China donates towards Kenya's wildlife protection

Li Ping, wife of Liu Xianfa, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, feeds a three-week old cheetah cub at the KWS headquarters on November 8. LIU HONGJIE/CHINA DAILY

A China-Kenya business group has donated almost $40,000 to a project that helps young people better understand wildlife conservation in the east African country.

The funds from the Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association (KCETA) on Tuesday will help upgrade an education programme for Kenyan teenagers at the Nairobi National Park.

Speaking at an event to mark KCETA's contribution on Tuesday, the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Liu Xianfa, said Kenya is widely known as a haven for wildlife and conservation should be a top priority in terms of social and economic development plans.

Noting that wildlife and environmental protection has been one of the key areas of China-Kenya cooperation, Liu said that in 2015 China donated equipment to the Kenya Wildlife Service to strengthen its capabilities.

Some $8,000 of the KCETA donation will be used to refurbish information material within the Nairobi safari walk. Around $5,000 will go towards developing marketing and publicity materials for the walk in online and traditional media.

Some of the funds will go towards refurbishing a children's animal museum and to bringing 500 less privileged children on an educational trip to the park.

In February, the Chinese embassy in Kenya and the East African Wildlife Society jointly published a magazine in Chinese and English which is being distributed at airports and onboard international flights to offer information on wildlife conservation.

The ambassador noted that the Chinese community in Kenya has been prioritising wildlife conservation while working on infrastructure development.

"The 480 km Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway consists of 14 overpasses, 600 culverts and 61 bridges, all designed and built as corridors for animals to pass through," Liu said.