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Colobus Trust Report on Illegal Development in Diani Beach - Kenya25/04/2008 10:40:15On the 31st of March 2008 representatives from government authorities including, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) and the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) along with the Colobus Trust (CT) and the South Coast Residents Association (SCRA) visited the Baobab Beach Resort (BBR) in Diani in response to reports that BBR was clearing its indigenous forest. It was found that a considerably sized area of forest had been cleared down to the ground in two weeks, with little care for the preservation of the forest. Also, a trench was being built onto the beach with a pipeline for supposed water drainage and other disturbance had occurred within the 30-meter buffer zone above the High-Tide Mark. Stop Press. In the last few days, since this article was published, the BBR has agreed to work closely with the Colbus Trust to ensure the future of the wildlife in the area. We hope they can work succesfully together. Respect should of course be shown for the laws of Kenya by developers, both foreign and native. However, it would seem that when money is to be made such laws are flouted, and that corruption will continue to take its toll on Kenya’s environment, resulting in a huge impact on the people and the wildlife.  The damage goes way beyond the ancient endemic trees, which are now lost. Reports have been received of influxes of displaced monkeys moving into near by forests, causing high densities of species during this time of year when naturally occurring food is scarce and every animal waits for the rains to arrive. A myriad species will have suffered during the destruction; larger types of arboreal (tree dwelling) or aerial species such as birds and primates may have been able to flee, however it is extremely likely that many of the smaller terrestrial and arboreal species will have been seriously impacted (if not killed) as the trees fell. Smaller mammal species will also have been unable to flee beyond what is left of their forest as BBR recently walled off this plot. Earlier requests by the Colobus Trust to put in 10-inch square gaps in the wall for the passage of these small mammals were denied after the BBR management insisted that 6-inch drainage pipes would be sufficient. BBR is at fault for the following reasons:
Primates: Angolan Colobus Monkey, Vervet Monkey, Sykes Monkey, Yellow Baboon, Greater Galago, Lesser Galago. Other Mammals: Tree Hyraxes, Suni Antelope, Duikers, Hedgehogs, Bush Cats, African Civets, Genet Cats, Ratel, Fruit Bats, the many Insectivorous Bats, Golden Rumped Elephant Shrews, Gambian Rats, Bush Rats and other unnamed Rodentia species. Birds: Many will have been able to flee but their nests will have been lost. Primary forest is the nesting place of many of the larger species, notably the Owl & Owlet species and our beautiful birds of prey. The magnificent Silver-Cheeked Hornbills, which nest at this time of year, were among the first to flee. As the male seals the female within a hole in the tree when nesting it is expected that many of the female Silver-cheeked hornbills will have been lost. Reptiles: Tortoises, Savannah & Water Monitor Lizards, Great Plated Lizards, Tree Agamas, Green Mambas, many native lizards and tree snakes. Invertebrates: This is the time of year that Butterflies are plenty, as well as other invertebrate species including Golden Orb Spiders, Crab Spiders, Giant Coast Millipedes, Giant Land Snails, Terrestrial Hermit Crabs & the thousands of other creatures found in the forest. Local outrage continues as many realize how easy it is to bypass the laws put in place to protect the environment. BBR promotes itself as an environmentally friendly hotel, ‘famed for its birdlife’; this is based on an Environmental Award they won in 2001. They say a visit to BBR is to ‘discover an unspoilt tropical paradise … set in one of the last vestiges of virgin coastal rainforest’. The last part sadly, holds true; the Diani Forest is indeed one of the last remaining Coastal Rag Forests of the world. IUCN identified this type of forest as one of Kenya’s endemic habitats and an East African Biodiversity Hotspot. Bird Life International also recognizes the Coral Rag Forests of Kenya as an IBA (Important Bird Area). Unfortunately though, within Diani, the idea of a ‘virgin’ forest is almost at a close. To read the full report, or find out more about the Colubus Trust, click here.
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