Donation Keeps Fences Down at Kenyan Wildlife Park
© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
October 27, 2000
NAIROBI, Kenya, October 27, 2000 (ENS) - Nairobi National Park has been thrown a US$10,000 lifeline by the International Fund for Animal Welfare to help keep the park as part of an important migratory system.
"This is probably our last chance to save Nairobi National Park as we know it today," said Dr. Keith Sones, chairman of the Friends of Nairobi National Park. "If nothing is done it will become little more than a mega zoo. And that would be a tragedy."
Sones and his group needed funds for its Wildlife Conservation Lease Program. The program works by offering landowners regular payments, three times a year when school fees are due, in exchange for them agreeing to pro-wildlife measures, notably not fencing their lands.
Although the Nairobi National Park is fenced to the north, west and east, where it borders the city of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, it is open to the south. The park is a small part of a much larger ecosystem that consists of the extensive semi-arid rangelands to the south of the park.
Migratory herbivores, especially zebra and wildebeest, remain in the park only when it is dry, attracted by the year round availability of water. During the wet seasons they leave the park to roam the privately owned rangelands.
Conservationists believe that the park's survival depends on maintaining the link between the park and the southern rangelands.
Much of this land is still owned by Maasai people, who use it for their cattle's grazing. Since wildlife competes with their cattle for pasture and water, the Maasai have seen little benefit from sharing their land.
The Wildlife Conservation Lease Program changes this, with regular payments to the Maasai making wildlife an asset instead of a pest. Unlike their livestock and crops, which are susceptible to droughts and unpredictable weather, the Maasai can now rely on regular payments.
Speaking during the US$10,000 cheque presentation, Thursday, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) program officer Steve Njumbi applauded the program.
"IFAW recognizes this initiative which fits with our mission on animal welfare issues as it seeks to protect the existing habitat for the animals of Nairobi National Park, as well as promoting the understanding that the communities and wildlife in the adjoining areas of Kitengela can co-exist in harmony."
The program has already attracted attention from landowners and potential donors since it was piloted in April this year. More than 1,700 acres are covered by Friends of Nairobi National Park lease agreements.
The group intends to purchase key parcels of land and implement wildlife protection measures as part of its overall conservation program.