Kenya Airways is a founding member of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products and one of the signatories to the Declaration at Buckingham Palace, London, this week.
Group MD and Chief Executive Mbuvi Ngunze who signed the declaration on behalf of the airline joined 40 other leaders in the transport and conservation sector to sign the initiative led by His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge.
The initiative aims to support efforts to prevent the growing trade in illegal wildlife and products around the world, with the taskforce for transportation playing a major role in ensuring such illegal products, including ivory, do not move through their organisations.
“Kenya Airways has a zero tolerance policy regarding illegal wildlife trade and by being signatories of this Declaration we are reinforcing our stand. We work closely with other government agencies, especially at JKIA, to ensure illegal products are not being transported on our aircrafts,” said Ngunze.
He noted the threat facing wildlife, especially in Africa where poaching has been on the increased, is serious and is important that everyone gets more involved in stopping the vice.
The partnership comes in the wake of a surge in wildlife poaching across Africa with elephants and rhinos among the worst hit and Kenya preparing to burn the largest ivory stockpile, of 120 tonnes, next month.
The Declaration by the global transport players is ambitious with eleven commitments which require signatories to commit to supporting global efforts to prevent illegal wildlife smuggling, through putting in place real measures where the transport industry specifically can help shut down routes exploited by traffickers.
Other signatories from Africa to the Declaration include South African Airlines (SAA) and the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), of which Ngunze is the current chair.