Student Trip to the Kenya National Parks Report

Introduction to national parks and resorts in Kenya and worldwide

Kenya has been noted as one of the most dominant and famous tourist destinations across the world. It is an original safari country that has attracted tourists from all corners of the world. The country is currently well endowed with wildlife reserves and national parks that stretch from the coastal region to the drier northern parts of the nation.

As it stands now, wildlife reserves and national parks are over forty in number. These memorable sites have been specifically set aside for the sake of preserving the natural habitat and wildlife. There are myriads of animals and indigenous plants that have been conserved in these natural habitats. For example,

Selenkay Conservancy and the Amboseli National Park is one of the most renowned national parks in Kenya. This park is located near Mt. Kilimanjaro on both the Kenyan and Tanzanian borders. Towards the northern side of the Amboseli National Park, the Selenkay Conservancy can be found there.

In this particular conservancy, there are quite a number of restrictions to visitors especially in regards to those who are allowed to visit the site. It has been described as an ‘unspoiled’ wilderness largely due to its distinct physical features and animal kingdom that have not been interfered with at all.

As already mentioned, Amboseli National Park is apparently the largest point of alluring visitors who are keen in observing wild animals and the general natural habitat. The entire park is part and parcel of the attraction that encompasses Mount Kilimanjaro. This mountain is known worldwide due to its vantage and snowy view that has been captured for several years. One of the most outstanding features of this mountain is that it can be vividly viewed at dawn or dusk.

During these moments of the day, the iced summit of the mountain can be observed quite easily due to low hanging clouds that hardly obscure any kind of viewing. The mountain is undoubtedly the highest point in Africa. This explains why the Amboseli National Park has earned its reputation and global recognition. The presence of the Mountain has also enabled the park to be one of the most desired and visited tourist destinations in Kenya.

In spite of the high traffic to the Amboseli National Park, the routes leading to the park have been downgraded, eroded, overused and generally unsuitable for local road travelling. There are several off-road excursions that do not appeal at all to visitors making their way into this park. Perhaps, the poor state of the roads can be remedied by re-carpeting the eroded sections of the road and establishing a program that can take care of road maintenance to the park throughout the year.

It is also interesting to mention that Lake Amboseli is part of the attraction of the Amboseli National Park. This natural habitat derived its name from the lake. The lake is largely composed of volcanic soil deposits that are crusted and dull in appearance. The depth of the lake hardly goes beyond 50 centimeters even when there is plenty of rainfall in a season.

The lake bed is probably a dry patch in spite of the lush green vegetation that grows around it. Lake Amboseli is also the main source of water to wild animals and other living organisms residing in the habitat. Elephants, cheetahs, leopards and lions are found in this tourist destination. There are also birdlife such as eagles, herons, and vultures.

The Selenkay Conservation area is a host to wild animals such as yellow baboon, giraffe, porcupine, mongooses, bat eared fox, leopards among others. Its ecosystem is a lot similar to that of the Amboseli National Park.

There are quite a number of resorts at the Amboseli national Park that can be used for safari accommodation. These include the Ol Tukai Lodge, Tortilis Camp, Amboseli Serena Lodge, Game watchers Adventure Camp, and the Amboseli Porini Camp.

The Aberdare National Park is also another popular natural conservancy in Kenya situated near mount Kenya and along the Aberdare ranges. The landscape around this location is quite diverse and stunning (Riley and William 65). There are several forested slopes and deep ravines with jagged mountain peaks that range between 3500m and 4000 m above sea level.

As a matter of fact, trout fishing, picnics, walking and game viewing are all ideal in this location. A large variety of wildlife has been supported by the attractive streams and the green rainforest. Some of the key wildlife found at the Aberdare National Park includes sykes monkey, white Colobus monkey, black Colobus monkey, baboon, leopard, Black Rhino, buffalo and elephant (Malloy and Fennell 459).

There are more than two hundred and fifty species of birds found in this natural habitat. This explains why bird watching is one of the main tourist attractions in this location. Some of the birds found here entail plovers, sunbirds, and Francolin. Others include Mountain Buzzards, Hawk, Rufous-breasted Sparrow, Eagles, Hawk, Ayres, and African Goshawks.

When it comes to the accommodation of visitors, the Ark and the Tree Tops lodge happen to be the main resorts at this place. Both the night game viewing and game drives are carried out with the assistance of these lodges and resorts. Additional national parks and resorts have been discussed below.

The Meru National Park is a natural habitat. The accompanying resorts are positioned along the equatorial region. It hosts crocodile and elephants alongside other rare animal species. It is a commonly visited destination and that is why there are limited safaris that head in this park.

The Tsavo National Park is a global center for tourist attraction in Kenya. It is a well established park that is endowed with wooded grassland, plains, rivers and numerous hills. It is a home for myriads of wildlife species such as elephants, lions and birds.

Lake Nakuru National Park is easily accessible by both road and air from the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi and even the coastal town of Mombasa. Although it is commonly known for one type of bird species, others such as pelicans, eagles, and African fish are also found in this national park. There are grassland areas and woodlands that surround the Lake Nakuru National Park. The latter are a home to lions, zebras and rhinos.

The Maasai Mara Reserve and resorts are closely located to Serengeti park on the Tanzanian side. Although it is a game reserve, there are several conservancies and resorts that are used to attract and accommodate tourists visiting the destination. Some of the conservancies include the Olare Motorogi and Naboisho. Other resorts are found at the Samburu Reserve, the Lewa Downs Conservancy and the Ol Pejeta & Sweetwaters.

Brief about history of national parks and how it started

In order to fully appreciate the history of national parks in Kenya, it is vital to have a clear outlook of how wildlife was preserved since the early times when Kenya was still a protectorate under the British East Africa (Chongwa 39).

This will be followed by the modern re-orientation of wildlife conservation in Kenya. in particular, it is imperative to mention that the early conservation efforts were greatly hampered by monetary exchange of resources obtained from wildlife. As a result, wildlife conservation took a different turn altogether when the royal dominance was used to protect resources found in wildlife. In addition, massive transformation took place when community lands were converted to parks, tourist resorts, ecotourism and safari sojourns.

As it stands now, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Kenya is heavily driven by the presence of national parks and the associated foreign exchange derived from them. This is the reason why resource devolution and effective national park management strategies have been put in place in order to boost the net revenue. New pieces of legislations have also been adopted so that success is realized with the development of national parks in Kenya.

While exploring the history of national parks in Kenya, it is crucial to emphasize that there is abundance of wildlife resources within the Kenyan borders. Beginning form the Great Rift Valley to mountain peaks, vast savannah woodlands, forested ecosystems to the Indian Ocean at the coastal region, the country has rich resources in wildlife.

During the 1800s, wildlife was used as vital source of food by several local communities. These were the days when trading in wildlife was not prominent since there was no monetary attachment at all. However, man has continually influenced the immediate surrounding, their population, and the composition of the species.

Nonetheless, there are quite a number of aspects that may have boosted the cordial relationship between wildlife and early human beings in Kenya. For instance, the human population was still too marginal compared to the present day and as such, human-wildlife conflict was a rare experience. Secondly, various species of wildlife were not significantly interfered with since there was no serious demand for animal products.

Generally, wildlife has vast space for reproduction and habitation. In most cases, wildlife was used by human beings to merely meet basic needs such as food and clothing (animal skins). Monetary trading for wildlife products was absent during the 19^th century era. Moreover, nomadic pastoralism and cultivation were the key sources of livelihoods for people. These practices were observed between the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

When the British imperial rule emerged towards the end of 1890s, the desire to conserve Kenya’s wildlife came in handy. The British East Africa was created and as a result, the region gained popularity especially with the arrival of visitors from the western world who delivered positive report when they travelled back home.

Huge hunting safaris were undertaken by these visitors. In the process, wildlife was slaughtered in mass numbers. The big hunting game was the main reason why the British required the protected lands. The native people mainly played the role of servants, porters, and guides.

However, laws were passed by the British government with the passage of time so that the hunting safaris could be provided for in addition to meeting the recreational needs of individual participating in the hunting games. This occasioned the formation of wildlife game reserves after a a directive was given out by the colonial masters before the start of 1897. The game department was established in 1906 by the colonial regime so that more areas could be out under protection.

The National Parks Ordinance law was put in place by the colonial government shortly after the end of the Second World War. Consequently, additional protected areas were established. About 12 months later, the Nairobi Royal Park was incepted. Several protected areas in the name of national parks and game reserves were later formed in the country. These were considered to be royal efforts aimed at preserving wildlife.

For example, wildlife protection was mainly carried out in the Mount Kenya Royal Park and the Aberdare Royal Park. The two parks were also instrumental in providing settlers with exclusive recreation. Even though the protected areas were born in Kenya courtesy of the British East Africa, the indigenous communities were grossly affected. They constantly dealt with the problem of human-wildlife conflict and consequent displacement in order to pave way for white settlement.

With the passage of time, the trends of conserving wildlife and setting apart protected areas continued to grow in terms of popularity. Additionally, nostalgia was gradually griping the able individuals located in America and Britain especially in regards to the past experiences in hunting safaris.

Ever since Kenya gained independence, there are several rich and famous individuals who have come back to Kenya just because of hunting expeditions. Hunting safaris were common from the beginning of colonial times bearing in mind that the idea behind tourism had already penetrated in their minds.

After Kenya attained independence in 1963 and the subsequent internal self rule in 1964, the formation of national parks and game reserves took center stage with the dire urge to replace the colonial system of protected areas with African style of leadership. Nonetheless, recreation and promotion of wildlife safaris were still key parameters in the conservation of wildlife resources.

Over the years, Kenyan people have continually become proactive in the conservation of wildlife and ecotourism. This has been attained through the inception of sanctuaries that take care of wildlife. These sanctuaries include national parks and game reserves a well as the tourist resorts that accommodate visitors.

Objectives of national parks of Kenya

There are various objectives why the national parks were established in Kenya. These goals are presumably not within the protected areas. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) strongly articulates that the preservation of wildlife in regions that are not protected require more stringent measures.

For instance, when animals are protected, it does not guarantee the full conservation efforts of wildlife. This is attributed to the fact that not all wildlife species can be enclosed under protected areas. National parks in Kenya are specific enclosed areas that no human habitation is allowed to take place. This is contrary to the case of game reserves where animals are allowed to co-exist with human beings.

Secondly, national parks aim at avoiding issues that pertain to security of local communities that reside nearby. Most of the wild animals found in national parks are not friendly to human beings. For example, lions, buffaloes and elephants may hardly co-exist with human beings within the same environment due to their aggressive nature. This attempts to explain why national parks are usually protected as much as possible in order to avert the likely human-wildlife conflict.

When attempting to do away with the above type of conflict, it may be prove to be quite cumbersome to elude loss. To begin with, it is sincerely costly to erect fences and manage national parks that host dangerous wild animals such as leopards and tigers. When eliminating the conflict that emanate from wild animals, the Kenya Wildlife Service may be end up in losses. Alternatively, KWS may also opt to shoot and kill the wild animals that are not friendly to human beings.

If such an action is executed, monetary loss will still be attained since the much needed foreign exchange earnings will not come forth from international tourists. Therefore, the national parks in Kenya usually aim at striking a delicate balance between profitability and human-wildlife conflict. A common objective has been adopted by both the landowners and Kenya national parks so that wildlife management can be implemented using the best strategies.

A Community Wildlife Service has been initiated by the Kenya Wildlife Service with the broad objective of managing local wildlife resources, enhancing community partnerships and carrying out some pilot extension services on wildlife conservation and overall community well being. The community wildlife service initiative is also keen on urging individuals who own land to permit wildlife to occupy some portions of theor private pieces of land.

These landlords are also requested to embrace certain responsibilities alongside being trained so that the community partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service can be a resounding success. As part of the reward system, consumptive utilization enterprises and revenue sharing obtained from wildlife are offered to landowners so that the community initiative approach can be a win-win situation.

This implies that national parks in Kenya are keen in making sure that the local community benefits in one way or another when they integrate their activities with wildlife around them. This is undoubtedly a sustainability program aimed at improving the state of wildlife in Kenya since it is a major enterprise that earns the country foreign exchange.

So far, national parks in Kenya under the management of Kenya Wildlife Service have developed problem-animal control boards, local wildlife associations, and communities working on the management of wildlife. All these coordinated groups are instrumental in making sure that participatory procedures are put in place so that the development of national parks as key centers of attraction is maintained.

Another key objective of national parks in Kenya is to fund the necessary operations that are run under the jurisdiction of Kenya Wildlife Service. For example, COBRA is one of the subsidiary bodies that finance operations of national parks in Kenya. it funds the operations of CWS so that the socio-economic benefits can be obtained from prolonged management and conservation of wildlife.

The immediate benefits are supposed to trickle down to communities that border national parks. In order to supply adequate funding, national parks in Kenya have already created viable partnerships with other development partners such as IDA and USAID. This explains why land use coordination and efficient utilization of wildlife are currently under pilot study by COBRA.

National parks in Kenya are also keen in playing an oversight role in areas that sill need to be protected or conserved even though they are not within national parks and reserves. As already mentioned, conservation issues are duly addressed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The local population and landlords are assisted with benefits accrued from wildlife revenues. KWS also works towards creating modalities that can lower the conflicts that emerge between animals and the indigenous people.

In most cases, land-use planning through intersectoral method is carried out. Moreover, physical barriers that can restrict the free movement of animals are constructed in order to minimize the conflict. Principal tourism has also been a major benefit for communities living next to national parks. It is vital to mention that there are several economic activities that are wildlife-based which the local communities can take advantage of.

Besides, the park revenue is shared to landowners and adjacent communities so that sustainability objective of national parks is maintained. Some of the programs that are currently in the pipeline include protection of the local communities from elephant attacks and the development of a sustainable program to protect wild animals from the effect of poaching. These are major programs that have also been aligned with the short-term, mid-term and long-term objectives.

The challenges to the national habituates in the Kenya and Africa

The national habitats in both Kenya and Africa at large are diverse. However, it is critical to note that most of these challenges are environmental in nature. The most dominant problems encountered range from industrial pollution to deforestation. The following section will discuss these challenges in details.

To begin with, it is evident that water resources are at great risk in Kenya and Africa as a whole. The fact that wildlife demands clean water resources implies there should be clean and adequate of this resource in order to sustain a healthy living of the wildlife species.

The current water resources in Kenya are under intense pollution and over-utilization for hydroelectric power, industrial wastes, urban wastes, and chemicals eroded from agricultural fields. Most countries in Africa are still in the developmental stage and as such, there is high demand for water.

For example, rural electrification program being undertaken in most rural parts in Kenya has led to high demand for electric energy generated from water resources. This trend has subsequently hampered sufficient supply of water resources to several natural habitats. It appears that this is a common challenge across the continent. Discharge of domestic and industrial wastes into water pathways have also contributed significantly towards the destruction of water quality.

As a result, several species of aquatic life have been eliminated from existence. A typical example of a challenge posed by poor quality water is the growth of water hyacinth in some lakes in Africa. In Kenya, Lake Victoria has been under attack of water hyacinth for some years now. The growth rate of this hydro loving plant is too high to manage within considerable length of time. Several types of fish species have consequently been endangered.

The prevalence of poor road network in addition to insufficient communication channels is a core challenge facing national habituates in Kenya. Several roads are in poor state and cannot be easily accessed during wet weather conditions. To make the matters even worse, some national parks lack viable viewing position because there are no sufficient road networks. In addition, tourists who find their way to national parks with such difficulties often do not desire of coming back.

Another momentous point of consideration in terms of transport network is the inadequate number of local and private chartered flights that can transport visitors from one location to another.

There are quite a number of parks that are located in remote locations. Hence, road transport can hardly be used in such locations. Therefore, tourists seem to be lacking efficient and rapid system of transportation. Kenya Wildlife Service does not operate local plane services for visitors. This has impeded the efficiency of transport system that are readily available for use by tourists.

Resource degradation has equally led to the decline in forestry output. Most of the varieties of wildlife discussed above depend on forested areas as their habitats. The timber in Kenya has been lowered by almost 50% in the last three decades or so. It is unfortunate to mention that the area under forest cover in Kenya is slightly below 3%. This implies that overexploitation of forest resources through lumbering, charcoal burning or for industrial use has led to major habitat challenges in Kenya and Africa.

It is estimated that each year, close to 50km² of forested land is cleared for human settlement and other uses. As a result, the country is rapidly experiencing degradation in the natural system of the environment, extreme weather events, blocking of dams and intense wash away of the top soil. There are quite a number of forests that have been affected. Unless immediate action is put in place, some of the forests may end up into extinction.

Security is a vital issue of concern and also a key challenge facing national habituates in Kenya. There are several instances when the security of tourists visiting national parks has not been guaranteed. For example, attacks and robberies from criminals are not uncommon in Kenya’s national parks. Undoubtedly, a weak security platform is may scare tourists.

The Kenya Wildlife Service has not been fully able to secure tourists especially when they are visiting national parks. Although the security of visitors outside national parks is not under the care of Kenya wildlife officials, proper guidance and direction should be given to visitors on hot spot areas that they should not frequent. This implies that local travel advisories warnings should be given to tourists so that they can also be responsible for their own well being.

In addition, the Kenyan government with the assistance of the ministry of internal security is supposed to put in place strategies that can be used to improve security of both nationals and foreigners countrywide.

Lack of effective planning and management strategies is yet another challenge faced by national habituates in Kenya. This cannot be attained without the right type of leadership in place. It means that the Kenya wildlife society s yet to employ individuals who are well versed with the management of public institutions.

A solid working experience in the field of management is an integral requirement in the process of planning the daily operations of national parks. Experts who can deliver results in this area of operation are supposed to be passionate about their roles and responsibilities bearing in mind that it will demand personal commitment for such an endeavor to succeed.

In terms of leadership, it is worthy to underscore the fact that national parks require efficient leadership style. The type of leadership adopted when managing people working for national parks should be participatory in nature. The appointed leaders in various capacities are supposed to be individuals who are ready to listen to their juniors.

It is through effective leadership, planning and management that employees in national parks will feel motivated and ready to give their best input while at the place of work. When referring to boosting the morale of employees, it is critical to mention that any successful business entity is operated with the input of both junior and senior employees.

When workers are not motivated, the profitability of a firm is equally affected since employees do not commit their best physical and mental efforts in delivering the much needed results. Therefore, national parks in Kenya should embrace effective business leadership so that matters relating to planning and management can be handled in the most professional manner.

Global warming and the associated change in climate have continued to impact negatively on the development of national habituates in kenya. some scientists argue that climate has not really changed as perceived. They assert that the world is experiencing variability in climate. Even if climate is simply undergoing temporary changes, the ecosystem is still modified since the weather patterns have also changed significantly. For example, we understand that the two rainy seasons in Kenya is no longer clearly marked as it used to be in the past.

The weather patterns of the past few decades have been altered altogether and therefore, natural habitats where national parks are located are also being altered on a daily basis. The type and nature of vegetation found in the natural habitats are no longer the same as they were some four to five decades ago. While we may concentrate so much on climate change and forget about global warming, it is imperative to mention that the latter has caused significant interruption o the national habituates in Kenya.

When global warming takes place, the surface temperatures are generally heightened. As a result, the rates of certain natural processes are also increased. For instance, the rates of evaporation from both land and water are increased leading to rapid formation of clouds. Excessive evaporation eventually leads to heavy condensation and precipitation.

This explains why extreme weather events such as flooding in national parks and over cloudiness are becoming more prevalent than before. When national parks flood beyond normal, the natural ecosystem is also interfered with. On the other hand, global warming may lead to instances of drought and prolonged dry seasons especially after heavy downpour (Udoto 55).

Sustainable utilization of resources has been agitated by several pressure groups bearing in mind that massive ecological disruption has already taken place in the forest ecosystem. Some policies on environmental protection have been enacted with the aim of sustainable use of the environment. The natural habitats such as forests may eventually fail to support wildlife and consequently lead to extinction of certain plant and animal species.

Excessive human encroachment to wildlife resources has also posed a gross challenge to the national habitats in Kenya and Africa. The worst form of encroachment that has been witnessed across the continent is poaching. Illegal hunting and killing of wild animals has led to massive decline of some rare animal species in the country.

For instance, the population of elephants has been dropping considerably in spite of the strict anti-poaching laws in place. There are several poachers who reside in rural Kenya and are yet be arrested and prosecuted. Habitat reduction is also becoming evident among the Blue Wildebeest in spite of the fact this animal species was once known as a plenty variety in wildlife. Natural habitats such as national parks and game reserves can only be preserved if anti poaching campaigns are heightened.

Tourist resorts are vital facilities in national parks. It is still a key challenge in the Kenyan national habituates since most national parks do not have well equipped resorts for visitors. Private entities and the Kenya wildlife service can run tourist resorts in national parks with the aim of attracting and maintaining visitors. There are some cases when resort towns can be established with the sole objective of making visitors comfortable. This implies that tourist resorts ought to be well equipped with necessary facilities to be used by tourists.

Perhaps, it is crucial to establish different types of resorts at national parks so that the diverse needs of tourists can be taken care of. For example, a destination resort can be handy when it is not necessary for tourists to alight near a theme park, historical site or town. This type of resort has enough capabilities to accommodate visitors.

It is also possible to put in place a commercial establishment in a destination resort so that it can favorably compete with other enterprises. Examples of businesses that can be integrated within a resort include a gaming facility, a theme park and an area reserved for recreation. An all-inclusive resort is missing in several national parks in Kenya.

This is yet another challenge facing national habituates in Kenya. In this type of resort, all items required by visitors are charged on a lump sum plan as per a given fixed price. For example, entertainment services, sports activities, drinks, unlimited food and lodging facilities are charged as a complete package with a fixed price. When such resort services are offered in national parks and more so run by the Kenya wildlife services, the parks will automatically be turned into vibrant businesses with upward trends in profit making.

The limited natural resourced that host wildlife has been exploited due to the growing poverty index in Kenya and the entire African continent. When people are poor, they end up over- relying on natural resources in order to support their livelihoods. For instance, additional land needed for farming is obtained by cutting down of trees from forested land.

Quarrying and burning of charcoal are also other human-related activities that accelerate the rate at which the natural habitats are cleared. Most parts of the rural Kenya have been environmentally degraded due to intense human activities. This type of environmental problem has significantly impacted some sections of Meru and Bondo,

Erratic weather conditions such as flooding, low temperatures, desertification and high temperatures than normal do not auger well with wildlife found in national habituates (Nagle 92). For example, flooding conditions in regions wherfe non-aquatic animals reside may lead to mass deaths of offspring. This condition is sometimes accompanied by rapid spread of infections. In addition, desertifications coupled with extreme temperatures are known to lower the overall productivity of wildlife especially if prolonged for a lengthy period.

How can National parks in Kenya transfer to successful businesses?

Improve the transport and communication network to the national parks

From the discussion offered in the above section of the report, it is evident that poor road network couple with inadequate communication channels is a dominant problem facing national parks in Kenya. Most roads leading to some of the well known national parks are dilapidated and hardly passable during the rainy seasons.

Worse still, some parks do not have vantage viewing points mainly due to poor or lack of adequate road network (Hudson 389). If the transport and communication system could be improved, it is obvious that more visitors will be attracted to come back in these parks during holidays. Moreover, the total number of tourists making their way to national parks would improve every year leading to higher profitability from the revenues generated.

When it comes to converting the Kenyan national parks into successful businesses, the quality of services offered must be brought into sharp focus. It is not just enough to be well endowed with unique wildlife in the national parks while services such as transport and communication networks are poor.

Another integral point to note about the transport network is the inadequate number of local and private chartered flights that can move tourists from one point of attraction to another. It is imperative to note that some national parks are located in distant locations whereby road transport cannot be used.

In such cases, tourists require efficient and fast transport systems that can make their expeditions enjoyable. As it is the case now, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has not taken the full mandate of running local plane services for tourists. This could be another area of revenue generation instead of fully relying on wildlife resources.

Enhance security for visitors

Security is an integral area worth considering whenever setting up any type of business venture. There are myriads of cases when the security of tourists visiting the Kenyan national parks has been on the loose end. In other words, attacks and robberies from armed gangsters has been rife over the past few years especially in the coastal tourist destinations and some upcountry national parks.

Needless to say, a porous security system is highly likely to scare away visitors. It is the duty of the Kenya Wildlife Service to improve or guarantee the security of tourists especially when they are paying visits to parks. Additional and well trained park wardens and game rangers ought to be deployed in order to comb out criminals who may be on their hideout in thick and forested national parks.

While the security of tourists outside national parks is not under the jurisdiction of Kenya wildlife officials, proper guidance and direction should be given to visitors on hot spot areas that they should not frequent. This implies that local travel advisories warnings should be given to tourists so that they can also be responsible for their own well being.

Better still; the Kenyan government through the ministry of internal security should deploy strategies that can be used to boost security of both nationals and foreigners countrywide (Prins, Geu and Thomas 81). A secure country attracts investors quite easily compared to one that is not secured. National parks can be transformed into viable business opportunities if the numbers of visitors to the park continually increase each year. Volatile level of security will keep visitors away and eventually lead to poor generation of revenue.

Adequate and well equipped tourist resorts

A tourist resort is a crucial facility in any national park. Individuals or groups who visit national parks during vacation use this facility as a point of attraction, recreation and relaxation.

Private companies or the Kenya wildlife service can run tourist resorts in national parks with the aim of attracting and maintaining visitors (Gjerald and Øgaard 892). There are some cases when resort towns can be established with the sole objective of making visitors comfortable. This implies that tourist resorts ought to be well equipped with necessary facilities to be used by tourists.

Perhaps, it is crucial to establish different types of resorts at national parks so that the diverse needs of tourists can be taken care of. For example, a destination resort can be handy when it is not necessary for tourists to alight near a theme park, historical site or town. This type of resort has enough capabilities to accommodate visitors. It is also possible to put in place a commercial establishment in a destination resort so that it can favorably compete with other enterprises.

Examples of businesses that can be integrated within a resort include a gaming facility, a theme park and an area reserved for recreation. An all-inclusive resort is yet another type of self-contained resort that can be incorporated in national parks. In this type of resort, all items required by visitors are charged on a lump sum plan as per a given fixed price.

For example, entertainment services, sports activities, drinks, unlimited food and lodging facilities are charged as a complete package with a fixed price. When such resort services are offered in national parks and more so run by the Kenya wildlife services, the parks will automatically be turned into vibrant businesses with upward trends in profit making.

Effective leadership, planning and management of national parks

In order to transform national parks in Kenya into competitive business, it is necessary to put in place effective planning and management strategies. The latter cannot be achieved without the input of the right leadership. This implies that the Kenya wildlife society should employ individuals who are well versed with the management of public portfolios (Kim and Miller 945).

A solid working experience in the field of management is an integral requirement in the process of planning the daily operations of national parks. Experts who can deliver results in this area of operation are supposed to be passionate about their roles and responsibilities bearing in mind that it will demand personal commitment for such an endeavor to succeed.

In terms of leadership, it is worthy to underscore the fact that national parks require efficient leadership style. The type of leadership adopted when managing people working for national parks should be participatory in nature. The appointed leaders in various capacities are supposed to be individuals who are ready to listen to their juniors.

It is through effective leadership, planning and management that employees in national parks will feel motivated and ready to give their best input while at the place of work. When referring to boosting the morale of employees, it is critical to mention that any successful business entity is operated with the input of both junior and senior employees.

When workers are not motivated, the profitability of a firm is equally affected since employees do not commit their best physical and mental efforts in delivering the much needed results. Therefore, national parks in Kenya should embrace effective business leadership so that matters relating to planning and management can be handled in the most professional manner.

Lower the national park charges especially for local tourists

The cost of entering national parks in Kenya does not seem to favor the local population. Even though the entry rates for the Kenyan nationals are slightly lower than those of foreigners, most of the Kenyan population still lives below one dollar per day.

When other living expenses are considered, most ordinary Kenyan can hardly afford the cost of paying the national park levies. If Kenya wildlife service can think in terms of business, the current park charges ought to be lowered even further in order to encourage additional domestic tourism (Jolliffe 86).

An economy of scale is a business terminology that is used to denote improved profitability when business operations are carried out in bulk. When more local people are encouraged (through cheap levies) to access national parks, the overall output will obviously be higher than it is at the present.

Lowering the entry fees to national parks will also go a long way in attracting the local population that has never had any interest in domestic tourism. It is evident that domestic tourism in Kenya is not performing well at all. One of the possible explanations is that the indigenous Kenyan people have for a long time associated tourism with exorbitant charges that can only be paid by foreigners.

While the latter may not be case, the park fees ought to be revised downwards with the aim of capturing new category of clients. The fees can be revised upwards at a later date when domestic tourism has been fully embraced. such a measure will ensure that the Kenya national parks progress favorably just like other types of businesses.

Inject additional capital investment in national parks

The success of any business entity is largely dependent on resource availability and how best the same is allocated in running the daily operations. In the case of Kenyan national parks, it is extremely important for the Kenya wildlife management board to inject additional capital investment in areas that need service improvement. For example, tourist resorts are required in almost all the national parks in Kenya. these resorts are not merely places of accommodation.

They are additional sources of revenue that can significantly boost the profitability of the parks. In the event that tourist resort is not readily available in any national parks, the Kenya wildlife service is required to set aside investment capital that can be used to improve service delivery. The additional capital investment can also be used in hiring adequate staff and boosting the level of security needed in national parks.

Some Kenyan national parks also lack sufficient road network. If additional funding is made available, it will be possible to initiate and expedite repairs on these roads so that visitors can frequent the parks as much as possible. A high number of visitors to national parks will definitely translate to improved revenue collection and consequently high profitability. Furthermore, additional capital investment can be used to offer capacity building and training of employees on a regular basis.

The tourism sector is quite dynamic. This means that dynamic knowledge, skills and competences are required in order for this type of business venture to remain profitable. When employees receive additional and frequent training on their various areas of specialties, they are highly likely to remain productive at workplace and consequently boost the revenue margin.

Strict mitigation measures against poaching

Illegal hunting and killing of wild animals has been a major setback in the tourism sector. National parks can hardly perform as expected when the key attractions are no longer available or inadequate for viewing. Some of the wild animals that are prone to poaching include elephants, rhinos and leopards. When such animals are killed by poachers, it results into double loss to Kenya wildlife service and national parks at large (Marnburg 565).

Poaching is similar to taking away of invaluable stock from business in spite of the fact the same stock is required by customers. Wild animals such as elephants and rhinos tend to take long before reproducing. When they are eliminated through poaching, their numbers continue to fall down considerably. For instance, the population of elephants in Kenyan national parks has been on the declining trend since the past three decades or so.

Managers of national parks in Kenya under the guide of Kenya wildlife service are supposed to work hand in hand so that they can minimize the threat posed by poaching. As a matter of fact, enough game rangers should be deployed in areas that are prone to poaching. Individuals who are apprehended should be brought to book with immediate effect (Upchurch 230).

In effect, anti-poaching laws ought to be tightened so that more stringent penalties are offered to offenders. Unless strict mitigation measures are procedurally and timely put in place, the country may continue to suffer significant losses in terms of wildlife stock.

Reduce incidences of human-animal conflict

Human-animal conflict in the Kenyan national parks has made it difficult for the Kenya wildlife service to propel the much needed growth especially through community participation. As much as the tourism sector can employ professionals to manage the parks, the contribution of the local community adjacent to national parks cannot be ignored.

For example, there are several cases whereby the local community has assisted in extinguishing of mass fire outbreaks in parks. However, lending such a helping hand may not be guaranteed when the same animals cause havoc to communities residing in nearby villages. When fire outbreaks claim thousands of national park area, it is tantamount to total loss of profitability. Therefore, the local population should be assured of their security in regards to conflicts that arise from wild animals.

Secondly, human-animal conflict has occasioned mass killing of wild animals that wander away from national parks. There are some groups of animals that are dangerous and also destructive to crops. For example, elephants are known to spoil food crops in addition to being extremely unfriendly to human beings.

As a result, communities that border national parks are often compelled to take law into their own hands and kill some of these animals when they pose extreme risk to life. In some instances, the Kenya wildlife service officials may also find themselves killing estranged wild animals before they can cause havoc to human life (Yeung 256).

Incidences of human-animal conflicts usually lead to major losses in national parks especially when the Kenya wildlife service is to compensate for losses incurred or worse still, shoot and kill wild animals posing danger to human life. National parks can only transform into successful business if this type of conflict is eliminated altogether.

Wildlife vs. tourism

Wildlife and tourism are closely intertwined in the sense that tourists visit kenya with the broad aim of exploring the country’s unique wildlife. In other words, wildlife is the single largest source of revenue derived from wildlife resources. As a matter of fact, the Kenya’s economy is endowed with tourism as one of the largest drivers of gross domestic product (GDP).

On the same note, the foundation of tourism in Kenya is largely based on the vast and unique quantity of wildlife. The desire to watch the diverse wildlife in the Kenyan national parks is usually the main reason why most visitors pay visit to national parks. Currently, the GDP contribution that is derived from the tourism sector is almost 10 per cent.

This has made tourism the 3^rd largest sector that contributes towards the gross domestic product. The top two contributors are the manufacturing and agricultural sectors (Frechtling and Boo 150). Even though the aforementioned sectors contribute immensely towards the country’s economy, it is imperative to mention that Kenya till secures a lot of revenue through tourism and wildlife that the country is well endowed with.

For example, Ksh. 21.7 billion were realized as foreign exchange in tourism in 2002 although this figure rose to approximately Ksh65.4 billion before the start of 2008. Safari tourism that is driven the Kenya wildlife service alone is almost at 90 percent. In addition, the latter is about seventy per cent of all the amount I revenue generated by the national parks.

In other words, the Kenyan wildlife is well endowed with the most varied species on earth. The country’s ecosystem is quite diverse and this explains the reason why it has been classified by the Convention on Biological Diversity as a mega-diverse nation. Tanzania, Madagascar, Congo, Brazil, and Indonesia have also been categorized under this classification due to their diverse and unique wildlife.

The rich biological and ecologically diverse Kenyan wildlife has been contributed by quite a number of factors. One of the factors is the favorable variability in terms of the prevailing weather and climate. The country has a relatively warm and wet as well as cool and wet climate conditions in most national parks and game reserves.

The drier areas are also fairly endowed with adequate supply of water resources required by wildlife for survival. Secondly, Kenya’s topography is conducive for most forms of biological life. The nature of topography in Kenya has managed to support various habitats and ecosystems. These include fresh water lakes such as Lake Victoria, marine waters along the Indian ocean, arid and semi arid areas as well as mountain ranges such as the Aberdare.

The geographically diverse landscape, scenic beauty, adequate wildlife in their natural settings and tropical beaches are some of the natural endowments that the country enjoys as a tourist attraction destination.

Across the economic segment experiencing rapid growth is wildlife and tourism. In countries that are well developed, the tourism sector exhibits major success especially in regards to in revenue generation. It also offers employment opportunities to local populations and even expatriates from other countries. It stimulates cross cultural understanding across various cultures. To some extent, this may not the reality in some African countries such as Kenya.

The benefits and associated impacts of tourism are not appreciated in some jurisdictions in Africa. The rich foreigners who pay visit to scenic beauty and tourist attraction destinations become easy prey to criminals who are keenly interested in their dollars. In addition, economic gains that may be experienced from tour companies, hotels and other tourism enterprises are yet to be visualized bearing in mind that most of the enterprises are owned by entrepreneurs from the developed world.

To make the matters worse, hotel levies are made in the west beore the actual travel takes place. It is also vital to mention that quite a number of international tourists who pay visit to Africa often opt using their own charter planes or private aircrafts instead of public airlines. This is attributed to the nature of security and safety while traveling using public planes.

In addition, it is vital to examine other challenges affecting tourism and wildlife in Africa and Kenya in particular. For instance, there are myriads of environmental challenges that are caused by harmful impacts of tourism, high cost of food and accommodation that negatively impacts the local population, interference of tourism by political instabilities as well as disproportionate effect on energy, water as well as other vital resources.

Nonetheless, the challenges facing tourism sector in Kenya can still be given an appropriate approach and strategies so that a final and most viable solution is reached. Most importantly, it is necessary for stakeholders and policy makers in tourism to undertake rigorous management and planning measures in order to improve the performance of the sector both locally and across the entire continent.

In spite of the well established natural resources that Kenya is well endowed with, there are still myriads of challenges that the sector is facing to date. A already pointed out in previous sections, wildlife still remains as one of the most dominant tourist attraction in Kenya and across Africa.

Unless this natural resource is well maintained and planned, it may be critically cumbersome to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as stipulated in the development agenda of this country. In addition, the growth expected in the tourism and wildlife sector should be in line with the vision 2030 as articulated in the country’s growth agenda for the 21^st century.

If setbacks such as poor internal transportation network and lack of adequate security to tourists are not addressed urgently, then the sector may still face downward trend in terms of growth profile as projected by key stakeholders in the industry. It is interesting to note that there are quite a number of local airstrips that are used by tourists even though their conditions are yet to be improved in order to attract and accommodate the highest number of visitors reaching various destinations across the country.

There is a huge potential in the tourism and wildlife sector. If proper planning and management is put in place, it is undoubted that a double digit growth can be easily realized within a relatively short length of time. If the tourist resorts and environmental friendly transport system can be put in place, then the planning phase of the tourism and wildlife sector can indeed begin.

Unique water sports include fishing and whitewater rafting. The water related sports are carried out in beautiful wildlife spots. As a result, double attraction is created especially for visitors who are interested in both sports actions and viewing of wildlife. There are myriads of biosphere reserves, Ramsar sites and world heritage sites that have been preserved in Kenya. This makes the country to have one of the richest wildlife destinations across the world.

The diversity in wildlife is indeed one of the reasons why tourists from across the world prefer visiting Kenya. In addition, the ecosystem within the protected zones such as wetlands are still intact and least interfered with. It is important to underscore that Kenya is a key member of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The main objective of this convention is to offer alternatives and best practices on how wetlands can be utilized without interfering with the natural ecosystem.

There are myriads of cases when some wetlands have gone dry due to poor usage. Currently, there are five sites that are listed under Ramsar in Kenya. These sites have been considered to be critical wetlands that can be used to generate revenue out of tourism and also conserving the rare animal and plant species found on the sites.

The following lakes are listed under the aforementioned convention: Elementeita, Baringo, Bogoria, Naivasha, and Nakuru. The process of listing Tana Delta is currently in the pipeline. As it stands now, there are over one thousand species of birds that have been accommodated in these wetlands. This is why the wetland sites have been described as ornithologist’s paradise.

That explains how Kenya enjoys the diversity of wildlife in various scenes. For example, it is not easy to observe myriad types of birds such as pelicans and patrolling secretary. These variety of birds have been conserved in selected wetland with the aim of maintain the scenic beauty and revenue generation from the project.

The flamingoes of Lake Nakuru national park and the wetlands area indeed glitter on this rift valley lake. Although their number has been declining considerably over time, the local Kenya Wildlife Service authorities have taken corrective steps of ensuring that no affluent from farms and factories find their way into the lake and swamp waters.

Water pollution with excessive chemicals channeled into the lake is a major threat to the survival of flamingoes in Lake Nakuru. Moreover, human activities around the lake have led into the destruction of the natural ecosystem that has served various bird species for centuries.

For instance, Lake Nakuru is one of the wetlands national parks with the most widespread human activities ranging from fishing to sports. However, the worst human activity around this lake is the chemical pollution from nearby factory establishments and farmlands. Fertilizers and foliar sprays used in agriculture are washed into the banks of the lakes through soil erosion. When corrective steps are not taken, it will be critically difficult to maintain the huge population of birds found in this beautiful scenery.

The tourism and wildlife sector can indeed be integral in lowering the poverty index rate in Kenya bearing in mind that most of the country’s population is still living below the poverty line. The latter is attributed to the fact that marginal areas or regions that can hardly be put into fruitful use can easily be converted into wildlife conservation spots and consequently be utilized in attracting tourists both locally and internationally. Marginal areas include wetlands, arid and semi-arid areas, and savannah woodlands (Hultsman 562).

When tourist destinations are spatially distributed, it is quite easy to undertake equitable distribution of resources needed by local communities. For example, when a tourist site is made operational in one particular area, the local people will most likely be the first beneficiaries. Revenue will be evenly be distributed for the sake of developing regions that are visited by tourists.

When revenue generated from tourism and wildlife is equitably distributed, it will be possible to attain the multiplier effect bearing in mind that whenever wildlife is conserved, other resources such as water catchment areas will also be protected. When water catchment areas are given due protection, the ecosystem will be rejuvenated and sustained for a long period to the benefit of the entire country.

Tourism is closely related to wildlife in the sense that none of them can do well in the absence of the other. In other words, wildlife is the major growth factor in tourism and on the other hand, tourism is required in order for wildlife resources to generate revenue (Svensson and Wood 140). Moreover, tourism happens to be one of the most vital resources that are used directly at the site of production. However, in this case, visitors do ‘consume’ wildlife even as they tour the tourism destination sites.

Although tourism and wildlife are still major boosters in the gross domestic product of Kenya, the output ratio is still relatively small. The sector benefits from what may be describe as minimal capital since wildlife resources are usually naturally set in place. Nu human input is required to create wildlife.

Advantages and trip outcomes

The trip to Kenya had innumerable advantages to us bearing in mind that we learnt out while there. The trip outcomes were also worth to reckon with because it was a massive learning experience for all of us. We received and encountered more than we expected.

Economics and natural resources

To begin with, we gained additional knowledge on the relationship between economics and natural resources. In this case, we were able to relate how natural resources can be equitably used to satisfy human needs and wants. For example, a visit to Kenyan national parks opened up our minds on how wildlife can be converted into viable use by earning foreign exchange for a country.

When natural resources are scarce, conflicts usually arise. This was evident when we learnt that the human-animal conflict in Kenyan national parks is mainly occasioned by the scarce and diminishing natural resources. We found out that people living close to national parks heavily rely on the available natural resources in the park.

Some of the resources obtained from national parks include wood, charcoal, honey and game meat (Payne and Landry 77). When they encroach the natural habitats, they end up coming face to face with wild animals. The result is the conflict between the two. The same happens when wild animals go beyond their retrained areas and destroy food crops from nearby villages. This was a great lesson for us since we were able to relate how scarcity of natural resources (economics) can lead to conflicts.

Culture and heritage

the trip was an eye opener for us in learning more about the culture and heritage of the Kenyan people. Even though our trip was specifically directed to national parks, we had a chance to interact with Kenyan people in several instances. For example, we learned about their staple food (mainly ugali as it is known locally).

We also managed to engage some of them in getting to know that the country has 42 indigenous tribes. Out of these tribes, about five are the most dominant. English is the official language while Kiswahili is used as the national language that is spoken by almost every Kenyan. In terms of music, we were also lucky to learn that both the local traditional music and western hits are appreciated in this country.

The heritage of national parks

After visiting the national parks, it was evident that our understanding of wildlife in general was significantly boosted. Another vital lesson that we learnt during the trip is that ethics in the field of tourism is a critical requirement that cannot be ignored.

Ethics in the tourism industry is a vital concept required in running business operations bearing in mind that aspects such as strategic goals that may be either short or long term are required in order to expedite the success of a business entity. We appreciated tourism as a business because unless it is done using the best business skills and ethics, it cannot succeed.

When rules and regulations are put in place in order to control the operations of a business portfolio, ethics will have been followed. The trip provided us with a learning opportunity on how the Kenyan national parks are run with a high sense of ethics and decorum so that visitors can feel comfortable, loved and taken care of. Therefore, business ethics are varied and thus applicable in all levels of business operation.

It was interesting to learn that effective planning and management are also part and parcel for any success in tourism business. One of the challenges facing national parks in Kenya is planning and management of park activities. Although professionals have been hired to execute various functions on behalf of the Kenya wildlife service, there are still gaps in the overall management of wildlife resources and the business of tourism altogether.

Initially, we thought that tourism did not require any professional planning and management of operations because animals are readily available in the parks for viewing (Macbeth 970). As a matter of fact, it was advantageous for us to go through a thorough learning process when we were taken through various phases of tourism as a serious business entity that cannot be ignored.

Globalization has impacted all aspects of trade around the world and the tourism and wildlife industry is no exception. Research evidence indicates that globalization overrides trade barriers. For this reason, competition among player ns is enhanced, which creates myriad of challenges and opportunities for businesses.

Definitely, tourism and wildlife industry is subjected to competition pressures enhanced by globalization, and this has created pressure for tourism and wildlife producing countries with Kenya included to be innovative so as to counteract global competition.

One of the trip outcomes was the empirical study we came across that sought to identify the challenges facing by SMEs in the tourism industry in Kenya. In addition, we sought to investigate how individual SMEs business managed the challenges so as to survive the competition.

Random sampling was employed to come up with a representative sample of 198 businesses. The researchers used interviews and questionnaires to collect primary data. Following successful data collection, data was analysed descriptively and results presented graphically. From their findings, there are quite of challenges encountered by small to medium sized organisations that offer tour-related services.

Some of the challenges comprise of stiff in-house competition, absence of credit facilities, imports that are less costly and not original from the manufacturer and lack of better mechanisms for recovering bad debts. It is evident that SMEs make use of myriads of strategies in order to remain competitive and profitable among other companies that offer tourist-related services to visitors. From the research findings, it came out clear that various strategies are required in order to attain success in business.

Concurrently, several Small and Medium enterprises in Kenyan tourism and wildlife industry have adopted the widely embraced value addition activity so as to position themselves strategically amidst the rising global competition. The product differentiation, which is promoted through value addition, is a significant strategy to enhance businesses competitiveness.

During the trip, we noted this type of competitiveness in the tourist resorts that we visited. The concept of value addition in tourism and wildlife is an emerging phenomenon around the world owing to the increasing tastes sophistication of those who consume products from tourism and wildlife.

The implication of these changing tourist trends indicates that the present level of tourism and wildlife in Kenya is likely to vary significantly in the future owing to the fact that tourist demand for loose tourism and wildlife is on the decline as tourists seek tourism and wildlife destinations that are deemed to be convenient. It is important to mention that value addition in tourism and wildlife will capture the better portion of the markets as compared to bulk tourism and wildlife in the future.

The value addition strategy is not new and Sri Lanka which is classified under the same category with Kenya in terms of tourism and wildlife export output has embraced the concept. Therefore, SMEs in the Kenyan tourism and wildlife sector are not misguided in their decision to embrace value addition, as it has been attached to a myriad of financial benefits not just at the national level, but also on the global markets (Gjerald and Øgaard 893).

Despite this effort to embrace value addition concept, SMEs in Kenyan tourism and wildlife industry are unable to realize the full potential of value addition strategy due to the various challenges facing SMEs in Kenya. Although, researches to investigate the challenges and opportunities for SMEs in Kenya is greatly limited, findings from these studies as well as from those conducted in other developing countries, which are ranked on the same economic scale with Kenya were used to inform this study.

Previous researches have indicated that SMEs in Kenya experience various challenges ranging from financial constraints mainly because most credit facilities do not consider SMEs to be credit worthy. In addition, poor management practices have been blamed for the high rates of SMEs failure not just in Kenya but in almost all developing and developed countries.

This study had hypothesized that SMEs in Kenyan tourism and wildlife industry were likely to face similar challenges cited above and many more, and the challenges will be more pronounced in the businesses dealing with tourism and wildlife export. In addition, a study to evaluate SMEs in the tourism and wildlife industry would unearth additional challenges at the jurisdiction of value addition process.

As exemplified above, several studies have been conducted in Kenya to establish the challenges that face SMEs. Although the identified challenges can be partially replicated across all sectors, there was a need to carry out a research specific to SMEs in the tourism and wildlife industry. Empirical evidence indicates that SMEs hold a significant position in any country and they contribute positively to a country’s economy growth.

Their significance in the economy is attached to the myriad of benefits such as creation of jobs and promotion of entrepreneurship. Kenya being a developing country has no otherwise but to tap into this significant sector so as to drive her economy forward. Positive realization of SMEs economic benefits cannot be achieved if significant effort is not made to identify and address the challenges facing SMEs in the various sectors of the economy.

It is against this background that this report was compiled basically with the objective of identifying the various challenges specific to tourism and wildlife industry in Kenya. The research interest in the tourism and wildlife industry was mainly because income from tourism and wildlife production and export occupies a significant position in the Kenyan economy.

Kenya controls over 10% of the total tourism and wildlife export; hence there is need to promote emerging and developed SMEs in tourism sector to not merely maintain their pace and contribution but also expand the global market positioning of Kenyan tourism and wildlife .

As cited above, value addition is the new phenomenon for any tourism and wildlife exporter willing to survive the cut throat competition across the global market (Fennel and Malloy 930). However, despite the slow but gradual adoption of the same by various Kenyan SMEs in the tourism and wildlife industry, it is difficult to realize its full benefits if the challenges are not controlled.

Therefore, the significance of this current study cannot be overemphasized as the findings can be used to inform deliberate government policies seeking to address the various challenges (Hayes 191). Definitely, if the identified challenges are addressed, SMEs in the tourism and wildlife trading industry are likely to reap the full benefits of value addition strategy.

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