The use of wild species directly contributes to the well-being of billions of people globally on a day-to-day basis and is particularly important to people in vulnerable situations. About 50,000 wild species are used for food, energy, medicine, materials and other purposes through fishing, gathering, logging and terrestrial animal harvesting globally. They are important sources of subsistence resources and income. Uses of wild species form the basis for economically and culturally important activities worldwide However, overexploitation remains a major threat to many wild species. Ensuring and enhancing the sustainability of the use of wild species is thus essential for human well-being and biodiversity conservation.
This target calls for legal, safe and sustainable use of wild species in trade which in Kenya, is governed by several institutions established under different legal frameworks among them WCMA 2013 Act, Forest Act 2016, Fisheries Act, EMCA 1999, and as per international obligation. this therefore calls for the need for collaboration between the different actors.
WCMA provides for non-consumptive and consumptive use of species as per Schedule 10 of the Act. Trade and harvest involve both flora and fauna. Some of the plant species overexploited included Osyris lanceolata, Prunus africana, cycads, aloes, orchids and Boswellia among others.
Some of the above national laws are contradictory in the ‘use’ thus the need to align them to ensure the institutions work together and build synergies towards achieving national and international obligations like CITES, Convention of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. To ensure wild species are sustainably used, traded and harvested there is a need to build capacities of the various organised groups established under different Acts and other stakeholders on identification of species that are protected under different international obligations.
It is noted that the Headline Indicator for this target is biased toward Fish, however, legal safe and sustainable use of species in Kenya goes beyond fish and includes the wild species of flora and fauna.
Legal and Sustainable use is also tracked through the CITES permitting process and trade data.