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Development encroaching on Nairobi National Park is threatening the migration passages of wildebeest, zebra and other wild animals.

Farmers and developers are buying up land around the Park to raise cattle, cultivate flowers, for other agricultural purposes or simply to build grand houses with magnificent views. The Park is now almost entirely surrounded by buildings and human activity and this is severely compromising the migration patterns of several species of wild animal. Grazing livestock are also competing with wild animals for feeding ground.

Nairobi City

Nairobi city is also pushing ever closer to the Park as it expands to cope with a rising population. Flights to and from the busy international airport nearby pass low overhead.

The closeness of the development to the wild animals also poses a potential risk to the safety of the incomers as wild lions prowl around their gardens looking for food.

"We are trying to educate the local community and developers about the needs of the wild animals and the importance of conservation. We are trying to ensure that the developers will not completely enclose the Park and will, at least, leave migratory passages open," explains Senior Warden Mr Gideon Amboga."

"We are reaching agreements with landowners not to fence off their land but to allow wildlife to graze on it."

"They can see the benefits of eco-tourism. We get an average of one hundred visitors a day (up to 400 a day in the high season), half of whom are foreign tourists, each paying twenty US dollars entry and buying souvenirs in the gift shop. That brings in more than 1,000 US dollars a day, some of which goes into providing services for the local community. For example, they now have a market that was funded by Park visitors. However, if animal numbers continue to fall, visitors will be put off."

The UK's Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight visited Nairobi National Park while in Kenya to attend the eighth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, in which the UK is a leading player. This Convention ensures that participating countries protect rare species within their own national boundaries and co-operate to protect those that migrate across borders.

Biodiverse

Jim Knight commented: "As MP for Dorset South, the most biodiverse area in the UK, with a stunning coastline, I see very clearly how tourism and development can either support or threaten the environment, depending on how they are managed. The same applies here in Kenya."

"Like us, Kenyans, too, are learning the importance of involving the local community. It is they who have the most to gain or lose as a result of how their wildlife is treated, whether as a short-term resource to exploit to extinction or as a precious asset to contribute to the quality of their lives and those of their great grandchildren."

"I am very impressed by the efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service to educate and involve their local communities. They demonstrate that people can benefit directly from conserving their wildlife. We can clearly continue to learn from each other."

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