 2024/25 year.

Despite these efforts, around 20,000 claims remain unprocessed at the county level, awaiting verification and approval.

In a bid to resolve these delays and improve efficiency, the Ministry introduced a Digital Compensation Scheme in 2024.

This new system, currently being piloted in six counties, aims to streamline the process by using a digital platform to collect and process compensation data.

Smaller claims of up to Sh100,000 are being paid directly through M-PESA, a mobile money service, to expedite payments.

The launch of the digital platform represents a move toward modernising compensation procedures, making it easier for victims to submit claims and receive their payouts faster.

The government hopes this will reduce the backlog and ensure more victims are compensated on time.

However, the large number of unresolved claims from previous years, as well as the rising costs of compensation, highlight the ongoing struggle to fully address the issue of human-wildlife conflict in Kenya.

The government is now working on finding long-term solutions to reduce these conflicts and prevent further damage to human property and livelihoods.