The Kenya Wildlife Service could be set for a major overhaul after the government-appointed Taskforce on Wildlife Security found its resources to be too thinly spread to combat poaching.

The taskforce recommended that KWS be restructured into three main divisions — security operations, conservation management and community extension — and that it shares its knowledge with the National Intelligence Service.

The 15-member team appointed last year, and headed by former KWS director Nehemiah Rotich, found the conservation body was “top heavy” at the headquarters besides being plagued by overlapping functions, poor reporting systems and fragmentation of departments and units.

“The core business of KWS has become shrouded in confusion, leading to a drop in effectiveness and delivery and loss of motivation and morale in the field,” says the taskforce’s report, Lifting the Siege: Securing Kenya’s Wildlife.

The taskforce also concluded that the Intelligence Unit was weak and employed outdated methods of gathering, collating, analysing and disseminating information.

“KWS’s Intelligence Unit is apparently broken down and very weak and operating with outdated methods.... it is not proactive in preventing poaching and related wildlife crimes,” the report reads. “Although KWS’ intelligence officers were supposed to operate undercover, the committee found that they used branded KWS vehicles driven by civilians “thereby increasing risk of leakage of sensitive information.”

The report recommends training of the intelligence officers and “closer liaison with the National Intelligence Service.”

In the wake of the Lamu attacks two months ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta placed KWS and other security organs under the Inspector General of Police. The executive order, however, is yet to be enforced because amendments are required in the laws establishing the forces.

Former KWS staff attribute weaknesses in intelligence gathering to understaffing and deliberate denial of equipment and financial resources.

“I am not convinced that KWS cannot muster enough resources to equip its intelligence officers,” said Joakim Kagiri, a former assistant director, adding that during his time, the parent ministry used to allocate resources to the intelligence unit, but this stopped when the conservation body became autonomous.

The report calls for enhanced tactical training of KWS rangers, use of modern communication equipment, improved pay and better working conditions.

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According to the report, KWS’s rangers are few, poorly paid and overworked, leading to low morale and disinterest in responding to poaching and other wildlife security threats. The report notes that the basic monthly pay for a ranger ranges from Ksh12,540 ($141.6) to Ksh26,400 ($298.3).

Half of KWS vehicles were found to be in unserviceable condition, making it difficult to patrol the 47,674 square kilometres — eight per cent of Kenya’s land mass for which the body is in charge.

KWS mans 22 national parks, 28 national reserves, four national sanctuaries, six marine national parks and four marine reserves. It is also in charge of 125 other game stations located outside Kenya’s protected areas.

Mr Rotich’s team also recommended sound management of aircraft after finding the KWS Air Wing was ill equipped to provide aerial back up to rangers on the ground.

Some of the aircraft were of low flight duration, meaning they could not be used in a sustained anti-poaching operations, while poor monitoring allowed pilots to use the aircraft on unauthorised missions.

“Once the aircraft have left the Air Wing at Wilson Airport and are out-stationed, there is no monitoring. The taskforce was informed that sometimes the aircraft are used to deliver letters.”

Implementation of the report, however, could prove difficult after Parliamentary Environment Committee chairperson Amina Abdalla said it lacked important details that would have taken the war against poaching to the next level.

“You are not giving us tangible information to move this process ahead, yet parliament had given you appropriate legislation and funds. What you are telling us is general information,” Ms Abdalla told Environment Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe, when he appeared before the committee, which demanded that the people behind poaching be named.

Mr Lesiyampe and Mr Rotich said the taskforce had shared sensitive information with other relevant state departments for further investigations.

“We are keen to reverse the poaching menace. But, if we have no evidence, we can’t put names of people in a report,” said Mr Lesiyampe.

One conservationist asked the government to make a public commitment that it would implement the recommendations of the team.

“I haven’t seen an implementation plan showing how and when the government will embark on making good the taskforce’s recommendations,” said Michael Gachanja, the chief executive of the East African Wildlife Society.

The taskforce was appointed by Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water & Natural Resources, Judy Wakhungu in a Kenya Gazette Notice No 503 of January 31, 2013, to examine security threats affecting wildlife and its habitats, and make recommendations. It worked for three months.