ISSN 2073-5111(Print)
nature net naturekenya.org
February 2017
Alice Kasika (right) demonstrates to a group of beekeepers from Dakatcha on how to extract honey combs from a hive. PHOTO: E. UTUMBI
The sweet taste of conserving Arabuko-Sokoke Forest By J. Mwacharo
B
eekeeping has traditionally been considered a preserve for men in Kenya. Culture dictated that the laborious and dangerous honey harvesting process was not fit for women, particularly in a rural setting. However, the advent of modern beekeeping techniques and tools has seen more women venturing into commercial beekeeping. For Alice Kasika Mwiu it is also a tale of passion and determination, a personal mission to conserve the largest single block of indigenous coastal forest remaining in East Africa: The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Alice, a resident of Matano Mane in Kilifi County, is a champion for the conservation of ArabukoSokoke Forest, for her livelihood depends on the forest’s existence.
“This forest is a vital resource that provides livelihoods for people living adjacent to it. It provides us with bees for honey, wood for fuel, fresh air that we breathe and plants for medicine,” she says. Without the forest, Alice adds, she wouldn’t be earning any living out of her hives, as it’s the forest that supplies flowers for the bees to feed on. In a good season her 200 hives are capable of producing more than two tonnes of honey, she says. Last year for instance, Alice harvested one hundred 20-litre containers of honey valued at more than two million shillings. In addition to honey, she also sold wax and other hive products. Out of proceeds from the sale of bee products, Alice has managed to build on her plot and also buy some cattle.
Alice’s beekeeping success story has seen her gain recognition as a model farmer and a source of inspiration to others. Hundreds of aspiring beekeepers flock to her farm to know more about bees and
honey production. Alice has had visitors coming from as far as Nandi and other parts of the country to learn from her vast experience in beekeeping. At Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, community-driven conservation projects such as beekeeping and butterfly farming were initiated to ensure that the people can draw a livelihood from this vital ecosystem without destroying it. One such initiative is “The People Partner with Nature Program” developed by BirdLife Denmark (DOF) together with three BirdLife partners: Nature Kenya, Nature Uganda and Bird Conservation Nepal. This program is supporting 50 beekeeping groups and 26 butterfly farming groups neighbouring Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. The success of such initiatives is testimony to how improving livelihoods can go hand in hand with conservation. “People here now appreciate the value of preserving this important forest as there are direct benefits linked to its conservation. Arabuko– Sokoke is our forest and it is our duty to protect it,” says Alice who is also a member of the ArabukoSokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association (ASFADA), which is the forest’s Site Support Group (SSG). “Getting people to embrace conservation has its own challenges, but with increased awareness communities can be mobilized to take action. Some years back people would walk into the forest, cut trees and get away with it. Nowadays community members are vigilant, any illegal activity spotted is immediately reported to the authorities,” concludes Alice.
NEW PROJECT
IN F CUS
PHOTO: N. KIBOI
Arabuko-Sokoke
The premier coastal forest
A
rabuko-Sokoke Forest is the last large remnant of the East African coastal forest. The forest covers about 420 km2 and is an important conservation area due to its biodiversity richness. The forest is internationally renowned for its rare bird and mammal species and diversity of habitats. The Globally Endangered birds Clarke’s Weaver, Sokoke Pipit, Amani Sunbird, Spotted Ground Thrush and Sokoke Scops Owl are found in the forest, which is home to twenty per cent of the bird species and thirty per cent of the butterfly species found in Kenya. The Golden-rumped Sengi or Elephantshrew (pictured below) is one of four globablly threatened mammals in the forest. ArabukoSokoke Forest is designated as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), and together with Mida Creek, forms part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The forest is also renowned for its innovative Kipepeo Butterfly project. A management team of important stakeholders manage the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve. The Management Team is composed of Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Nature Kenya and the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association. The Arabuko–Sokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association (ASFADA) is the forest’s Site Support Group (SSG). The group has 3,563
For updates go to Editorial Team
Norman Kiboi Gloria Waswa Fleur Ng’weno Serah Munguti John Mwacharo Layout John Mwacharo Front banner P. Usher
members and is involved in activities such as butterfly farming, beekeeping, tree planting and ecotourism. With help from Nature Kenya and the Community Development Trust Fund, ASFADA built and manages the Jamii Villas, where visitors can stay or have a meal. The Friends of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, a working group of Nature Kenya, also carries out conservation activities in the forest. The group monitors, documents and reports illegal tree felling and poaching of animals, creates awareness about the value of the forest amongst local and international communities, and supports local farming communities and the conservation work of the Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service. Nature Kenya in partnership with DOF – the BirdLife Partner in Denmark – secured funding from Denmark for a program titled “Integrating Livelihoods and Conservation – People Partner with Nature for Sustainable Living”. The program’s long-term objective is to reduce forest loss in three forested IBAs at the Kenyan coast – Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Dakatcha Woodland and Taita Hills forests - and contribute to best participatory forest management practices for the benefit of all. It is being implemented through partnerships with various government institutions, the Kilifi and Taita–Taveta county governments and site support groups. This program is supporting 50 beekeeping groups and 26 butterfly farming groups in ArabukoSokoke. Nature Kenya, through funding from NABU (the BirdLife partner in Germany) has also continued to support improvement of local capacity through diversification of skills. The NABU funded project aims at contributing to the implementation of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Elephant Conservation Action Plan.
The Principal Secretary, State Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Margaret Mwakima makes her opening remarks at a national inception workshop to develop the “Enhancing integrated natural resource management to arrest and reverse current trends in biodiversity and land degradation for increased ecosystem services in the Tana Delta, Kenya” project. The worksop was held last month at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi. This project is one of such initiatives from ten countries under the Global Environment Facilitiy’s (GEF) Restoration Initiative coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Tana Delta project is being led by Nature Kenya in collaboration with the UNEP.
FUNDAMENTALS OF
ORNITHOLOGY A Certificate Course for Bird Guides and Birders
Kindly register for the FoO 2017 Course that will take place at Elsamere Field Study Centre, Naivasha from 30th March - 7th April 2017 Participation fee is KSh 56, 000 for Kenyan citizens and US $680 for residents and foreign participants For more information send an email to: foo@naturekenya.org
Connecting nature & people For contributions, advertising and subscriptions - contact us at P. O. Box 44486 GPO, Nairobi Tel:020 3537568/ 0780149200/ 0751624312/ 0771343138 office@naturekenya.org www.naturekenya.org Printed with support from: WORLD BANK
AAGE V. JENSEN CHARITY FOUNDATION
Nature Kenya to the rescue! By N. kiboi Photos: C. Mwangi
N
airobi National Park, 7 km from Nairobi’s central business district and only 117 square kilometers in size, is an iconic symbol of Nairobi. Thousands of Nairobi residents, tourists and business travelers visit the park each month. On 8th December 2016, Nature Kenya membership staff visited the park with Pam Davis, Director of Development, and Chris Magin, Senior Partner Development Africa, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in UK and Charles Mwangi a guide at Onsight expeditions, using the Nature Kenya Land Rover.
We enjoyed the park’s wide vistas, wildlife such as lions, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and different antelopes, and 66 different bird species including two groups of ostriches with over thirty chicks of different sizes. As we walked along the river at the hippo pools, Kenneth and William, rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service, approached us and requested a hand to help pull out a stuck African Buffalo calf at the Oxbow lake, using Nature Kenya’s Land Rover. We drove to the Oxbow lake and found the African Buffalo calf halfway submerged in the semi dry mud, and the visible body parts covered with scaly skin and ticks.
One of the rangers tied a thick rope onto the calf’s horns and “Pole! Pole! Pole! Pole!” ”slowly, slowly” the rangers gave a signal to Chris the driver of the moment to start the engine and try to pull out the calf.
Chris at first was hesitant as he thought he would probably cause a whiplash injury and maybe end up killing the young buffalo. His navigation skills came in handy as he engaged low gear and gently pulled out the calf without injuring it.
Pulled to the bank of the drying oxbow lake, the calf still could not move, its limbs were numb and most probably it was dehydrated and starving. It looked like it had stayed in the mud overnight.
February Skies By F. Ng’weno
Was it hot on January 4? That was when the Earth was at perihelion – the closest point to the sun in its yearly orbit. Now, in February, the sun rises and sets later than usual – rising after 6:40 am and setting after 6:50 pm in Nairobi. Eclipses On February 11 there’s a penumbral lunar eclipse – the outer shadow of the earth falls across the moon. Not so easy to see, as it happens from 1:30 am to 5:50 am, and the full moon only seems to darken slightly. On Feb 26 there’s an annular solar eclipse over southern and central Africa. Again, not easy to see; a partial eclipse may be visible in central, western and southern Kenya before sunset. Don’t look at the sun! But you may notice that the sky darkens more quickly in the evening. Planets Feb 2017 Brilliant Venus is high over the sunset in the west, slowly sinking lower. Reddish Mars, less bright, is higher in the sky. The moon is near Mars on Jan 31 and March 1st. Bright Jupiter is overhead at dawn, escorted all month by the bright star Spica. Saturn is lower in the eastern sky before sunrise. The moon is near Jupiter on Feb 15, near Saturn on the 20th. February stars Look east, with your back to the
The rangers aided the calf to drink water by opening its mouth and forcing a water bottle in its mouth. After several attempts, the calf started kicking its hind legs and tried to stand on its own. It stood swaying and staggering, then tried short bouncy steps, gave a grunt – we suppose a “thank you” – walked away and started feeding.
sunset. Sirius, the brightest star of the night, is high in the southeast. (The sun, seen by day, is of course our brightest star). The second brightest star, Canopus, is to the right of Sirius, low in the southern sky. Still further southwest is the bright star Achernar. Orion, the Hunter or Warrior of Greek myths, is overhead, to the east (left) of Sirius. Look for three bright stars in a row. To the ancient Greeks, this was Orion’s belt. They saw the three fainter stars in a row, at a right angle to his belt, as his sword. Four bright stars represent Orion’s shoulders and knees. The star Rigel, blue-green in colour, is one knee, kicking into the sky. The orange star Betelguese is one shoulder, on the other side of the 3-star belt. The images below represent how the stars of Orion look in the sky, and how the artist John Okot imagined Orion and nearby constellations. To the north (left) of Orion, the reddish star Aldebaran is at one end of a cone-shaped group of stars, the Hyades cluster. A larger cluster of stars, further north, is the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. The moon passes past Aldebaran on Feb 5. With binoculars, you can see the great nebula M42 in Orion’s sword, and the glow around the stars of the Seven Sisters.
WELCOME ON BOARD FEBRUARY AT A GLIMPSE Feb 1st Feb 4th Feb 8th Feb 11th Feb 15th Feb 19th Feb 22nd Feb 23rd Feb 27th
Nature Kenya (the EANHS) would like to welcome the following members to the East Africa Natural History Society:
Morning Bird Walk FoCP Nature Walk Morning Bird Walk FoNA Guided Tree Walk Morning Bird Walk Sunday Bird Watch Morning Bird Walk FoNA Public Lecture FoNA Guided Tree Walk
CORPORATE MEMBER Prime Bank FAMILY MEMBERS Jan Linnér Isaac Kinyanjui Amy Crofford Elisabeth Bernhardt Neill Mcgovern
Bird ringing every Tuesday morning (check with Ornithology section, National Museums).
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Isaak Mbora Gathii Mary Ann Gathekia Bruce Labar Robert Kuchta
World Wetlands Day
Birders Please Note! The Wednesday Morning Birdwalks meet at 8:30 am at the Nairobi National Museum. The walks will leave the museum by 8:45 am. The group meets in the courtyard of the Nairobi National Museum, past the entrance to the galleries. We normally return at about 12:30 pm.
2 February
Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction
The Sunday Birdwatch on the THIRD Sunday of each month now also meets at 8:30 am, at the same location. It is a day trip; please bring water and lunch. Mombasa Birdwalks On the 3rd Saturday of each month. For meeting time and place, please contact Taibali Hamzali <thamzali@gmail. com> / 0733-980540; or Doris Schaule <dorischaule@gmail.com> / 0722-277752. Or check Facebook page: <https://www.facebook. com/groups/FFJmombasa/> Contact the office for information on other birdwalks in Kakamega, Kisumu, and other sites 2 February 2017
Ngong Forest walks - 1st and 3rd Saturday at 9.00 am. Contact Simon 0729-840715
#WetlandsForOurFuture – #WorldWetlandsDay – www.worldwetlandsday.org
Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction
Journée mondiale des zones humides
Common Bird Monitoring - February 1st - February 28th at 6:00 am -6:00 pm. Contact Fred Barasa cpo@naturekenya.org
Download free QR Readers from the web and scan this QR (Quick Response) code with your smart phone for pictures and more stories.
Yes! Start my Surname First Name Ms/Mr/Title Address Tel Mobile Email
membership MEMBERSHIP TYPES
Ksh Per Year
Full 2,000 Sponsor 6,000 Family 2,800 Student 1,200 Schools, Clubs 1,500 Corporates 20,000 - 30,000
JOIN/RENEW MEMBERSHIP Select ‘Lipa na Mpesa’ Select ‘Pay Bill’ Enter business number 100300 Enter account number (put your lapsed membership number or write new member) Enter the amount, enter your PIN Con�irm details & press OK
For details on associated groups such as Youth Committee, Succulenta, and Friends of Nairobi Arboretum, City Park or Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, contact office@naturekenya.org