Conservation is my responsibility

Many times we have heard of the adage tree is life. That reminds of the iron sheet fence along Nyeri-Nyahururu road that I used to pass in my early childhood age written in nearly all languages in Kenya… ‘handa miti,’ ‘vanda miti’…come to think of this, then there come light-plant a tree.

We have occasionally heard that a certain lake is flooding or other times the life species are running away from the lake. What is all this? It all revolves about a tree. Do you remember the plain language in your primary school few trees means less water or few trees can lead to flooding. But how does this happen? A conservationist is required to explain.

In Kenya, there are certain forests that mean a lot to the ecosystem along a vast land. Let’s talk of Mau Forest. It is not new to me neither you. I am almost convinced you have heard about Mau in the media. Mau is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. It serves as a critical water catchment area for the country and is the source from which numerous rivers flow. Some of them flow as far as Lake Victoria, which receives 60% of its water from Mau. These rivers exist as lifelines for much of western Kenya’s wildlife and people not to mention it’s a savior to Lake Nakuru. If my memory serves me right, today I overheard that flamingoes are flying away from Lake Nakuru. The reason is that there is fall in the water level of the lake thus less food for them. Other times we have heard of the lake being flooded.

The answer is conservation. Conservation is an individual responsibility or should I say ‘it starts with me’. It is so obvious that there are communities that live around such ecosystems as national parks and forests. Then remedy for conservation starts right here. How much can we involve the community in ecological monitoring including monitoring of wildlife species and the overall health of the ecosystem? Speaking as an ordinary citizen, it is almost clear that human being tend to care to something that gives them back some return or benefit. Arabuko Sokoke National reserve has had a lot of conservation initiatives and campaigns by the local community. Do they get something in return? Yes they do...e.g. Kipepeo project

Without much ado therefore it is important for forest to be sustainably managed and conserved for the good of the present and future generations, a collaborative management approach which recognizes the vital role of the adjacent communities and their active participation must be put in place. Projects must approach the broad area of conservation from the "people and sustainability" perspective. Management approaches put forward must embrace all possible uses of the resource by the communities and other stakeholders.

Finally, community empowerment in all its forms; facilitation, education, improved livelihoods through income generating activities, sustained partnerships, must form a corner stone of the whole management approach.