Anti-corruption and equitable benefit sharing in Kenya’s wildlife and forest sectors: Gaps and lessons

Equitable sharing of the benefits of conservation is essential to successful conservation efforts and sustainable use of natural resources. Effective benefit sharing, facilitated by transparent and informed decision-making, can help build community partnerships and support for conservation, facilitate law enforcement, and prevent conflicts and corruption. Recent changes in Kenya’s legal frameworks for managing wildlife and forests have reformed benefit sharing between state or private investors and local communities. Conservation interventions increasingly build on the opportunities provided by these institutional and legal reforms.

However, benefit sharing requirements have been weakened by gaps in implementation and gazettement of required regulations and guidelines. Coupled with weak enforcement of local accountability mechanisms, these gaps provide opportunities for corruption, including diversion of conservation funds for private use, systemic bribery, and rent seeking in wildlife and forestry contracts. A range of coordinated anti-corruption strategies must therefore be included when closing these institutional and regulatory gaps. Technological solutions may help. For example, integrated revenue systems could promote information transparency and accountability in revenue collection and use.

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This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.