Groups work to conserve wetlands and save grey-crowned cranes
Dr Joseph Mwangi, Kenya’s country manager working with the Africa Crane conservation programmes, International Crane Foundation and Endangered Wildlife Trust.
Environmentalists have said the destruction of wetlands is pushing endangered species out of their habitats.
The grey-crowned crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps) that is found in wetlands is one such species that is endangered in Kenya because of widespread human encroachment onto water catchment areas.
In the past few decades, bird numbers have been dwindling at an alarming rate, worrying local communities and researchers.
Due to unchecked encroachment, most wetlands that are breeding grounds for the birds have been cleared for human activities such as farming.
In the 1970s, the population of cranes in Kenya stood at 30,000 but the 2019 census showed than number had dropped to 8,000.
Dr Joseph Mwangi, the Kenya country coordinator for the Africa Crane Conservation Programme, said they are working with the International Crane Foundation, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, government agencies and the Community Action for Nature Conservation to reverse the trend.
“From the study, we have lost 80 per cent of the population. In every wetland in the country, these birds used to be [common] but this is not the case. Of the current population, we are seeing a big proportion are adults and between two and five per cent are juveniles,” said Dr Mwangi.
“What this means is that we are having an aging population of cranes. We have more adults than young ones. This is a major risk because in the next few years we might lose the entire population. This is the reason we have decided to come up with the initiative to reverse this trend.”
Besides being tourist attractions, he said, the birds also help get rid of harmful pests on farms like aphids.
“Although many may perceive them as eating grains such as maize, wheat and other crops, they also help to control these pests on farmlands. These birds also have an economic value and are beautiful,” he added.
A farm with crane birds in Uasin Gishu county. In the local community, the bird is a totem to one of the clans and is considered sacred.
The project provides farmers with alternative environment-friendly activities such as beekeeping. It also creates buffer zones by planting trees to protect breeding areas in wetlands.
The five-year project was scaled up to include conserving wetlands, which are breeding grounds for cranes, and large farms that act as flocking areas to reverse this trend. The project started in 2015 in Trans Nzoia but was extended last year to 13 counties.
“This initiative involves tracking and monitoring these endangered birds and to ensure that we increase the population. We support farmers by giving them fruit trees to work as a buffer zone between farmland and the wetlands and help them engage in beekeeping activities,” he said.
Dr Mwangi said the programme targets 11 counties in Western Kenya, including Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Kisumu and Migori.
According to International Crane Foundation, there are 15 different species of cranes around the globe: grey-crowned crane, black-crowned crane, red-crowned crane, blue crane, brolga crane, Demoiselle crane, Sandhill crane, Sarus crane, Siberian crane, wattled crane, white-naped crane, whooping crane, hooded crane, Eurasian crane and black-necked crane.
These birds have been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
There are four species of the birds in Africa, with Kenya hosting the grey-crowned crane.
Experts are also concerned that the bird has changed its adaptability due to interference with its habitat. This has led to conflicts with humans, and some farmers are poisoning the birds.
