On the 31st of March 2008 representatives from government authorities including, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) and the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) along with the Colobus Trust (CT) and the South Coast Residents Association (SCRA) visited the Baobab Beach Resort (BBR) in Diani in response to reports that BBR was clearing its indigenous forest. It was found that a considerably sized area of forest had been cleared down to the ground in two weeks, with little care for the preservation of the forest. Also, a trench was being built onto the beach with a pipeline for supposed water drainage and other disturbance had occurred within the 30-meter buffer zone above the High-Tide Mark.

Respect should of course be shown for the laws of Kenya by developers, both foreign and native. However, it would seem that when money is to be made such laws are flouted, and that corruption will continue to take its toll on Kenya’s environment, resulting in a huge impact on the people and the wildlife. BBR is at fault for three main reasons:

1. It is illegal to disturb the 30-meter riparian zone; which is protected as part of the Diani-Chale Marine Reserve; this law is imperative for the ambience of the area, which directly affects the tourist trade, and also for the integrity of the Marine Protected Area (MPA). Turtles lay their eggs above the high water mark within the 30-meter ‘Riparian’ zone, the area hosts a variety of flora and is also a refuge and foraging area for a variety of fauna. The 30-meter zone also provides protection for the land from erosion.

2. Large-scale development of private land is restricted under the EMCA Act of 1999 (Environmental Management Coordination Act). The EMCA Act sets out guidelines and requires an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), which must be undertaken before large-scale development starts. This is an all-inclusive process, which must then be put out for public scrutiny in The Kenya Gazette before it is allowed to proceed. This process was ignored by the developers at BBR, as no EIA was undertaken nor was anything posted in the Kenya Gazette.

3. Work on the site has been ongoing until 10pm every night, which is contrary to the guidelines of the laws of Kenya. They continued to create this illegal noise pollution by working after 5pm throughout the last two weeks. This was done as the contractors were under a deadline. NEMA representative Mr. Bakari stated that it was illegal for construction work to take place beyond 5pm as it is classed as noise pollution. Work continued until 10 pm and on the last night of excavation (5/4/08) it went on until 1 am! Trucks also ignore the 50kph speed limit on the road and bring more materials to the site where the construction of buildings has started.

The damage goes way beyond the ancient endemic trees, which are now lost. Reports have been received of influxes of displaced monkeys moving into near by forests, causing high densities of species during this time of year when naturally occurring food is scarce and every animal waits for the rains to arrive. A myriad species will have suffered during the destruction; larger types of arboreal (tree dwelling) or aerial species such as birds and primates may have been able to flee, however it is extremely likely that many of the smaller terrestrial and arboreal species will have been seriously impacted (if not killed) as the trees fell. Smaller mammal species will also have been unable to flee beyond what is left of their forest as BBR recently walled off this plot. Earlier requests by the Colobus Trust to put in 10-inch square gaps in the wall for the passage of these small mammals were denied after the BBR management insisted that 6-inch drainage pipes would be sufficient.

Species that will have been affected include:

Primates: Angolan Colobus Monkey, Vervet Monkey, Sykes Monkey, Yellow Baboon, Greater Galago, Lesser Galago.

Other Mammals: Tree Hyraxes, Suni Antelope, Duikers, Hedgehogs, Bush Cats, African Civets, Genet Cats, Ratel, Fruit Bats, the many Insectivorous Bats, Golden Rumped Elephant Shrews, Gambian Rats, Bush Rats and other unnamed Rodentia species.

Birds: Many will have been able to flee but their nests will have been lost. Primary forest is the nesting place of many of the larger species, notably the Owl & Owlet species and our beautiful birds of prey. The magnificent Silver-Cheeked Hornbills, which nest at this time of year, were among the first to flee. As the male seals the female within a hole in the tree when nesting it is expected that many of the female Silver-cheeked hornbills will have been lost.

Reptiles: Tortoises, Savannah & Water Monitor Lizards, Great Plated Lizards, Tree Agamas, Green Mambas, many native lizards and tree snakes.

Invertebrates: This is the time of year that Butterflies are plenty, as well as other invertebrate species including Golden Orb Spiders, Crab Spiders, Giant Coast Millipedes, Giant Land Snails, Terrestrial Hermit Crabs & the thousands of other creatures found in the forest.

Local outrage continues as many realize how easy it is to bypass the laws put in place to protect the environment. BBR promotes itself as an environmentally friendly hotel, ‘famed for its birdlife’; this is based on an Environmental Award they won in 2001. They say a visit to BBR is to “discover an unspoilt tropical paradise … set in one of the last vestiges of virgin coastal rainforest”. The last part sadly, holds true; the Diani Forest is indeed one of the last remaining Coastal Rag Forests of the world. IUCN identified this type of forest as one of Kenya’s endemic habitats and an East African Biodiversity Hotspot. Bird Life International also recognizes the Coral Rag Forests of Kenya as an IBA (Important Bird Area). Unfortunately though, within Diani, the idea of a ‘virgin’ forest is almost at a close.

We were outraged by one of the people responsible for BBR. Who stated that the initial release made by the Colobus Trust on our blog was “dramatic and exaggerated”. She also said that the original appeal was a “Most unfortunate reaction to loss of a few trees that will be replaced anyway, considering the number of families whose lives will be enhanced by the extra jobs that will be created. Baboons or tourists? What does the country need most?” We are in agreement about one thing here; our appeal was “drastic” because this is what the situation is. It was still nevertheless shocking to hear this level of ignorance, within a in a position of such responsibility.

The Colobus Trust undertook a recent survey of Diani tourists and found that around 92% chose Diani over other, cheaper, resorts because of its forests and the nature contained within them. Are some tour operators, who should themselves be promoting responsible tourism, completely unaware of this fact, or indeed of the protective laws? Many Diani hoteliers aim to turn Diani in an eco-tourism destination; they feel that a responsible resort within, yet not harming, the forest would not only be the morally correct path but also a more profitable one for Kenya’s tourist industry and the economy of Kwale district - incidentally one of the poorest in Kenya. This concept is based on the hope that tourists coming to enjoy the natural beauty of Diani will have a lower impact on the environment and people of the area and that they will also benefit eco-friendly businesses including wildlife concerns in other parts of the Kwale District (i.e. Maluganji Elephant Sanctuary, The Shimba Hills NR, Kisite Marine Park, etc), as they are more likely to want to move around outside their hotel environment.

Yesterday, 11th April, a meeting was called with our new District Commissioner (D.C.) now based in Msambweni, Mr. Gilbert Kitiyo. Those present included Mr. Bakari of NEMA, Mr. Abdullah Aziz of Pollmans (one of the main stakeholders in BBR), Mrs. Luciana Parazzi (Chairperson of the SCRA), Mr. Macharia and myself representing the Colobus Trust. The situation was brought to the attention of the D.C. and discussion ensued as how this must be prevented from happening again. Mr. Aziz admitted that Baobab was wrong from the start in that they never obtained their EIA (and which still appears still not to have been done as we were assured that by this week their assessor would have contacted both CT and SCRA and we are still waiting). He also assured us that Pollmans is committed to conservation and would do their best to repair damages done and replant indigenous trees and that noise pollution laws would be followed. He also assured us that noise pollution from their discos and animators would be controlled once the season starts as it can be heard from a kilometer away.

Both the CT and SCRA are going to continue to monitor the situation and ensure that these promises are upheld. The D.C. has assured us that that he will make sure that in future the Planning Officer does not approve any plans unless he/she sees the EIA approval in order to avoid any future developers causing the same errors and damage. He also asked CT and SCRA to be “watchdogs” and immediately report any developer/person seen cutting down indigenous trees.

The CT and SCRA finished the meeting by insisting on the need for developers to learn to respect both the NEMA representative and all his orders, as well as the CT and SCRA. Which has not been the case here. We also pointed out that Mr. Bakari, who has our full support, is limited in his tasks by having no vehicle, no computer and no immediate emailing facilities, (for this he has to travel 25 km to Ukunda). Mr. Aziz suggested we get all stakeholders together to do a “harambee” and raise money for the purchase of a vehicle, a laptop and email facilities. We hope this happens.

This is now the time to trigger a change in the developmental future of the Kenya. Thankfully it would seem like we also have begun to see recognition of this from the government when yesterday’s Nation newspaper had a NOTICE TO ALL LAND DEVELOPERS, PROPERTY OWNERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, which emphasized the requirements for building/penalties/laws etc. This is the first sign that the authorities are finally listening to us, but it will be a long road. This ad is also going to help when shortly CT, SCRA, NEMA and KWS start to investigate the hundreds of beach walls and other illegal structures which are mushrooming all along our beaches in defiance of the 30-meter riparian zone.

The realization of the ease with which BBR made these mistakes and the difficulty we have had to trigger the enforcement of the law has brought us, and hopefully you our supporters, to one conclusion. The time has come to ask if Kenya’s coastal tourism is taking the environment and laws of Kenya seriously? What are Government bodies doing to ensure that this coastal gem is not being destroyed? Many developments, which adversely impact the environment, people and cultures of the Kenya coast are justified by the oft-used excuse that they will ‘create jobs’: but why do we have to choose between job creation and the environment? Why can’t we have both? Isn’t it time we looked to those in the tourist industry who do manage to get this happy medium as an example as the way forward? Isn’t it time that the laws of Kenya were respected? Isn’t it time that developers, both foreign & native, showed Kenyans that they will respect the environment in which they work? Shouldn’t we be campaigning for this right now before our beautiful coastal forests become another concrete jungle?

If this plea is heard and acted upon, the enforcement of the laws set up to protect habitats such as Diani may be more closely followed and maybe what is left in Diani and the last remaining refuges south of Diani (namely the Chale-Kinondo Forest, which appears to be set with the same fate as Diani’s forest) will be protected. Together we have started on this long path but we need to keep building up this pressure, from all mediums, to really make our shout heard. Please help us in whatever way you can to spread this story and plead for our case to be heard. Now is not the time to point fingers at BBR for their mistakes but to make sure this never happens again by writing to the relevant people within the government, as well as those responsible within the construction and tourism industries and ask them to make sure they act responsibly.

Would all those who want to see this change please write to (or email) the NEMA Department General in Nairobi putting pressure on NEMA to initiate the changes Kenya needs:

dgnema@swiftkenya.com
dgnema@nema.go.ke

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY,
P.O.BOX 67839-00200 NAIROBI

KAPITI ROAD,
OFF MOMBASA ROAD

Thank you for your time,

Gwili Gibbon
Assistant Manager of The Colobus Trust

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