Kenya is rich in biodiversity, estimated to have over thirty five thousand species of flora and fauna, approximately 27,500 of which are animal species. The continued existence of this biodiversity depends on sustainable utilization of natural resources that also supports a population of over 30 million people and the Kenyan economy. Increased human population, with its increased need for livelihoods, puts pressure on biodiversity, especially endangered and species with commercial value. This creates human-wildlife conflict through poaching and trafficking of endangered species that are protected under CITES and national laws. Species and species products are traded as bush meat, pets, traditional medicine, and production of clothing, ornaments and carvings. Poached animals are traded as butchered and processed meat, eggs or in juvenile stages and dried powders. In these forms it is difficult, even for taxonomic experts, to identify the species involved in the trade based on morphological and diagnostic characteristics (commonly provided by bones and hides) which are usually missing from confiscated materials. The PEER project proposes to use “DNA barcode” sequence data to assign confiscated material to their species of origin through assembling a reference library of DNA barcodes from endangered species. Endangered species usually have small wild population sizes. We plan to use conservative collection methods in the field, mainly through collection of specimen samples and e-vouchers only from different animal taxa bearing the species identity (name of specimen, locality and date of collection). We will use standard operating procedures (SOPs) developed by the National Museums of Kenya under the current barcode of wildlife project to collect specimen samples and for curation, laboratory analysis and sequence editing. Kenya’s biodiversity conservation will directly benefit from this project in multiple ways. This DNA-based research will create new tools for prosecuting wildlife crime. The project will offer an opportunity for collaboration with enforcement agencies and use these tools in courtrooms for prosecution against wildlife crime. This will enhance prosecution evidence, increase the number of positive convictions for wildlife poaching and trafficking and lead to a long-term increase in population sizes of endangered species. Kenya’s economic growth, which depends to a greater degree on a sustainable tourism industry, will also benefit.