The Legally Permissible Traditional Customary Uses of Wildlife and Forests under Kenyan Law  

作　　者：Nixon Sifuna Nixon Sifuna(Africana Consultants, PO Box 5496-30100, Eldoret, Kenya)

机构地区：[1]Africana Consultants, PO Box 5496-30100, Eldoret, Kenya

出　　处：《Open Journal of Forestry》2021年第3期292-314,共23页林学期刊（英文）

摘　　要：Kenya like most of sub-Saharan Africa is reliant predominantly on agriculture and natural resources;which include land, water, minerals and fisheries, but the most dominant of which are wildlife and forestry. Unlike minerals which are by law vested in the government and can only be extracted by it and not the citizenry, wildlife and forestry are resources that the citizens may utilize in their day to day lives to meet their needs. Apart from their consumptive uses, there are also non-consumptive uses and values of wild animals and forests;such as their intrinsic ecological value as gene banks, as well as their scenic value for viewing. These are essentially conventional values and uses. They are largely formal and universal ones that are universally obtaining across the world irrespective of the levels of civilization or cultural identity, and are even compatible with modernity. Apart from these, there are some wildlife and forestry uses which are unique to the typical African way of life as part of old traditional customs that have existed from earlier times. These are what are in this paper referred to as “traditional customary uses”. These uses are largely informal, rudimentary and archaic. They are nevertheless critical in the endemic African way of life and represent the inextricable rudimentary technologically bereft relationship between the African people and their natural resources. Under the country’s existing laws, some of these uses are prohibited and criminal sanctions prescribed to enforce their proscription, hence cannot be enjoyed or practiced. There are however others that the law has either expressly allowed, or not prohibited, hence may be lawfully enjoyed or practiced. These are what this paper has referred to as the legally permissible traditional customary uses;and are the ones that are its subject. As for wildlife, in the year 1977, the Kenya Government by a Legal Notice in the Kenya Gazette imposed a ban on all forms of hunting of wildlife. The ban is still in force. This therefore meKenya like most of sub-Saharan Africa is reliant predominantly on agriculture and natural resources;which include land, water, minerals and fisheries, but the most dominant of which are wildlife and forestry. Unlike minerals which are by law vested in the government and can only be extracted by it and not the citizenry, wildlife and forestry are resources that the citizens may utilize in their day to day lives to meet their needs. Apart from their consumptive uses, there are also non-consumptive uses and values of wild animals and forests;such as their intrinsic ecological value as gene banks, as well as their scenic value for viewing. These are essentially conventional values and uses. They are largely formal and universal ones that are universally obtaining across the world irrespective of the levels of civilization or cultural identity, and are even compatible with modernity. Apart from these, there are some wildlife and forestry uses which are unique to the typical African way of life as part of old traditional customs that have existed from earlier times. These are what are in this paper referred to as “traditional customary uses”. These uses are largely informal, rudimentary and archaic. They are nevertheless critical in the endemic African way of life and represent the inextricable rudimentary technologically bereft relationship between the African people and their natural resources. Under the country’s existing laws, some of these uses are prohibited and criminal sanctions prescribed to enforce their proscription, hence cannot be enjoyed or practiced. There are however others that the law has either expressly allowed, or not prohibited, hence may be lawfully enjoyed or practiced. These are what this paper has referred to as the legally permissible traditional customary uses;and are the ones that are its subject. As for wildlife, in the year 1977, the Kenya Government by a Legal Notice in the Kenya Gazette imposed a ban on all forms of hunting of wildlife. The ban is still in force. This therefore me

关 键 词：Traditional Customary Uses Legally Permissible WILDLIFE FORESTS WITCHCRAFT Witchcraft Act Kenyan Law Taina 

分 类 号：O17[理学—数学]