Tag: Endangered species

Promoting conservation in Mount Kenya Forest through nature-based enterprises

Posted on by John Mwacharo

By Martin Kiama

Mount Kenya – a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) – is in the limelight for several reasons, from being the second-highest volcanic mountain in Africa to being a World Heritage Site, a major catchment feeding the Tana and Ewaso Ngiro basins and a tourist destination attracting about 20,000 local and international visitors annually.

The mountain’s unique montane forest offers a range of essential ecosystem services valued at US$220 annually. These include the provision of water, energy, food, medicines, timber and habitat for biodiversity. Mount Kenya Forest helps to conserve soil fertility, regulate the climate and store carbon dioxide. The forest also provides livelihoods to adjacent communities.

One of the many community groups reaping ecosystem benefits from Mount Kenya Forest is the Mt. Kenya Biodiversity Conservation Group (Mt. KEBIO). Mt. KEBIO, the Site Support Group (SSG) for the Mount Kenya Forest KBA, is engaged in eco-tourism and other nature-based enterprises. The group organises hikes to the forest and bird-watching excursions. Thirteen of its members are professional tour guides trained in mountain climbing, map navigation, first aid and rescue, and ornithology, among other skills. Local and international tourists make up Mt. KEBIO’s ecotourism clients. Neighbouring hospitality facilities like the Mountain Rock Hotel also contract the group for tour guiding and birding services.

In 2023, Mt. KEBIO held 12 monthly bird walks in different forest and wetlands habitats within Mount Kenya. The group participated in the May and October Global Big Days, conducted two Abbott’s Starling monitoring surveys at Castle Forest and two biodiversity assessments.

Mt. KEBIO also operates three tree nurseries, namely Tumaini, Mazingira and Gathiuru, that currently have 11,400 indigenous and exotic tree seedlings. Last year, the SSG distributed 7,400 tree seedlings to schools, churches and community members. The SSG collaborated with other conservation groups to support restoration of Nanyuki River through the planting of indigenous trees and construction of gabions to control degradation of the river banks. So far, 1200 trees have been planted and six gabions constructed through an initiative dubbed `A Tree for My River`.

To ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem benefits, the group conducts awareness creation activities to promote environmental conservation knowledge in Mount Kenya, reaching 240 pupils from local primary schools. The group also hosted several conservation clubs from institutions, including Thika Technical Training Institute and Red Cross members from Laikipia County. 

KBA in Focus: Nairobi National Park

Posted on by John Mwacharo

By Brian Otiego  

Amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, about 7 km from the centre of Kenya’s capital city, lies a unique gem, the Nairobi National Park Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). Tucked within  the city’s southern border, Nairobi National Park is separated from the busy Nairobi metropolis by an electric fence on the northern, western and eastern borders. The southern border of the park is open, marked by the Mbagathi River and serving as a gateway for wildlife dispersal to the Athi Kapiti plains that connect the park to the Amboseli ecosystem. The park is one of the world’s most unique wildlife reserves due to its vicinity to a major urban centre. Local and international visitors have the opportunity to witness Africa’s iconic wildlife against the backdrop of Nairobi’s skyline.

The KBA stands right on the line between two great ecosystems: the forested hills that rise toward the Aberdare range, and the grasslands that stretch all the way to Kilimanjaro. The park’s distinctive landscape, encompassing upland forest, open grasslands, rocky outcrops, acacia (now Vachellia) woodlands, dams and other wetland habitats host a remarkable array of biodiversity.

The park is a haven for a diverse range of wildlife species, featuring iconic large mammals such as lions, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes and rhinoceros. Rare plants bloom on rocky outcrops. Also found in this park are the charismatic but critically endangered obligate scavenging birds of prey: White-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) that breed inside the park, and Rüppell’s and Lappet-faced vultures that visit to feed. Other resident raptor species are Martial, Tawny, Long-crested and Crowned eagles, Bateleur, and Secretarybird, among some 500 other bird species.

Nairobi National Park faces several conservation challenges, primarily stemming from its proximity to the capital. Nairobi City is at the epicentre of rapid infrastructural development. Human-wildlife conflict, land use changes and associated fragmentation, pollution from liquid and solid wastes and degradation and loss of wildlife corridors and dispersal areas are key, escalating issues. Encroachment by the expanding city infrastructure have led to increased pressure on the park’s boundaries, posing threats to its biodiversity.

Navigating the challenges of conservation and urbanization requires a multifaceted approach that brings together Kenya Wildlife Service in collaboration with civil society organizations in conservation, researchers, community members and key decision-makers to sustain the delicate balance between urban development and wildlife preservation.

One of the noteworthy elements of such engagement is a vulture study project funded by The Rufford Foundation Small Grant. The study aims to establish the breeding population of vulture species within Nairobi National Park and its dispersal habitats and to raise community awareness on the plight of vulture conservation. Through such efforts, community engagement, and sustainable tourism practices, Nairobi National Park KBA stands as a beacon of success in the realm of urban conservation, offering a blueprint for other metropolitan areas facing similar challenges.

Enhancing vulture conservation in the Mara and beyond

Posted on by John Mwacharo

By Brian Otiego and David Odhiambo

Often misunderstood and unappreciated, vultures play a crucial role in scavenging and disposing of carcasses and consequently preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks. Despite their importance, many vulture species have recorded population declines. Kenya hosts eight vulture species: White-backed, White-headed, Rüppell’s, Lappet-faced, Hooded, Egyptian, Bearded (Lammergeier) and Palm-nut vultures. Four species (White-backed, White-headed, Rüppell’s and Hooded vultures) face extinction.

 

On September 2, the world marked the International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD), a day dedicated to creating vulture conservation awareness. In Kenya, Nature Kenya, in conjunction with Maasai Mara Wildlife Ambassadors – the site support group (SSG) for Maasai Mara Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) – held a public event at Ereyiet-Oltome village to mark IVAD. The event aimed to sensitize communities on the importance of vultures in the Mara ecosystem and highlight the dangers posed by wildlife poisoning. About 130 participants attended the event, including community members, representatives from the Mara Predators Conservation Programme, Olkinyei Conservancy, the local administration and two local radio stations – Mayian and Sidai FM.

 

Human-wildlife conflict is of great concern in the Maasai Mara ecosystem. Wildlife poisoning, triggered by human-wildlife conflict, is the leading cause of vulture deaths in Kenya. When livestock is preyed on by predators such as lions or hyenas, herders often resort to lacing carcasses with poison in retaliation, aiming to kill the rogue predators. Vultures often fall victim to these wildlife poisoning incidents since they feed on carcasses in large numbers.

 

Through support and capacity building, Nature Kenya has been empowering local communities in the Maasai Maraecosystem to advocate against wildlife poisoning for the protection of vultures. Maasai Mara Wildlife Ambassadors have been at the forefront of this. The SSG is restructuring to enhance its ability to deliver local conservation actions and extend its reach across the vast Mara landscape. The community group, through its vulture volunteers, monitors, responds to and reports wildlife poisoning incidents. It also carries out public awareness and environmental education. To broaden its vulture conservation reach, the SSG is also engaging the local administration and two local radio stations.

 

Vulture Liaison Officers (VLOs) from Nature Kenya and the vulture volunteers have so far managed to reach out to 94,732 people through community gatherings, village meetings, chief’s barazas, and market outreaches.

 

To further enhance vulture conservation efforts, Nature Kenya, The Peregrine Fund, Kenya Wildlife Service, Wildlife Research Training Institute, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Birds of Prey Trust and the Raptor Rehabilitation Centre are developing a National Vulture Multi-species Action Plan. The action plan seeks to mainstream vulture conservation into existing wildlife-related legislation, including the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013, to improve the legal protection of vultures in Kenya, among other objectives.

What a Morning! Birding in Dakatcha Woodland KBA in June

Posted on by John Mwacharo

By Fleur Ng’weno and Adam Scott Kennedy

Clarke’s Weaver, Ploceus golandi, also called Kilifi Weaver because it’s only found in Kilifi County, had not been seen – or at least reported – in 2023. On the Global Big Day of birding in May, it was missing both in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Dakatcha Woodland. After five seasons of drought, we feared the worst.

Then on June 14th at the Kibaoni Nature Reserve near Marafa, Maxwell Issa, a bird guide from Dakatcha Woodland Conservation Group, Edwin Utumbi of Nature Kenya, and Japhet Masha of Kibaoni, finally saw a flock of Clarke’s Weavers, males and females! The next day, Maxwell Issa and Julio Mwambire found more Kilifi Weavers in the nearby Munyenzeni wetland, also called Bore wetland.

Adam Scott Kennedy picks up the story: 

I heard the news from James Apolloh on Thursday morning and immediately booked my flights! I flew into Malindi on Friday afternoon, met with Apolloh then drove straight to Marafa where we spent the night. Next morning, around 5am, Julio and Maxwell took us to the wetland site. First weaver flies by at around 6am, and our small group located at least 25 weavers at the wetland before 9am.

At the same site, at least 10 Madagascar Pond Herons (it has been a long time since a double-figure site count of this endangered species was last recorded in Kenya), a Dwarf Bittern, a busy pair of Little Bitterns flying back and forth, several vocal and reed-jumping Allen’s Gallinule, and healthy numbers of confiding Red-headed Quelea with recently fledged young. Then the heavens gifted us 4 Mascarene Martins – vagrants from Madagascar – circling over the swamp!  Unbelievable.

Around 9am we moved from the wetland to the woodland at the Nature Kenya Kibaoni Nature Reserve, where we observed another c.25 Kilifi Weavers, plus both coastal helmetshrikes and a Mombasa Woodpecker. All this before lunchtime – a truly remarkable morning.

Conserving the Kaya forests of Dakatcha Woodland

Posted on by John Mwacharo

To many, the Kaya forests represent the rich traditional Mijikenda culture. The word Kaya, in most Mijikenda languages, means home. Kaya forests are blocks of pristine forest scattered across the Kenyan coast. They once contained hidden fortified villages where Mijikenda communities took refuge from their enemies when they first moved to the region. A specific Mijikenda sub-group occupied each of the Kaya forests that bore cultural and historical significance.

Dakatcha Woodland – the northernmost Miombo (Brachystegia) forest and the breeding site for the Kilifi (Clarke’s) Weaver – hosts five Kaya forests: Singwaya (Kauma), Dagamra (Chonyi), Bura (Kambe), Bate and Mayowe (Kambe).

“These Kaya forests had shrines that were considered sacred. One had to fulfil certain traditional rites before being allowed to enter the forests,” says Shadrack Mwarabu, a Kaya elder and chairperson of Kaya Singwaya.

Every year, before the onset of the rainy season, Kaya elders would go to the shrines to pray for rainfall and a good crop, adds Mwarabu. Some of the cultural beliefs and practices encouraged the conservation of Kaya forests. For example, the strict rules for accessing the forests significantly minimized disturbances. Trespassing into the Kaya forests was believed to attract the wrath of ancestral spirits. This fear served as a deterrent to would-be poachers, illegal herders and firewood collectors. Damaging any part of the sacred forests would also draw reprimand from Kaya elders.

Over the years, a lot has changed. The once-respected traditional practices associated with the Kayas are declining, exposing the forests to degradation. In Dakatcha, only a handful of elders, like Mwarabu, maintain a cultural connection with the Kaya forests.

“Many elders have abandoned their Kaya traditional roles after being falsely accused of practising sorcery and other harmful things. We risk losing our sacred forests and rich Mijikenda cultural heritage,” says Mwarabu.

Currently, a new Kaya committee exists in Dakatcha. The committee acts as a consultative forum and has overseen the establishment of non-cultural local conservation groups for the five Kaya forests in Dakatcha. These community-led groups are championing the conservation of sacred forests and their unique biodiversity. Working closely with Nature Kenya, the groups are conducting environmental education and awareness, linking communities to conservation partners and promoting the adoption of sustainable nature-based enteprises like beekeeping and climate-smart agriculture to boost community livelihoods.

To enhance the sustainable use of Kaya forests, the conservation groups have established apiaries in some forest sections. Plans are also underway to re-establish some of the Kaya cultural practices and to seek formal protection of the sites as national monuments.

The Kaya forests in Dakatcha host several coastal birds and mammals. They include Fischer’s Turaco, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, the Golden-rumped Sengi and others.