[NAIROBI 10TH NOVEMBER 2008, By John Mbaria] A PROJECT seeking to complement conservation efforts in the Loita forest of Kenya has been rejected by the Maasai Community along the Kenya / Tanzania border.
The project by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) covers the 330 sq km upland forest lying between the Nguruman / Magadi escarpment and the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Straddling the Kenya / Tanzania border, the largely Virgin forest has a wide diversity of vegetation and offers the local people not only timber and medical herbs, but also sites that continue to be of cultural and spiritual value to them.
According to a paper by IUCN, the Loita / Purko Naimina Enkiyio Forest Integrated Conservation and Development Project, it seeks to assist the community “to maintain the biodiversity and environmental values of the forest.’
Besides the clash of cultures that is behind the Loita Maasai’s opposition to a project that is meant to conserve the Naimina Enkiyio forest, the lion’s share of the Kshs200 million ($2.56 million ) EU grant for the project will go to salaries and allowances of IUCN workers and the purchase and maintenance of project vehicles and office equipment.
IUCN’s regional programme coordinator for East Africa, Dr Geoffrey Howard, defended the budget, saying that it was not “secretive” and had been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the main financier, the European Commission. He said IUCN had initially wanted to second two technical assistants to the project but changed it’s mind later. “In any case , the expatriate will be bringing his international experience to the project.”
As stated in it’s brief, the project is meant to complement the community’s efforts to conserve and manage forest.
But a number of the local people have come out to oppose it in a running row that observers say pits modern conservation science - as practised by IUCN - against the Loita people’s desire to maintain ownership and traditional management of the forest .
“This is a forest we have always fallen back on in times of calamity and for medicine “, said Vincent Ntekerei, a former lecturer at Narok Teachers Training College.
“We do not know IUCN’s real intention”, said another David Ole Kashu , who said that having managed the forest for hundreds of years the Loita are now opposed to what they feel is “outsider interference “.
Mr. Kashu and Mr Ntekerei belong to a group of largely educated and articulate local residents who, operating under the auspices of Concerned Citizens of Loita (CCL) - a loosely-organised body - have raised issue with the project.
During a public meeting held a month ago, speakers expressed the view that the locals should continue managing the forest “like we have always done for generations “.
They opposed IUCN’s proposed draft management plan for the forest. They said IUCN had participated in a project that ended up displacing communities around Ngorongoro in Tanzania in order to create a wildlife sanctuary there.
Dr Howard said, “It is true IUCN was involved in the development of a management plan in Ngorongoro in 1997 / 98.” But he said that the project, which was managed by the Ngorongoro Management Authority became problematic after the donor reduced project time, “which led to one group in the relevant community not being consulted”.
Consequently, said Dr Howard , the disgruntled group , “with the help of a foreign organisation,” produced a video and a report that “substantially damaged IUCN’s image”.
The CCL group has called for the suspension of the project despite the Narok District Development Committee giving it a go a head.
The survival of the forest at time when most other forest in Kenya have largely lost their tree cover is attributed to the traditional intervention that the community has adopted.
Besides hosting sites sacred to most members of the Maasai community in Kenya and Tanzania, the Loita area is the seat of the chief Laibon , Mokombo Ole Simel, who is said to be a direct descendant of the famous Laibon Mbatian. Ole Simel, who is reputed to possess mystical powers, presides over social events in the area.
The institution of the Laibon, says a UNESCO publication entitled “Ethnobotany of the Loita Maasai; Towards Community management of the Forest of the Lost Child” is central to the conservation of Loita Forest .
But there is growing concern that following changes in lifestyle within the community, the recent introduction of agriculture and external pressure, the forest is increasingly under threat.
“If there is no well-organised management system, then it will not be long before massive plunder of the forest begins”, said Dr Howard. IUCN says that already, the 40,000-strong community has increased it’s harvest of the forest, lead to a scarcity of tree species that the community uses for building and fencing.
This development is more is more prominent at the forest edges and is forcing community members to go deeper into the forest. [ENDS]
The project by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) covers the 330 sq km upland forest lying between the Nguruman / Magadi escarpment and the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Straddling the Kenya / Tanzania border, the largely Virgin forest has a wide diversity of vegetation and offers the local people not only timber and medical herbs, but also sites that continue to be of cultural and spiritual value to them.
According to a paper by IUCN, the Loita / Purko Naimina Enkiyio Forest Integrated Conservation and Development Project, it seeks to assist the community “to maintain the biodiversity and environmental values of the forest.’
Besides the clash of cultures that is behind the Loita Maasai’s opposition to a project that is meant to conserve the Naimina Enkiyio forest, the lion’s share of the Kshs200 million ($2.56 million ) EU grant for the project will go to salaries and allowances of IUCN workers and the purchase and maintenance of project vehicles and office equipment.
IUCN’s regional programme coordinator for East Africa, Dr Geoffrey Howard, defended the budget, saying that it was not “secretive” and had been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the main financier, the European Commission. He said IUCN had initially wanted to second two technical assistants to the project but changed it’s mind later. “In any case , the expatriate will be bringing his international experience to the project.”
As stated in it’s brief, the project is meant to complement the community’s efforts to conserve and manage forest.
But a number of the local people have come out to oppose it in a running row that observers say pits modern conservation science - as practised by IUCN - against the Loita people’s desire to maintain ownership and traditional management of the forest .
“This is a forest we have always fallen back on in times of calamity and for medicine “, said Vincent Ntekerei, a former lecturer at Narok Teachers Training College.
“We do not know IUCN’s real intention”, said another David Ole Kashu , who said that having managed the forest for hundreds of years the Loita are now opposed to what they feel is “outsider interference “.
Mr. Kashu and Mr Ntekerei belong to a group of largely educated and articulate local residents who, operating under the auspices of Concerned Citizens of Loita (CCL) - a loosely-organised body - have raised issue with the project.
During a public meeting held a month ago, speakers expressed the view that the locals should continue managing the forest “like we have always done for generations “.
They opposed IUCN’s proposed draft management plan for the forest. They said IUCN had participated in a project that ended up displacing communities around Ngorongoro in Tanzania in order to create a wildlife sanctuary there.
Dr Howard said, “It is true IUCN was involved in the development of a management plan in Ngorongoro in 1997 / 98.” But he said that the project, which was managed by the Ngorongoro Management Authority became problematic after the donor reduced project time, “which led to one group in the relevant community not being consulted”.
Consequently, said Dr Howard , the disgruntled group , “with the help of a foreign organisation,” produced a video and a report that “substantially damaged IUCN’s image”.
The CCL group has called for the suspension of the project despite the Narok District Development Committee giving it a go a head.
The survival of the forest at time when most other forest in Kenya have largely lost their tree cover is attributed to the traditional intervention that the community has adopted.
Besides hosting sites sacred to most members of the Maasai community in Kenya and Tanzania, the Loita area is the seat of the chief Laibon , Mokombo Ole Simel, who is said to be a direct descendant of the famous Laibon Mbatian. Ole Simel, who is reputed to possess mystical powers, presides over social events in the area.
The institution of the Laibon, says a UNESCO publication entitled “Ethnobotany of the Loita Maasai; Towards Community management of the Forest of the Lost Child” is central to the conservation of Loita Forest .
But there is growing concern that following changes in lifestyle within the community, the recent introduction of agriculture and external pressure, the forest is increasingly under threat.
“If there is no well-organised management system, then it will not be long before massive plunder of the forest begins”, said Dr Howard. IUCN says that already, the 40,000-strong community has increased it’s harvest of the forest, lead to a scarcity of tree species that the community uses for building and fencing.
This development is more is more prominent at the forest edges and is forcing community members to go deeper into the forest. [ENDS]
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