(JP/AFRICA)Vet claims development in Africa threatens wildlife

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Vet claims development in Africa threatens wildlife

 

Takeshi Kuroiwa Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

Nov 13, 2001

 

A Japanese veterinarian who resides in Nairobi said in

a recent seminar held in Tokyo that even in Africa,

the coexistence between human beings and wild animals

has become more and more difficult due to the increase

in human population and large-scale development on the

continent, traditionally considered a haven for the

animal kingdom.

 

The 55-year-old vet, Shunpei Kanbe, also talked to the

Japanese audience about their indirect impact on the

continent.

 

In 1971, Kanbe went to Africa for the first time and

since then has dedicated himself to helping animals

regardless of his own suffering, which has included

bouts of malaria and malnutrition.

 

In the seminar held earlier in November and hosted by

a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization, Nature Film

Network, Kanbe shared with the audience his

involvement in an operation to relocate 56 wild

elephants from a private game sanctuary at the foot of

Mt. Kenya to a site 200 kilometers away in the Meru

National Park in Kenya. The operation started on July

1 and lasted until July 25.

 

According to Kanbe, the relocation took place after

tension relating to the elephants built up among local

people, especially small farmers near the sanctuary.

The farmers claimed that the elephants trampled their

crops and as a result fences had been built around the

sanctuary. Yet, some elephants were able to break

through the fencing, creating further opposition to

their presence.

 

Kanbe said the 90-square-kilometer-sanctuary was

" overcrowded, " as it was home to 125 elephants as well

as rhinos and giraffes.

 

Although Kanbe lamented that the farmland surrounding

the sanctuary that used to be habitat for wildlife had

been lost to development, " he joined the operation to

help achieve a " coexistence " between wildlife and the

local community and was placed in charge of monitoring

the anesthetization of the elephants.

 

The operation was organized by Kenya Wildlife Service,

a Kenyan governmental body, set up to further the

nation's policy of preserving wildlife as an important

resource for its tourism, according to Kanbe.

 

In the operation, the Meru National Park was singled

out as the elephants' destination because of a sharp

decrease in the number of elephants in 1980s due to

massive poaching by ivory hunters.

 

Kanbe said that the number of wild elephants in the

park had plummeted from more than 3,000 to about 300.

 

In Japan, several cases of ivory smuggling have come

to light in the last few years despite a ban on ivory

sales imposed by an international conference on

endangered species in 1989.

 

Kanbe told the Japanese audience that of ivory ending

up on the market, an estimated 60 percent is used for

making name seals in Asia. He urged the audience not

to use or buy ivory name seals.

 

Kanbe mentioned another case in which Japan is having

an effect on the environment in Kenya.

 

According to Kanbe, the construction of a large dam is

under way in western Kenya as part of the 20 billion

yen Sondu-Miriu hydroelectric power project, which is

being funded mainly with official development

assistance from Japan.

 

Although Kanbe admitted there is strong demand for

more electricity in Kenya, he expressed opposition to

the project because of the possible adverse effects

its construction might have on the environment.

 

Kanbe said the project might further reduce the

habitat of wildlife in Africa.

 

Copyright 2001 The Yomiuri Shimbun

 

 

 

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