{"id":117873,"date":"2025-07-10T12:03:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/kws-proposes-first-park-fees-review-in-18-years-to-bridge-sh12bn-shortfall\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:03:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:03:39","slug":"kws-proposes-first-park-fees-review-in-18-years-to-bridge-sh12bn-shortfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kws-proposes-first-park-fees-review-in-18-years-to-bridge-sh12bn-shortfall\/","title":{"rendered":"KWS proposes first park fees review in 18 years to bridge Sh12bn shortfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 10 \u2014 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has proposed the first comprehensive review of national park access fees in 18 years, as part of an ambitious plan to close a Sh12 billion annual funding gap.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposed changes, contained in the draft Wildlife Conservation and Management (Access and Conservation Fees) Regulations, 2025<\/em>, aim to generate sustainable financing for wildlife protection, ecosystem restoration, and infrastructure upgrades in protected areas across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis review is not just about revenue\u2014it is about the survival of our wildlife and the resilience of our conservation systems,\u201d said KWS Director General Prof Erustus Kanga on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bold and necessary step to protect our biodiversity, support communities who coexist with wildlife, and secure the future of Kenya\u2019s natural heritage for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

KWS currently generates Sh7.92 billion annually against a budgetary requirement of Sh19.79 billion, resulting in significant constraints on its ability to respond to poaching, human-wildlife conflict, and climate-related threats. <\/p>\n

The proposed fee structure seeks to double revenue to Sh16.58 billion by 2028, according to an impact assessment that informed the revision.<\/p>\n

KWS sources over 90 per cent of its internal revenue from tourism-related activities, yet the current fee framework has remained unchanged for nearly two decades, despite inflation, evolving visitor expectations, and increased operational demands.<\/p>\n

Conservation efforts<\/h2>\n

The agency intends to deploy the revised fees to restore degraded habitats and ecosystems, enhance anti-poaching and wildlife security, and improve park infrastructure and services.<\/p>\n

KWS also seeks to raise additional funds to expand conservation education programs, strengthen the protection of endangered species and reduce dependency on Exchequer support.<\/p>\n

Prof Kanga emphasized that the proposal balances conservation needs with Kenya\u2019s global reputation as an affordable, world-class tourism destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about finances. Over one million Kenyans depend on a vibrant wildlife economy\u2014ranging from community scouts and rangers to tour operators, hoteliers, and artisans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The initiative forms part of KWS\u2019s 2024\u20132028 Strategic Plan and is being rolled out through a transparent and inclusive public participation process. <\/p>\n

KWS invited stakeholders to review the draft regulations and submit feedback at its offices, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, or via email at rates@kws.go.ke<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Wildlife tourism contributes nearly 10 per cent to Kenya\u2019s GDP and generates over USD 1 billion in direct annual revenue with KWS seeing the review as a critical step toward unlocking even greater ecological and socio-economic benefits.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 10 \u2014 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has proposed the first comprehensive review of national park access fees in 18 years, as part of an ambitious plan to close a Sh12 billion annual funding gap. The proposed changes, contained in the draft Wildlife Conservation and Management (Access and Conservation Fees) Regulations, 2025, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}