East Africa has emerged as a global hub for illegal wildlife trafficking, a black market that generates billions of dollars each year and threatens the security, economy, and biodiversity of the entire region. Legal regulation, law enforcement, and behavior change to reduce demand for wildlife trade are essential pieces of the solution to this complex problem. In 2015, USAID Kenya and East Africa established a first-ever agreement with the Department of the Interior – International Technical Assistance Program (DOI-ITAP) – the Partnership to End Wildlife Trafficking in East Africa. Together, USAID and DOI-ITAP partner with foreign governments, the private sector, international organizations, and civil society to improve East African conservation efforts and combat wildlife crime. The Agreement provides partners with direct access to DOI’s natural resource management expertise on conservation-related topics including wildlife law enforcement, ranger training, protected areas management, sustainable tourism, climate science, clean energy technologies, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) management, and more.
RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Advancing Clean Technology in Kenya: In partnership with the Northern Rangelands Trust, DOI-ITAP supported the deployment of 600 biogas cookstoves in community conservancies across northern Kenya. Replacing wood-based fuel with biogas offers key environmental, health, and education benefits – especially to women and girls – including reducing deforestation, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Highlighting Women Conservationists in East Africa: DOI-ITAP, in coordination with the Kenyan film production company AfroFilms International, spotlights women conservationists through a behind-the-scenes documentary on the creation of the National Geographic/Disney Team Sayari series. This work empowers women conservation leaders in East Africa and encourages new generations of women leaders. Enhancing Ecological Monitoring in Zambia: DOI-ITAP, with experts from DOI’s USGS and USFWS and the NGO Panthera, provides technical advice and training to Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to improve the ability of DNPW ecologists and law enforcement patrols to conduct independent monitoring and evaluation of protected areas, enabling them to respond promptly to threats to wildlife.
Combating Corruption and Wildlife Trafficking in Madagascar: DOI-ITAP, together with USFWS’s Office of Law Enforcement, supported the design, development, and launch of a $3.4 million, three-year project with World Wildlife Fund to address increasing illegal wildlife trafficking and related corruption in Madagascar.
DOI-ITAP, in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance, also works to confiscate, relocate, rehabilitate, and release critically endangered tortoises across Madagascar. Promoting Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Research: DOI-ITAP, in cooperation with the Wildlife Conservation Society, is conducting two studies on marine biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean to contribute to a regional science and management plan. DOI-ITAP, with assistance from the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), is also advancing marine biodiversity conservation through three marine park assessments in Tanzania. These initiatives build regional capacity to conduct research and manage marine ecosystems threatened by global environmental change.
Strengthening CITES Leadership in East Africa: DOI-ITAP, in coordination with USFWS’s Combating Wildlife Trafficking Branch, is supporting the participation of 14 CITES professionals in a one-year CITES master’s Course at the International University of Andalucía in Baeza, Spain. The 2022-2023 cohort includes two officials from Zanzibar, in alignment with another DOI-ITAP initiative to support CITES implementation and enforcement on the island.
Encouraging Equitable and Sustainable Tourism in Biodiverse Areas of Kenya: DOI-ITAP is supporting a senior social scientist from USFWS to collaborate with a Kenyan scientist in examining potential barriers and best practices to introducing online tourism platforms into biodiverse areas including the Maasai Mara National Reserve. This work improves direct community benefits from tourism, with attention to empowering women and youth entrepreneurship and environmental stewardship.
Elevating Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Natural Resource Management: DOI-ITAP convened four experts from DOI’s USFWS, NPS, BIA, and Office of the Solicitor to synthesize best practices that will guide and inform USAID staff and partners in fulfilling social and environmental safeguards when partnering with Indigenous peoples and other local communities. DOI experts are collaborating with a range of Southern African partners to adapt U.S. and international guidelines to specific Southern African social-ecological contexts.
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