The Maasai Mara National Reserve also known as Maasai Mara and by the locals as The Mara, is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya; contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people the ancestral inhabitants of the area and their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara," which is Maa, Maasai language for "spotted," an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.
It is globally famous for its exceptional population of Masai lions, African leopards and Tanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve is only a fraction of the Greater Mara Ecosystem, which includes the following Group Ranches: Koiyaki, Lemek, Ol Chorro Oirowua, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet.
When it was originally established in 1961 as a wildlife sanctuary the Mara covered only 520 square kilometres (200 sq mi) of the current area, including the Mara Triangle. The area was extended to the east in 1961 to cover 1,821 km2 (703 sq mi) and converted to a game reserve.
The Narok County Council (NCC) took over management of the reserve at this time. Part of the reserve was given National Reserve status in 1974, and the remaining area of 159 km2 (61 sq mi) was returned to local communities. An additional 162 km2 (63 sq mi) were removed from the reserve in 1976, and the park was reduced to 1,510 km2 (580 sq mi) in 1984.
In 1994, the TransMara County Council (TMCC) was formed in the western part of the reserve, and control was divided between the new council and the existing Narok County Council. In May 2001, the not-for-profit Mara Conservancy took over management of the Mara Triangle.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) covers some 1,510 km2 (583 sq mi)in south-western Kenya. It is the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, which covers some 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) in Tanzania and Kenya. It is bounded by the Serengeti Park to the south, the Siria escarpment to the west, and Maasai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west.
Rainfall in the ecosystem increases markedly along a southeast–northwest gradient, varies in space and time, and is markedly bimodal. The Sand, Talek River and Mara River are the major rivers draining the reserve. Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines and cover hillslopes and hilltops.
The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland with seasonal riverlets. In the south-east region are clumps of the distinctive acacia tree. The western border is the Esoit (Siria) Escarpment of the East African Rift, which is a system of rifts some 5,600 km (3,500 mi) long, from Ethiopia's Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique.
Wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good, while tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 kilometres (139.2 mi) from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.
Altitude: 1500-2180m; Rainfall: 83mm/month; Temperature range: 12-30℃
Wildebeest, topi, zebra, and Thomson's gazelle migrate into and occupy the Mara reserve, from the Serengeti plains to the south and Loita Plains in the pastoral ranches to the north-east, from July to October or later. Herds of all three species are also resident in the reserve.
All members of the "Big Five" (lion, leopard, African elephant, cape buffalo, and black rhinoceros) are found in the Maasai Mara. The population of black rhinos was fairly numerous until 1960, but it was severely depleted by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, dropping to a low of 15 individuals. Numbers have been slowly increasing, but the population was still only up to an estimated 23 in 1999.
Hippopotami and crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. Leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, and bat-eared foxes can also be found in the reserve. The plains between the Mara River and the Esoit Siria Escarpment are probably the best area for game viewing, in particular regarding lion and cheetah.
As in the Serengeti, the wildebeest are the dominant inhabitants of the Maasai Mara, and their numbers are estimated in the millions. Around July of each year, these animals migrate north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture, and return to the south around October.
The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving some 1,300,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson's gazelles, 97,000 Topi, 18,000 elands, and 200,000 zebras. These migrants are followed along their annual, circular route by predators, most notably lions and hyena.
Antelopes can be found, including Grant's gazelles, impalas, duikers and Coke's hartebeests. The plains are also home to the distinctive Masai giraffe. The large roan antelope and the nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely present elsewhere in Kenya, can be seen within the reserve borders.
More than 470 species of birds have been identified in the park, many of which are migrants, with almost 60 species being raptors.Birds that call this area home for at least part of the year include: vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-crested eagles, African pygmy-falcons and the lilac-breasted roller, which is the national bird of Kenya.
Unlike most other National Parks in Kenya the Maasai Mara National Reserve is not administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service, but by Narok County government. The more visited eastern part of the park is managed by Narok County Council and the western part, known as the Mara Triangle, by the Trans-Mara county council, which is contracting management to the Mara Conservancy, a local nonprofit organization formed by the local Maasai that contains several anti-poaching units.
The outer areas known as Maasai Mara Conservation area is administered by the Group Ranch Trusts of the Maasai community who also have their own rangers for patrolling the park area. The wildlife roam freely across both the Reserve and Conservation areas which are a continuous wildlife ecosystem.
The Maasai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. With two field offices in the Mara, the Michigan State University based Kay E. Holekamp Lab studies the behavior and physiology of this predator, as well as doing comparison studies between large predators in the Mara Triangle and their counterparts in the eastern part of the Mara.
Since 2008, Amanda Subalusky and Chris Dutton have been working in the Mara River Basin to help develop a trans-boundary river basin management plan between Kenya and Tanzania. In 2010, they had completed a flow assessment for the river to identify the river flows that are required to sustain the ecosystem and the basic needs of 1 million people who depend on its water.
The Mara Predator Project also operates in the Masai Mara, cataloging and monitoring lion populations throughout the region. Concentrating on the northern conservancies where communities coexist with wildlife, the project aims to identify population trends and responses to changes in land management, human settlements, livestock movements and tourism.
Sara Blackburn, the project manager, works in partnership with a number of lodges in the region by training guides to identify lions and report sightings. Guests are also encouraged to participate in the project by photographing lions seen on game drives. An online database of individual lions is openly accessible, and features information on project participants and focus areas.
Since October 2012, the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project is working in the Mara monitoring cheetah population, estimating population status and dynamics, and evaluating the predator impact and human activity on cheetah behavior and survival. The head of the Project, Dr. Elena Chelysheva, was working in 2001-2002 as Assistant Researcher at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Maasai-Mara Cheetah Conservation Project.
At that time, she developed original method of cheetah identification based on visual analysis of the unique spot patterns on front limbs,from toes to shoulder and hind limbs from toes to the hip, and spots and rings on the tail. Collected over the years, photographic data allows the Project team tracing kinship between generations and building Mara Cheetah Pedigree.
The data collected helps to reveal parental relationship between individuals, survival rate of cubs, cheetah lifespan and personal reproductive history. This work has never been done before and the team is sharing results with the Mara stakeholders and respondents. The ongoing research is a follow-up study, which will compare results with the previous one in terms of cheetah population status and effect of human activity on cheetah behavior and surviving.
The project is working in affiliation with Kenya Wildlife Service, Narok and Transmara County Councils and with assistance of Coordinator of Maasai-Mara Cultural Village Tour Association (MMCVTA). The team is cooperating with Mara Hyena Project and working with managers and driver-guides from over 30 different Mara camps and lodges. Rangers and driver/guides are trained cheetah identification techniques and provided with Catalogues of the Mara cheetahs.
Game parks are a major source of hard currency for Kenya. Entry fees are currently US$80 for adult non-East African Residents and $30 for children. There are a number of lodges and tented camps for tourists inside the Reserve and the Conservation area borders. The tourists/visitors cater for their own expenses, unless previously arranged by their agencies.
Although one third of the whole Maasai Mara, The Mara Triangle has only one lodge within its boundaries,compared to the numerous camps and lodges on the Narok side and has well maintained, all weather roads. The rangers patrol regularly which means that there is almost no poaching and therefore excellent game viewing. There is also strict control over vehicle numbers around animal sightings, allowing for a better experience when out on a game drive.
Lodges and camps are available inside the Reserve including Keekorok. Balloon safaris are also available. Early morning departures let visitors see the vast landscape, the rising sun, and the gatherings of animals.
Mara Serena Airport, Musiara Airport and Keekorok Airport are located in the Reserve area of the Maasai Mara. Mara Shikar Airport, Kichwa Tembo Airport and Ngerende Airport are located in the Conservation area of the Maasai Mara.
The BBC Television show titled "Big Cat Diary" was filmed in both the Reserve and Conservation areas of the Maasai Mara. The show followed the lives of the big cats living in the reserve. The show highlighted scenes from the Reserve's Musiara marsh area and the Leopard Gorge, the Fig Tree Ridge areas and the Mara River, separating the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara.
A study funded by WWF and conducted by ILRI between 1989 and 2003 monitored hoofed species in the Mara on a monthly basis, and found that losses were as high as 75 percent for giraffes, 80 percent for common warthogs, 76 percent for hartebeest, and 67 percent for impala.
The study blames the loss of animals on increased human settlement in and around the reserve. The higher human population density leads to an increased number of livestock grazing in the park and an increase in poaching. The article claims, The study provides the most detailed evidence to date on the declines in the ungulate (hoofed animals) populations in the Mara and how this phenomenon is linked to the rapid expansion of human populations near the boundaries of the reserve.
In the Serengeti National Park, a proposed 50-kilometre (31 mi) road from Musoma to Arusha, with tarmac touching the Serengeti, is raising criticism from scientists who say that the road will disrupt the annual migration of the wildebeest, and that this disruption would affect predators such as lions, cheetahs and African wild dogs, as well as the grasslands themselves.
According to CCTV The route is expected to carry 800 vehicles a day, mostly trucks, by 2015 and 3000 vehicles a day an average of one every 30 seconds by 2035, a campaign promise made by Tanzanian President Jackaya Kikwete [sic] in 2005 .
In late June 2011 the Tanzanian government decided to cancel the Serengeti road plan due to global outcry.
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Showing posts with label Mara River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mara River. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
Saturday, 27 May 2017
KENYA: Ogiek Hunters And Gatherers Win Historic Case Against The Kenyan Government
Following today’s 26/05/2017 ruling by the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights that the Kenyan government violated the rights of the Indigenous Ogiek people when it evicted them from their land, Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:
Today’s ruling is a historic victory for the Ogiek community, and gives hope to all Indigenous peoples everywhere.
The Kenyan government must now implement the ruling and let the Ogiek live freely on their ancestral land.
In this one ruling, the court has both affirmed the Ogiek’s right to live freely on their ancestral land, and proved to the continent that regional justice mechanisms work.
But a ruling is not enough, it must be respected. The Kenyan government must now implement the ruling and let the Ogiek live freely on their ancestral land.
The Ogiek, who live mostly in Kenya’s Mau and Mt Elgon forests, are a hunter-gatherer community. They have fought for a long time in the national courts, and now at the African Court, to live on their land of their ancestors, but the government has routinely subjected them to arbitrarily evictions citing the need to conserve the environment, claims the court rejected.
The case was initially lodged by Ogiek Peoples’ Development Programme, Minority Rights Group and the Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, before being referred by the Commission to the Court in 2012.
Kenya's Ogiek, an indigenous minority of hunters and gatherers, have won a historic case against the Kenyan government, close to a decade after they began their legal battle.
The African Court on Human and People's Rights, a continental court established in 2006 by African countries, on May 26 delivered its verdict in Arusha, Tanzania - ruling in favour of the Ogiek and recognising their right to Kenya's Mau Forest, as their ancestral home, and their role in protecting it.
The court ruled that the Kenyan government had violated seven articles of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, of which Kenya is a signatory, and is intended to protect basic freedoms and human rights.
The verdict recognises the Ogiek's indigenous status and their right to reparations from the Kenyan government for the suffering they have endured through forcible evictions. It recognises the Ogiek's "strong attachment to the forest", their legal right to live on the forest land, their freedom to practice their traditions and deemed evictions to be disproportionate to conservation aims. The Kenyan government in court said it accepted the judgment.
The room has never been so full, it was packed to the brink, said Lucy Claridge, legal director of Minority Rights Group International (MRG), a campaign group working closely with the Ogiek, who has been working on the case since April 2010.
Speaking from Arusha, Claridge said around 75 Ogiek attended the court hearing, dressed in their traditional clothes. Following the victorious judgment, the Ogiek broke out in celebratory singing and dancing.
It is an unprecedented legal victory for an indigenous people in Africa. The ruling marks the first judgment from the highest institutional human rights body in Africa to favour the cause of indigenous peoples.
This sends a message to governments of the standards around indigenous people's rights in Africa, says Claridge. It's a very clear message for governments that they need to respect indigenous people's rights.
The victory could set a precedent for similar cases across the continent.
I know that the case also gives hope to other indigenous peoples, said Daniel Kobei, executive director of Ogiek Peoples' Development Program (OPDP), an NGO which advocates for the community's rights, in an MRG press release.
The Ogiek have dwelled in Mau Forest for generations. This small community of about 35,000, which lives in and around the forest complex spanning about 4,000 hectares and five counties in the country's west, claim to have suffered injustices, harassment, and evictions at the hands of successive governments and more powerful groups with an interest in the forest's resources.
We saw different people take our land, Lebidas Lesingo, a 78-year-old Ogiek elder, said in February.
The Ogiek, sometimes referred to as "Kenya's castaways", have always maintained they have a right to this land. Our fight has never changed, Lesingo said.
Mau Forest is the source of the Ogiek's traditional livelihoods and is synonymous with their cultural and religious identity. They hunt game such as hyrax and bushbucks and collect nuts and berries and harvest honey, which they use for healing and nutritional purposes. They use the forest's indigenous plants as medicine, such as the bark of the Kopukeriet tree.
Mau Forest is also the site of Kenya's biggest water catchment and the source of seven rivers. It is also the largest closed-canopy forest in Kenya, thus seen by some as a lucrative source of timber.
Since the early 20th century, the tribe's way of life has come under threat. The first forcible evictions date back to 1911 after a deal between the Maasai community, one of Kenya's tribes, and colonialists culminated in the former losing land to the white settlers.
It was lost on the colonial authorities that the land signed over by the Maasai was Ogiek land, writes Joseph Sang, an Ogiek activist, in a 2001 report for the advocacy organisation Forest Peoples Programme.
That was a problem we inherited from our elders, Sang says.
Governments since independence in 1963 have expelled Ogiek from the forest, citing conservation reasons such as re-planting. But the Ogiek say the forest is being destroyed.
The forest has turned into a plantation forest, where fast-growing trees are planted for commercial work, says Kobei, adding that indigenous plants are disappearing.
There is illegal logging, illegal settlements and encroaching, says Sang, the activist, who is a paralegal at Namati International, an international NGO working at the grassroots level to help people understand, employ and shape the laws affecting them.
The Ogiek allege that they are being forcibly evicted by land grabbers and illegal loggers, while corrupt authorities stand by. Their homes have been ransacked and burned to the ground.
Sang says evictions have displaced and dispersed their people, who respect and revere the forest. The term Ogiek literally means "carer of all plants and wild animals".
The forest is what we call home, Sang says when asked why it is so important to the Ogiek.
When you talk to them, what really comes across is that they want their land back because it's part of their livelihood, it defines them, says Lucy Claridge, legal director at MRG.
It might be difficult to understand, but the forest is part of them, it is where they feel home, it's where they feel Ogiek.
In 2008, the Kenyan government began a campaign to evict inhabitants of the forest.
The following year, in a David against Goliath scenario, the Ogiek filed a case against the Kenyan government. They claimed that in October 2009, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), an agency of the Kenyan government, gave the Ogiek and other people living in Mau Forest a 30-day eviction notice on the grounds that they lived in a reserved water catchment zone.
They reject that this decision was a conservation attempt and alleged a number of violations of the African Charter.
The Ogiek demanded the halting of evictions, and that their ancestral land in the Mau Forest be legally recognised as theirs. They are also asked for compensation for loss of property and natural resources, and freedom to practice their culture and religion, among other things.
The OPDP and MRG, with Claridge as the lead lawyer, brought this case to the court. It is the first time the African Court on Human and People's Rights has heard a case from an indigenous group.
In 2013, the court ruled that the Kenyan government ban all land transactions in Mau Forest, and suspend evictions until it reaches a final verdict.
Despite the ruling four years ago, the Ogiek claim they continued to suffer abuses. In June last year, police and KFS rangers forcibly evicted Ogiek families in Mount Elgon and burned down their homes.
In March last year, Stephen Munyereri, an Ogiek elder in his 60s, was salvaging belongings from the burnt-out remains of his son's property when he was shot and killed.
Just days earlier, land grabbers had burned down his son's house.
Munyereri's death came at a time when the Ogiek had been involved in land disputes with members of a neighbouring tribe in the Ngongongeri area of western Kenya. More than 100 Ogiek families had been evicted from their homes, and 15 houses were destroyed.
While Munyereri was at the property, a man claiming to be the landowner confronted him. According to neighbours, an argument over land ownership escalated and the man shot the Ogiek elder, who was unarmed. The culprit was arrested but released on bond that same day.
Kobei, of OPDP, says Munyereri's family is still waiting for a trial, which has already been postponed several times.
How would you feel seeing somebody who has killed your father moving around? Kobei asks.
MRG have demanded a proper investigation.
Before we used to experience eviction, but nobody had been killed, Kobei says.
The Ogiek have in the past turned to the courts to address their grievances such as land grabs, without much success.
Some cases dated back to 1997 and were determined in 2014, Kobei says. This length of time is indeed an insult to human rights especially in a community where mass violation has been experienced.
In a fast-changing world, the Ogieks have had to adapt to modern life, and consequently have already lost many of their traditions, such as those related to medicines or coming of age ceremonies connected to the forest.
If they are not allowed to have their land back then, as a people, they are threatened with extinction, Claridge said in an interview before today's verdict.
Sang, who is in his 40s, has worked towards securing the Ogiek's indigenous and land rights for decades.
He said that his activism has taken him around the world with different organisations to conferences on indigenous rights and he has been inspired by groups such as New Zealand's Maoris.
Once, while at a conference in the Philippines as coordinator of the Ogiek Welfare Council, an NGO working towards Ogiek rights until it closed in 2005, he saw farmers mapping their land.
I thought, how can we reclaim our land using this method, he said.
Using aerial photographs and elder knowledge, he says the Ogiek mapped their land in eastern Mau by 2010.
Now we had evidence of the land we were claiming, said Francis Lesingo, an Ogiek elder from eastern Mau.
Although mapping one area wasn't enough to support a comprehensive land claim, Lesingo believes the exercise was important for his community.
When the elders came together and mapped their land across all the clans, they finally realised they were one, he said.
Namati International is currently supporting OPDP in finding ways to expand the mapping exercise to cover all Ogiek land.
The Ogiek have tried to safeguard their culture by passing traditional knowledge on to younger generations. The OPDP also organises a cultural festival every year in Nakuru, but the months change, depending on how successful they are at fundraising.
Nevertheless, experts say these efforts are not enough for the Ogiek's cultural survival.
It's dying out. It has already died out, said Claridge of Ogiek language and traditions.
The Ogiek were initially expecting a verdict from the African Court in March, but the hearing was delayed, according to Claridge, because the judges needed more time to deliberate on a case with such wide-reaching ramifications.
This case is of fundamental importance for indigenous peoples in Africa, and particularly in the context of the continent-wide conflicts we are seeing between communities, sparked by pressures over land and resources, said Claridge in a press release on May 22.
Speaking ahead of the May 26 ruling, John Samorai, programme officer at the OPDP said: Many of us will be able to see our fate determined. Then he had added, with pride: Whatever the verdict, we will have fought our battle.
With general elections taking place in August, Claridge said today: The Kenyan government needs to honour the court decision immediately. It cannot continue to give out land to carry political favour, it needs to respect Ogiek land rights, it needs to respect the distinct culture and identity and it needs to do so now.
Kobei said this evening that he is optimistic that the current or incoming government will honour the court verdict.
This is a historic moment for the Ogiek, we have seen success for the first time, he said. We expect the government of Kenya to respect the decision and give Ogiek recognition.
Mau Forest is a forest complex in the Rift Valley of Kenya. It is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. The Mau Forest complex has an area of 273,300 hectares (675,000 acres).
The forest area has some of the highest rainfall rates in Kenya.Mau Forest is the largest water catchment area in Kenya.
Numerous rivers originate from the forest, including Southern Ewaso Ng'iro, Sondu River, Mara River and Njoro River. These rivers feed Lake Victoria, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron.Western slopes of the Mau Escarpment are covered by Mau Forest.
Typical tree species in Mau Forest include Pouteria adolfi-friedericii, Strombosia scheffleri and Polyscias kikuyuensis. Olea capensis, Prunus africana, Albizia gummifera and Podocarpus latifolius are also found there.
Endemic bird species in the area include Hartlaub's turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi), Hunter's cisticola (Cisticola hunteri) and Jackson's francolin
The forest has been traditionally inhabited by Ogiek people, whose hunter-gatherer lifestyle is sustainable. However, due to immigration from other ethnic groups, large parts of the forest area have been cleared for settlement. Human activities, especially logging, have led to deforestation of more than a quarter of the area since 1973.
In 2008, the inauguration of the Sondu-Miriu hydro power plant was postponed due to low water levels, that are said to be resulting from the destruction of Mau Forest.
In summer 2008 there has was a political row over resettlement of people, who had been allocated land there during the KANU era during the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the settlers are famed politicians, like Franklin Bett and Zakayo Cheruiyot.
In 2004 Paul Ndung’u released "Ndungu Report", which listed these land allocations, terming them illegal and recommended revocation of them. Some evictions were implemented between 2004 and 2006, without a resettlement scheme.
On July 15, 2008, Prime minister Raila Odinga issued an order that these evictions to be implemented by October 2008 in order to protect the forest from destruction. The order has been opposed by number of Rift Valley area politicians, led by Isaac Ruto.
Some politicians, led by Vice President William Ruto, proposed that if evictions are implemented, the government should allocate them land elsewhere.
The evictions began in November 2009. Some prominent people are set to lose their land, including family members of former president Daniel arap Moi. Also under threat is the Kiptagich Tea Factory owned by former president Moi.
Today’s ruling is a historic victory for the Ogiek community, and gives hope to all Indigenous peoples everywhere.
The Kenyan government must now implement the ruling and let the Ogiek live freely on their ancestral land.
In this one ruling, the court has both affirmed the Ogiek’s right to live freely on their ancestral land, and proved to the continent that regional justice mechanisms work.
But a ruling is not enough, it must be respected. The Kenyan government must now implement the ruling and let the Ogiek live freely on their ancestral land.
The Ogiek, who live mostly in Kenya’s Mau and Mt Elgon forests, are a hunter-gatherer community. They have fought for a long time in the national courts, and now at the African Court, to live on their land of their ancestors, but the government has routinely subjected them to arbitrarily evictions citing the need to conserve the environment, claims the court rejected.
The case was initially lodged by Ogiek Peoples’ Development Programme, Minority Rights Group and the Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, before being referred by the Commission to the Court in 2012.
Kenya's Ogiek, an indigenous minority of hunters and gatherers, have won a historic case against the Kenyan government, close to a decade after they began their legal battle.
The African Court on Human and People's Rights, a continental court established in 2006 by African countries, on May 26 delivered its verdict in Arusha, Tanzania - ruling in favour of the Ogiek and recognising their right to Kenya's Mau Forest, as their ancestral home, and their role in protecting it.
The court ruled that the Kenyan government had violated seven articles of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, of which Kenya is a signatory, and is intended to protect basic freedoms and human rights.
The verdict recognises the Ogiek's indigenous status and their right to reparations from the Kenyan government for the suffering they have endured through forcible evictions. It recognises the Ogiek's "strong attachment to the forest", their legal right to live on the forest land, their freedom to practice their traditions and deemed evictions to be disproportionate to conservation aims. The Kenyan government in court said it accepted the judgment.
The room has never been so full, it was packed to the brink, said Lucy Claridge, legal director of Minority Rights Group International (MRG), a campaign group working closely with the Ogiek, who has been working on the case since April 2010.
Speaking from Arusha, Claridge said around 75 Ogiek attended the court hearing, dressed in their traditional clothes. Following the victorious judgment, the Ogiek broke out in celebratory singing and dancing.
It is an unprecedented legal victory for an indigenous people in Africa. The ruling marks the first judgment from the highest institutional human rights body in Africa to favour the cause of indigenous peoples.
This sends a message to governments of the standards around indigenous people's rights in Africa, says Claridge. It's a very clear message for governments that they need to respect indigenous people's rights.
The victory could set a precedent for similar cases across the continent.
I know that the case also gives hope to other indigenous peoples, said Daniel Kobei, executive director of Ogiek Peoples' Development Program (OPDP), an NGO which advocates for the community's rights, in an MRG press release.
The Ogiek have dwelled in Mau Forest for generations. This small community of about 35,000, which lives in and around the forest complex spanning about 4,000 hectares and five counties in the country's west, claim to have suffered injustices, harassment, and evictions at the hands of successive governments and more powerful groups with an interest in the forest's resources.
We saw different people take our land, Lebidas Lesingo, a 78-year-old Ogiek elder, said in February.
The Ogiek, sometimes referred to as "Kenya's castaways", have always maintained they have a right to this land. Our fight has never changed, Lesingo said.
Mau Forest is the source of the Ogiek's traditional livelihoods and is synonymous with their cultural and religious identity. They hunt game such as hyrax and bushbucks and collect nuts and berries and harvest honey, which they use for healing and nutritional purposes. They use the forest's indigenous plants as medicine, such as the bark of the Kopukeriet tree.
Mau Forest is also the site of Kenya's biggest water catchment and the source of seven rivers. It is also the largest closed-canopy forest in Kenya, thus seen by some as a lucrative source of timber.
Since the early 20th century, the tribe's way of life has come under threat. The first forcible evictions date back to 1911 after a deal between the Maasai community, one of Kenya's tribes, and colonialists culminated in the former losing land to the white settlers.
It was lost on the colonial authorities that the land signed over by the Maasai was Ogiek land, writes Joseph Sang, an Ogiek activist, in a 2001 report for the advocacy organisation Forest Peoples Programme.
That was a problem we inherited from our elders, Sang says.
Governments since independence in 1963 have expelled Ogiek from the forest, citing conservation reasons such as re-planting. But the Ogiek say the forest is being destroyed.
The forest has turned into a plantation forest, where fast-growing trees are planted for commercial work, says Kobei, adding that indigenous plants are disappearing.
There is illegal logging, illegal settlements and encroaching, says Sang, the activist, who is a paralegal at Namati International, an international NGO working at the grassroots level to help people understand, employ and shape the laws affecting them.
The Ogiek allege that they are being forcibly evicted by land grabbers and illegal loggers, while corrupt authorities stand by. Their homes have been ransacked and burned to the ground.
Sang says evictions have displaced and dispersed their people, who respect and revere the forest. The term Ogiek literally means "carer of all plants and wild animals".
The forest is what we call home, Sang says when asked why it is so important to the Ogiek.
When you talk to them, what really comes across is that they want their land back because it's part of their livelihood, it defines them, says Lucy Claridge, legal director at MRG.
It might be difficult to understand, but the forest is part of them, it is where they feel home, it's where they feel Ogiek.
In 2008, the Kenyan government began a campaign to evict inhabitants of the forest.
The following year, in a David against Goliath scenario, the Ogiek filed a case against the Kenyan government. They claimed that in October 2009, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), an agency of the Kenyan government, gave the Ogiek and other people living in Mau Forest a 30-day eviction notice on the grounds that they lived in a reserved water catchment zone.
They reject that this decision was a conservation attempt and alleged a number of violations of the African Charter.
The Ogiek demanded the halting of evictions, and that their ancestral land in the Mau Forest be legally recognised as theirs. They are also asked for compensation for loss of property and natural resources, and freedom to practice their culture and religion, among other things.
The OPDP and MRG, with Claridge as the lead lawyer, brought this case to the court. It is the first time the African Court on Human and People's Rights has heard a case from an indigenous group.
In 2013, the court ruled that the Kenyan government ban all land transactions in Mau Forest, and suspend evictions until it reaches a final verdict.
Despite the ruling four years ago, the Ogiek claim they continued to suffer abuses. In June last year, police and KFS rangers forcibly evicted Ogiek families in Mount Elgon and burned down their homes.
In March last year, Stephen Munyereri, an Ogiek elder in his 60s, was salvaging belongings from the burnt-out remains of his son's property when he was shot and killed.
Just days earlier, land grabbers had burned down his son's house.
Munyereri's death came at a time when the Ogiek had been involved in land disputes with members of a neighbouring tribe in the Ngongongeri area of western Kenya. More than 100 Ogiek families had been evicted from their homes, and 15 houses were destroyed.
While Munyereri was at the property, a man claiming to be the landowner confronted him. According to neighbours, an argument over land ownership escalated and the man shot the Ogiek elder, who was unarmed. The culprit was arrested but released on bond that same day.
Kobei, of OPDP, says Munyereri's family is still waiting for a trial, which has already been postponed several times.
How would you feel seeing somebody who has killed your father moving around? Kobei asks.
MRG have demanded a proper investigation.
Before we used to experience eviction, but nobody had been killed, Kobei says.
The Ogiek have in the past turned to the courts to address their grievances such as land grabs, without much success.
Some cases dated back to 1997 and were determined in 2014, Kobei says. This length of time is indeed an insult to human rights especially in a community where mass violation has been experienced.
In a fast-changing world, the Ogieks have had to adapt to modern life, and consequently have already lost many of their traditions, such as those related to medicines or coming of age ceremonies connected to the forest.
If they are not allowed to have their land back then, as a people, they are threatened with extinction, Claridge said in an interview before today's verdict.
Sang, who is in his 40s, has worked towards securing the Ogiek's indigenous and land rights for decades.
He said that his activism has taken him around the world with different organisations to conferences on indigenous rights and he has been inspired by groups such as New Zealand's Maoris.
Once, while at a conference in the Philippines as coordinator of the Ogiek Welfare Council, an NGO working towards Ogiek rights until it closed in 2005, he saw farmers mapping their land.
I thought, how can we reclaim our land using this method, he said.
Using aerial photographs and elder knowledge, he says the Ogiek mapped their land in eastern Mau by 2010.
Now we had evidence of the land we were claiming, said Francis Lesingo, an Ogiek elder from eastern Mau.
Although mapping one area wasn't enough to support a comprehensive land claim, Lesingo believes the exercise was important for his community.
When the elders came together and mapped their land across all the clans, they finally realised they were one, he said.
Namati International is currently supporting OPDP in finding ways to expand the mapping exercise to cover all Ogiek land.
The Ogiek have tried to safeguard their culture by passing traditional knowledge on to younger generations. The OPDP also organises a cultural festival every year in Nakuru, but the months change, depending on how successful they are at fundraising.
Nevertheless, experts say these efforts are not enough for the Ogiek's cultural survival.
It's dying out. It has already died out, said Claridge of Ogiek language and traditions.
The Ogiek were initially expecting a verdict from the African Court in March, but the hearing was delayed, according to Claridge, because the judges needed more time to deliberate on a case with such wide-reaching ramifications.
This case is of fundamental importance for indigenous peoples in Africa, and particularly in the context of the continent-wide conflicts we are seeing between communities, sparked by pressures over land and resources, said Claridge in a press release on May 22.
Speaking ahead of the May 26 ruling, John Samorai, programme officer at the OPDP said: Many of us will be able to see our fate determined. Then he had added, with pride: Whatever the verdict, we will have fought our battle.
With general elections taking place in August, Claridge said today: The Kenyan government needs to honour the court decision immediately. It cannot continue to give out land to carry political favour, it needs to respect Ogiek land rights, it needs to respect the distinct culture and identity and it needs to do so now.
Kobei said this evening that he is optimistic that the current or incoming government will honour the court verdict.
This is a historic moment for the Ogiek, we have seen success for the first time, he said. We expect the government of Kenya to respect the decision and give Ogiek recognition.
Mau Forest is a forest complex in the Rift Valley of Kenya. It is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. The Mau Forest complex has an area of 273,300 hectares (675,000 acres).
The forest area has some of the highest rainfall rates in Kenya.Mau Forest is the largest water catchment area in Kenya.
Numerous rivers originate from the forest, including Southern Ewaso Ng'iro, Sondu River, Mara River and Njoro River. These rivers feed Lake Victoria, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron.Western slopes of the Mau Escarpment are covered by Mau Forest.
Typical tree species in Mau Forest include Pouteria adolfi-friedericii, Strombosia scheffleri and Polyscias kikuyuensis. Olea capensis, Prunus africana, Albizia gummifera and Podocarpus latifolius are also found there.
Endemic bird species in the area include Hartlaub's turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi), Hunter's cisticola (Cisticola hunteri) and Jackson's francolin
The forest has been traditionally inhabited by Ogiek people, whose hunter-gatherer lifestyle is sustainable. However, due to immigration from other ethnic groups, large parts of the forest area have been cleared for settlement. Human activities, especially logging, have led to deforestation of more than a quarter of the area since 1973.
In 2008, the inauguration of the Sondu-Miriu hydro power plant was postponed due to low water levels, that are said to be resulting from the destruction of Mau Forest.
In summer 2008 there has was a political row over resettlement of people, who had been allocated land there during the KANU era during the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the settlers are famed politicians, like Franklin Bett and Zakayo Cheruiyot.
In 2004 Paul Ndung’u released "Ndungu Report", which listed these land allocations, terming them illegal and recommended revocation of them. Some evictions were implemented between 2004 and 2006, without a resettlement scheme.
On July 15, 2008, Prime minister Raila Odinga issued an order that these evictions to be implemented by October 2008 in order to protect the forest from destruction. The order has been opposed by number of Rift Valley area politicians, led by Isaac Ruto.
Some politicians, led by Vice President William Ruto, proposed that if evictions are implemented, the government should allocate them land elsewhere.
The evictions began in November 2009. Some prominent people are set to lose their land, including family members of former president Daniel arap Moi. Also under threat is the Kiptagich Tea Factory owned by former president Moi.
Friday, 17 March 2017
TANZANIA: EAC Tourism Plan, Tanzania Reluctant
Tanzania’s reluctance to implement regional integration projects came under sharp focus yesterday during this year’s magical Kenya Travel Expo in Nairobi.
Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda revived calls for a joint marketing campaign for the recovering tourism sector.
The three countries yesterday called on Tanzania to come on board in promoting the region as a package, through the single tourist visa.
“Tanzania has issues. It is the fear of the unknown and fear of competition. We need to grow beyond competition,” Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said, adding “Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda see ourselves as complementary.”
Tanzania has given the regional initiative meant to facilitate access to all member states using a univisa a wide berth.
It has also refused to open up her border at the Mara River to allow movement of tourists flocking the region for the historic Wildebeest migration.
A diplomatic row between Kenya and Tanzania was also witnessed in the last two years over the ban of tour vehicles to access one another’s borders, an issue that is yet to be fully addressed.
“Eventually we will be looking to resolve these issues through dialogue. I am optimistic Tanzania will finally come on board.
Maybe we need to give them time,” Balala said at the annual fair.
Rwanda,Uganda and Kenya have implemented the single visa and use of national identification cards to cross to either sides.
The visa uptake has, however, remained low since its launch in February 2014, with only 4,000 visas having been issued so far.
The three governments cited lack of enough promotion, calling on high commissioners both in Africa and abroad to market the visa. Under the single visa regime, foreigners can visit Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda at a fee of $100(Sh10,130 ), current exchange rate.
“High commissioners should emphasise we have a single visa. It is so unfortunate that tourists pay for different visas to enter the three countries yet they can have one visa,” East African Tourism Platform chairman Bonifence Byamukama said.
The three states have agreed to have a joint stand at the World Travel Market in London (November 7-9 ), to market the region.
Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda revived calls for a joint marketing campaign for the recovering tourism sector.
The three countries yesterday called on Tanzania to come on board in promoting the region as a package, through the single tourist visa.
“Tanzania has issues. It is the fear of the unknown and fear of competition. We need to grow beyond competition,” Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said, adding “Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda see ourselves as complementary.”
Tanzania has given the regional initiative meant to facilitate access to all member states using a univisa a wide berth.
It has also refused to open up her border at the Mara River to allow movement of tourists flocking the region for the historic Wildebeest migration.
A diplomatic row between Kenya and Tanzania was also witnessed in the last two years over the ban of tour vehicles to access one another’s borders, an issue that is yet to be fully addressed.
“Eventually we will be looking to resolve these issues through dialogue. I am optimistic Tanzania will finally come on board.
Maybe we need to give them time,” Balala said at the annual fair.
Rwanda,Uganda and Kenya have implemented the single visa and use of national identification cards to cross to either sides.
The visa uptake has, however, remained low since its launch in February 2014, with only 4,000 visas having been issued so far.
The three governments cited lack of enough promotion, calling on high commissioners both in Africa and abroad to market the visa. Under the single visa regime, foreigners can visit Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda at a fee of $100(Sh10,130 ), current exchange rate.
“High commissioners should emphasise we have a single visa. It is so unfortunate that tourists pay for different visas to enter the three countries yet they can have one visa,” East African Tourism Platform chairman Bonifence Byamukama said.
The three states have agreed to have a joint stand at the World Travel Market in London (November 7-9 ), to market the region.
Friday, 11 March 2016
TANZANIA: Wonders Of Serengeti
Serengeti Migration
The Serengeti is not one of the 7 natural wonders of Africa, but it is home to the migration which was officially declared as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa on February 11, 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. The migration is a shared wonder between the countries of Tanzania and Kenya. The majority of the migration is experienced on the Tanzanian side.
Serengeti
The name Serengeti comes from the Swahili word meaning “endless plains.” For some this conjures up an image of nothing but grass lands, however the it is so much more. These endless plains stretch over 12,000 squares miles (30,000 sq km) and feature a variety of habitats that include the expected grasslands along with kopjes, swamps, riverine forests, woodlands and hills.
The various habitats are what provide an opportunity for the Serengeti to be home to around 70 larger mammals and over 500 species of birds. The abundant and varying wildlife is what attracts visitors to this wonder of nature from Africa.
The Kenyan and Tanzanian governments have leveraged national parks, conservation areas, and game reserves to establish official protection over 80% of the endless plains affectionately known as the Serengeti. The national park in Tanzania goes by the same name, whereas the national park in Kenya is known as the Masai Mara.
Serengeti Wildlife
The migration is the hallmark of the Serengeti featuring over 1.2 million wildebeests, over 800,000 zebras, and hundreds of thousands of gazelles, impalas, and other wildlife. The heart of the migration is the wildebeest and the zebra.
The Serengeti is also home to 6 of the Big Seven, which include the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, hippo and the crocodile. The only one of the Big Seven missing is the mountain gorilla. Some of the other wildlife calling the endless plains home include: cheetah, hyena, giraffe, eland, Thomson gazelle, impala, baboon, and the warthog. There are also hundreds of species of birds making this the complete Safari experience.
The migration is what attracts many people. One of the highlights occurs during the months of January and February when the wildebeests are giving birth. This is a short and concise window where all of the wildebeests give birth within a 2 to 3 week period. A second highlight occurs sometime during the months of September or October. This is another concise 2 to 3 week period where the wildebeests and zebras cross the Mara River into Kenya.
Crossing the Mara River is exciting for an couple of reasons. First, it is an amazing sight to see 1 million wildebeests crossing the river in a given moment. However this is also a challenging crossing as crocodiles wait to feast on these animals as they enter the water. Witnessing a crocodile capture and kill one of the wildebeest is an exciting encounter with nature.
The Serengeti is not one of the 7 natural wonders of Africa, but it is home to the migration which was officially declared as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa on February 11, 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. The migration is a shared wonder between the countries of Tanzania and Kenya. The majority of the migration is experienced on the Tanzanian side.
Serengeti
The name Serengeti comes from the Swahili word meaning “endless plains.” For some this conjures up an image of nothing but grass lands, however the it is so much more. These endless plains stretch over 12,000 squares miles (30,000 sq km) and feature a variety of habitats that include the expected grasslands along with kopjes, swamps, riverine forests, woodlands and hills.
The various habitats are what provide an opportunity for the Serengeti to be home to around 70 larger mammals and over 500 species of birds. The abundant and varying wildlife is what attracts visitors to this wonder of nature from Africa.
The Kenyan and Tanzanian governments have leveraged national parks, conservation areas, and game reserves to establish official protection over 80% of the endless plains affectionately known as the Serengeti. The national park in Tanzania goes by the same name, whereas the national park in Kenya is known as the Masai Mara.
Serengeti Wildlife
The migration is the hallmark of the Serengeti featuring over 1.2 million wildebeests, over 800,000 zebras, and hundreds of thousands of gazelles, impalas, and other wildlife. The heart of the migration is the wildebeest and the zebra.
The Serengeti is also home to 6 of the Big Seven, which include the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, hippo and the crocodile. The only one of the Big Seven missing is the mountain gorilla. Some of the other wildlife calling the endless plains home include: cheetah, hyena, giraffe, eland, Thomson gazelle, impala, baboon, and the warthog. There are also hundreds of species of birds making this the complete Safari experience.
The migration is what attracts many people. One of the highlights occurs during the months of January and February when the wildebeests are giving birth. This is a short and concise window where all of the wildebeests give birth within a 2 to 3 week period. A second highlight occurs sometime during the months of September or October. This is another concise 2 to 3 week period where the wildebeests and zebras cross the Mara River into Kenya.
Crossing the Mara River is exciting for an couple of reasons. First, it is an amazing sight to see 1 million wildebeests crossing the river in a given moment. However this is also a challenging crossing as crocodiles wait to feast on these animals as they enter the water. Witnessing a crocodile capture and kill one of the wildebeest is an exciting encounter with nature.
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