- Title: Tribunal halts railway construction through Nairobi park after protests.
- Date: 20th September 2016
- Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (SEPTEMBER 20, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER SHOWING THE ROUTE PLAN VARIOUS OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, AFRICA NETWORK FOR ANIMAL WELFARE, KAHINDI LEKALHALE LOOKING AT MAP SHOWING ROUTE OF RAILWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, AFRICA NETWORK FOR ANIMAL WELFARE, KAHINDI LEKALHALE, SAYING: "When the Southern Bypass and the realignment of the railway was being done a couple of months ago some of those animals were disturbed and they walked out of the park and people actually found them in estates. Estates are more noisy you might presume but the animals preferred to go to the estates than to remain in the park when that construction was actually going on. This time their dispersal area because of the disturbance will go far beyond the estates." NAIROBI, KENYA (SEPTEMBER 17, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTEST AGAINST SGR RAILWAY ROUTE THROUGH THE NATIONAL PARK PROTESTERS WAVING PLACARDS VARIOUS OF KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICES (KWS) OFFICERS RECEIVING PETITION FROM PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER, CAROLINE PATITA, SAYING: "The community, the Maasai community gave up that land for conservation and they are the custodians of this park so if they send us to Kenya Railways that means that they are shifting goal posts. We will not agree to that and we want KWS to give us a satisfactory answer, to give us word that they will protect the park and not to give it to Kenya Railways and to put up the infrastructure." (SOUNDBITE) (English) PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, AFRICA NETWORK FOR ANIMAL WELFARE, KAHINDI LEKALHALE SAYING: "Our voice is loud and clear, there is no way as ordinary Kenyans we will allow the Standard Gauge Railway through Nairobi national park. It is not is not negotiable - full stop."
- Embargoed: 5th October 2016 12:14
- Keywords: Standard Gauge Railway SGR Nairobi National Park Conservation Kenya Wildlife Services Infrastructure
- Location: NAIROBI AND TSAVO, KENYA
- City: NAIROBI AND TSAVO, KENYA
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Environment,Nature/Wildlife
- Reuters ID: LVA00250DDH07
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Kenya's National Environment Tribunal has put a hold on the construction of a new railway line that would cut six kilometres through Nairobi's National Park, after protests by conservationists.
The section that activists say would threaten one of the country's oldest wildlife sanctuaries is part of the standard gauge railway network - an ambitious China-funded infrastructure project aimed at boosting trade and cutting transport costs across eastern Africa.
Activists say parts of the network are already under construction and a presidential launch was planned for late September.
Kahindi Lekalhale, a director for the Africa Network for Animal Welfare said the encroachment of an expanding capital city is already being felt on the park and human wildlife conflict would be made worse if the construction of the railway goes ahead.
"When the Southern Bypass and the realignment of the railway was being done a couple of months ago some of those animals were disturbed and they walked out of the park and people actually found them in estates. Estates are more noisy you might presume but the animals preferred to go to the estates than to remain in the park when that construction was actually going on. This time their dispersal area because of the disturbance will go far beyond the estates," he said.
Dozens of protesters presented a petition at the headquarters of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) - the body tasked with managing conservation in the east African country, calling for a rerouting of the railway.
Activists accuse senior KWS officials of allowing the construction of the rail line through a protected area without regard for the ecosystem in the parks.
KWS said they would conduct an impact assessment test to factor in environmental and social effects of the construction.
The protesters said it was too late for that because plans were already underway for the railway to cross through the park, which is historically Maasai ancestral land.
"The community, the Maasai community gave up that land for conservation and they are the custodians of this park so if they send us to Kenya Railways that means that they are shifting goal posts. We will not agree to that and we want KWS to give us a satisfactory answer, to give us word that they will protect the park and not to give it to Kenya Railways and to put up the infrastructure," said activist, Caroline Patita.
"Our voice is loud and clear, there is no way as ordinary Kenyans we will allow the Standard Gauge Railway through Nairobi national park. It is not is not negotiable - full stop," said Lekalhale.
The SGR is part of a package of deals signed between Kenya and China in 2013.
Kenya acts as a trade gateway for land-locked neighbours. The new standard gauge railway, expected to be complete next year will replace the slower narrow gauge line, between Mombasa and Nairobi at a cost of millions of dollars.
Financial analyst Aly-Khan Satchu says the benefits of infrastructure development should not outweigh the economic value of a protected environment and wildlife.
"I don't think that there should be a binary question - national park or railway. I find it strange that we have been 'given it' in such a manner. Surely in the 21st century you can be innovative, you can go round the park you can do something which avoids this denigration of what is a national asset. I think sometime people don't understand how to value conservation in hard money but it has an enormous value," he said.
Kenya's game parks and abundant wildlife draw tourists from across the globe but the government has said that must not stop the east African nation from building infrastructure to speed up development in a country where poverty remains rife. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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