Kenyan conservation organisation, on Friday, launched a campaign to conserve grey crowned cranes and save them from extinction.
Joseph Mwangi, country manager at the Crane and Wetlands Conservation Project, said the grey crowned cranes are threatened with extinction.
The grey-crowned cranes are a species of birds that flock in large numbers, anywhere between 30 and 150 heads.
“The bird population has decreased by 90 per cent in the last 35 years.
“This is due to poaching and rapid loss of their habitat,” Mwangi said during a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
The bird status has been reduced from least concerned and now threatened with extinction.
This is according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) classification.
Mwangi said the population of grey-crowned cranes stands at 8,000 according to a census done in 2019.
He said the consortium has assessed the bird population, looked at their breeding grounds and tracked them after placing rings and bands on their legs.
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Solomon Kyalo, Head of Multilateral Environment Agreements at Kenya Wildlife Service, said government would prosecute those found poaching the bird.
Kyalo added that restoring the crane’s habitat and awareness creation amongst populations are ongoing to protect protect the birds.
The campaign includes paying attention to livelihoods of communities around wetlands by providing them with beehives, poultry and introducing climate-smart agriculture.
Mwangi noted that the consortium had earmarked a number of activities, such as reducing threats causing adult and juvenile survival.
The activities also include reducing threats causing a high degree of habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation to ensure the success of the campaign.
He added that the campaign is also looking into controlling soil erosion and reducing dependence on inorganic fertilisers.
These include promoting crop diversification and introducing drought resistance crops. (Xinhua)
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