Author: Haggai Okumu

KBA in Focus: South Nandi Forest

Posted on by Haggai Okumu

By Boniface Musyoka

Located in the misty hills of Nandi County, the South Nandi Forest Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) is one of Kenya’s vital water sources. This mid-elevation African montane forest, spanning 170 square kilometres, feeds the Kimondi and Sirua rivers, which flow into the Yala River and ultimately into Lake Victoria. Millions of people downstream depend on the water from the slopes of Nandi, from farmers and fishermen to families in their homes.

South Nandi KBA is also a refuge for wildlife from both the montane forests and western rainforests. The globally threatened Turner’s Eremomela bird lives here, alongside other species adapted to highland forest life. Colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, over 250 bird species, diverse bats, and more than 70 butterfly species make their homes among the trees. Indigenous plant species like Prunus africana connect these Kenyan highlands to the vast rainforests of West Africa, linking ecosystems across a continent.

Yet South Nandi Forest faces serious pressure. Rapid population growth has pushed agricultural expansion beyond designated areas. Illegal logging, charcoal production, and livestock grazing deep in the forest continue to fragment the canopy and degrade habitats. These threats destroy wildlife homes and jeopardise the natural resources local communities depend on for farming and water.

Local stakeholders are fighting back. Volunteers from the Kobujoi and Kimondi Community Forest Associations (CFAs) and the South Nandi Biodiversity Conservation Group, working closely with the Kenya Forest Service, are conducting forest patrols, monitoring wildlife, and implementing other conservation activities. These efforts, guided by long-term forest management plans, focus on enforcing forest boundaries and stopping illegal activity.

To reduce dependence on the forest for livelihoods, communities are turning to alternatives. Beekeeping, fish farming, private woodlots, and climate-smart agriculture are generating household income whilst protecting the forest. These nature-friendly livelihoods prove that people can thrive without destroying the ecosystems they depend on.

South Nandi Forest’s future depends on sustained collaboration among government, conservation groups, and local communities. When communities lead conservation efforts, both forests and people can flourish together.

KBA in Focus: Mrima Hill

Posted on by Haggai Okumu

By Joshua Sese

Located in Kwale County near the Kenya–Tanzania border, Mrima Hill is one of Kenya’s most important coastal forest Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). The hill forms part of the Eastern African Coastal Forests biodiversity hotspot, a globally recognised region renowned for its remarkable variety of unique species.

Mrima Hill supports threatened bird species, including Fischer’s Turaco and Spotted Ground Thrush, both of which rely on healthy forest habitats. The site is also home to more than 270 plant species, and small mammals, reptiles, amphibians such as tiny toads, and beautiful butterflies, making it a vital refuge for biodiversity in Kenya’s increasingly fragmented coastal forests.

This natural treasure faces mounting pressure. Mrima Hill contains valuable deposits of rare earth elements and niobium – minerals essential to modern technologies and renewable energy systems. Exploration activities have already disturbed the habitat through excavation pits, vegetation clearance, and increased human activity in sensitive forest areas. Large-scale mining would accelerate forest degradation, habitat fragmentation, soil erosion, and water pollution, while also threatening the sacred Kaya sites of the local Digo community.

Beyond mining pressure, the hill faces illegal logging, charcoal burning, fuelwood collection, and agricultural encroachment, all of which continue to reduce forest cover. Climate change further stresses the fragile ecosystem through shifting rainfall patterns.

Despite these pressures, there is some hope. Mrima Hill is gazetted as a Forest Reserve, and Mrima Hill Kaya is gazetted as a National Monument. The Kenya Forest Service is working with the local Community Forest Association (CFA), Kaya elders, and conservation groups to protect the forest through patrols and community awareness programmes. These efforts include curbing illegal logging and charcoal burning, restoring habitat, planting indigenous trees, monitoring biodiversity, and advocating stricter environmental regulation of mining activities.

Protecting Mrima Hill means safeguarding not just rare species, but also the cultural heritage and ecological services that local communities depend on. The forest’s future rests on balancing mineral exploitation with the conservation of unique species and the needs of those who call this region home.