KENYA: Tourism power of the flamingos in Kenya force communities to change bad habits

Record ID: 361092

  • Title: KENYA: Tourism power of the flamingos in Kenya force communities to change bad habits
  • Date: 22nd April 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) JANE WAMBUI MACHARIA, MAU RESIDENT, SAYING: "I wanted farmland so when I came to this area I cut down the trees and burnt them then I started farming and I got food until a certain time reached where we realised that we shouldn't cut down the trees because it's wrong to do it."
  • Embargoed: 7th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FWVCXBGD1NQR2OUXFIGBMAYX
  • Story Text: Lake Nakuru National Park, in Western Kenya has a special attraction - flamingos. But since the lake has started drying up, many of the birds have moved away from the Rift Valley to other areas, including the Lake Olodien in Naivasha.
    Wildlife officials in Kenya realised that Lake Nakuru dried up because of human activity in the catchment area in Mau forest. There were more people, using water from the rivers that feed the lake.
    "I wanted farmland so when I came to this area I cut down the trees and burnt them then I started farming and I got food until a certain time reached where we realised that we shouldn't cut down the trees because it's wrong to do it." Says Jane Wambui, a Mau resident.
    But with awareness, things are slowly improving. Kenya Wild Service (KWS) has introduced programs to educate the local community about the importance of preserving their environment. KWS and the business community has come together to replanting the trees in the forest.
    Speaking at a tree planting ceremony in Mau Forest, Charles Muthui, a senior warden at Lake Nakuru National Park told the community that they will also benefit from tourism.
    "We are lucky that the lake is equally located in Kenya, so with the destruction of the forest, then it means that if the rivers are not flowing, then there would be no Lake Nakuru and there would be no tourism, and the business of Lake Nakuru are equally supported by the visitors who come to view or to see our flamingos. So I hope that the members of the community will not be able to go back to the forest and start cutting down the trees again," he said.
    Alfred Nyaswambu, the district forest officer of Nakuru says it will take at least five years for the forest to get back to normal.
    "We are planting trees so that we can rehabilitate this part of the forest, which has been degraded in the past, the area which has been degraded is about 800 hectares, out of 8000 hectares, which is a lot area for this station," he said.
    At the KWS conference held last week, the first since the organisation was formed in 1990, government set a target of hosting 5 million tourists by the year 2012. But the senior warden at Lake Nakuru said this may not be possible if the community goes back to the forests and cuts down trees. The government will also have to provide alternative solutions to helping the Mau forests residents.
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