There’s a notable oomph in Ms. Rebecca Miano’s entry into the Tourism and Wildlife docket, which has begun to bear fruit.
Ms. Miano, the immediate former Trade Cabinet Secretary is a go-getter and a trailblazer in any of her previous roles. Formerly the profit-maker for Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), she also served as CS East African Community, the ASALs and Regional Development.
Immediately after her appointment, she hit the ground running.
She pledged to fast-track strategies aimed at unlocking the immense potential of Kenya’s tourism sector.
“I am taking over the helm of this critical sector at a time when the focus is firmly on economic transformation and job creation,” CS Miano said.
“My priority will be to accelerate the growth of tourism earnings to support the government’s development agenda. I will seek broad consensus with key stakeholders in the sector to ensure that the spirit of the Bottom-up Economic Model is upheld in a manner that distributes benefits accruing from tourism and wildlife conservation more evenly throughout Kenya as I consult with sector players on ways of reducing human-wildlife conflicts” She added.
With this, Ms Miano hit the ground running.
In just over a month, she has overseen the designation of Kajulu Forest as an Eco-Tourism destination. Tourists are encouraged to plant a tree each time they visit, under the “One Tourist, One Tree” campaign.
With this initiative, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), under the Ministry of Wildlife and Tourism aims to transform the once rocky terrain into a thriving eco-tourism hub within Kenya’s Western Tourism Circuit.
“We’re offering an opportunity for tourism stakeholders to make Kenya a top destination for eco-conscious travellers,” Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuae said during the launch.
Western Tourism Circuit has been neglected over the years but the “One Tourist, One Tree” campaign seeks to attract eco-conscious travelers while fostering community engagement in environmental conservation.
Translocation of elephants
Translocation of wildlife from one section of the park to the other is not ‘a walk in the park’; animals sometimes fail to adapt leading to loss of life. However, translocation is essential for three main reasons.
Translocation as a short or long term, helps to increase a species’ chance of survival or recovery – a translocation enables new populations to be established, existing populations to be enhanced, or locally extinct species to be re-established. Secondly, translocation also is part of the restoration programme where a largely depleted part of the wildelife habitat is re-populated and finally, translocation helps to establish a species for a specific purpose such as advocacy, education or scientific study.
I am glad to announce the conclusion of a landmark translocation of elephants with the last eight jumbos having been captured and moved today.
The rigorous, meticulous, and challenging 17-day exercise saw a total of 54 elephants successfully moved from Mwea National Reserve to… pic.twitter.com/fYUz0jWkvY— CS Rebecca Miano, EGH (@rebecca_miano) October 16, 2024
In order to rejuvenate tourism in Aberdare National Park, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) recently commenced the translocation of 50 elephants from Mwea National Reserve.
Speaking at the launch, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Rebecca Miano, underscored the urgency of the exercise. She highlighted that Kenya’s growing human population is encroaching on remaining elephant rangelands, exacerbating conflicts.
CS Miano emphasized that the translocation will yield long-term benefits by bolstering vulnerable elephant populations, enhancing genetic diversity, and safeguarding ecosystems critical to elephants and other species.
She further stressed that Kenya cannot conserve elephants in isolation—regional and international cooperation is vital. She called on partners to support KWS’s mission to effectively manage and grow Kenya’s elephant population.
So far, the exercise has been successful.
As Rebeca Miano steers the ministry with a myriad of important parastatals. Kenyans are looking forward to transformation and job creation in this important ministry,
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