Securing water catchments and habitats connectivity within the Mount Kenya Landscape

Mount Kenya is the namesake of a nation and key to its economic and ecological health. It is the second highest mountain in Africa and has long been revered for its beauty, becoming world famous for having glaciers less than... [ view full abstract ]

Mount Kenya is the namesake of a nation and key to its economic and ecological health. It is the second highest mountain in Africa and has long been revered for its beauty, becoming world famous for having glaciers less than one degree off the Equator. Today Kenya’s Vision
2030 recognises it as one of the nation’s most important ‘water towers’ and, together with the Aberdares Range, it provides catchment for rivers that feed to tens of millions of Kenyans and supply hydroelectric power that deliver some 50% of the national grid. Yet the areas around these ‘mountain parks’ represent some of the most productive farmland in the country. Recent and rapid population growth has seen their wildlife habitats encroached upon, as land has been converted to agriculture. This has meant that today the forested boundaries’ of both protected areas hit a ‘hard edge’ of heavily populated farmland, with well over half a million people living within 5km of Mount Kenya National Reserve alone. This has increased the pressure on the forests from excessive, uncontroled and often illegal resource extraction. Shrinking wildlife habitats and conversion of historical migration pathways have also fuelled human wildlife conflict within the region. This has created complex and often conflictual situations that protected area managers and proximate communities struggle to deal with.

The Mount Kenya Trust and the Rhino Ark Charitable Trust are two Kenyan NGOs that work in close collaboration with government agencies to protect Kenya’s highland forests for existing and future generations.

This presentation will talk about current management focuses, including the construction of comprehensive perimeter fences and the development of habitat linkage endeavours such as the Mount Kenya Elephant Corridor. It will also discuss how past and present experiences highlight the need to develop a future within which both man and wildlife can continue to cohabit across the landscape.
Drawing in on how much of this hangs upon wise land-use planning within the region.