While the majority of Kenyans battle illegal logging, land grabbing and human encroachment into forests, the people of Arabuko Sokoke National Park's Kilifi County are proud of having conserved the largest indigenous coastal forest in East Africa, according to The Guardian.
While the majority of Kenyans battle illegal logging, land grabbing and human encroachment into forests, the people of Arabuko Sokoke National Park's Kilifi County are proud of having conserved the largest indigenous coastal forest in East Africa, according to The Guardian.
At one time, the Arabuko Sokoke forest was part of a continuous stretch that reached from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique along the Indian Ocean.
"The people of Kilifi value conservation," Blessingtone Maganga, of the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), told The Guardian. "There is no logging, charcoal burning, illegal fuel wood collection, mining or poaching."
Two tribes, the Waatas and the Giriama, have protected the forest, which is rich in biodiversity, for nearly 80 years. Instead of cutting trees for income, the people farm butterflies and export them to Europe and the U.S. There is also a group of bee-keepers that practice herbal medicine.
Despite the region's high level of poverty, the forest is kept intact. "It is true that our people are poor, but in terms of natural resources, Kilifi County is an island of millionaires in a sea of poverty," Charo Ngumba, chairman of a local forest association, told The Guardian.
For the full story, see The Guardian.