It is no exaggeration to state thatKenya’s wildlife has done much to shape the image anddevelopment fortunes of the country. Today tourism is amongKenya’s top sources of foreign exchange, dominates theservice sector, and contributes significantly to employment,especially in rural areas where economic opportunities arelimited. The typical wild herds that once roamed freelyacross the borders of Kenya and Tanzania have shrunkdramatically in numbers and vanished completely from much ofthe North. Perhaps most troubling is that recent monitoringof wildlife populations suggests that long-term declines ofmany of the charismatic species that attract tourists likelions, elephants, giraffes, impalas, and others areinternational tourist arrives on a package tour that mayinclude a safari, a visit to the beach, or both. It issafari tourism, however, that generates the most employmentand economic activity across the country occurring at thesame rates within the country’s national parks as outside ofthese protected areas. The typical international touristarrives on a package tour that may include a safari, a visitto the beach, or both. It is safari tourism, however, thatgenerates the most employment and economic activity acrossthe country. But the wildlife that has lured travelers toKenya by the planeload is in dramatic decline.In the pastthree decades, the country has lost more than half of itswildlife. This report identifies with greater precision thedrivers of land conversion from natural habitats to otheruses, and examines the extent to which land conversion leadsto the extirpation of wildlife and the loss of tourism incomes.
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