NAIROBI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday launched the Wildlife Conservation Prepaid Card, an innovative financial tool designed to support wildlife protection efforts.
Speaking at Meru National Park in central Kenya during the unveiling of 950 million Kenyan shillings (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) for third-phase human-wildlife compensation, Ruto said the prepaid card is part of government efforts to streamline compensation for human-wildlife conflict and ensure prompt payment for affected individuals.
"The initiative, a partnership between the State Department for Wildlife and Kenya Commercial Bank, allows a portion of each transaction made by cardholders to be donated to the Wildlife Trust Fund, transforming ordinary spending into a force for good," he said.
Ruto noted that victims of human-wildlife conflict will no longer wait up to eight years to be compensated because the country has migrated from a manual to a digital payment platform.
Erustus Kanga, director general of the state-owned Kenya Wildlife Service, said the country has ramped up its field operations to prevent, mitigate, and manage human-wildlife conflicts through specialized units to respond rapidly to emerging threats and defuse conflicts on the spot.
Kanga added that prevention of human-wildlife conflict remains a priority through the construction of electric fences and the installation of solar-powered predator deterrent lights. ■