Working with Communities to Conserve Mangrove Forest in Kenya: The SPEK Experience

This paper highlights the approaches used by the Society for Protection of Environment in Kenya, SPEK, to implement community based initiatives in promoting awareness on the interaction of the coastal people with their mangrove environment in Mombasa area and parts of south coast (Gazi and Msambweni). Traditionally, Mangroves provide essential goods and services such as firewood, building poles, medicine and a source of income and employment for local population. Ecologically mangroves are linked to sea grass beds and coral reefs by the animals that move between these habitats. Many fish and prawns species (commercial and non commercial) that are usually found offshore inhabit mangrove areas during part of their life cycle. The position of being in the transition zone between land and open sea allows them to regulate both domestic and industrial effluents that would otherwise destroy the marine habitats. Although mangroves are vital to the biological productivity of the coastal waters, a lot of pressure is currently being witnessed due to the high demand for their products and increase in value. For a long time, it has been taken that the local communities are solely responsible for the destruction of mangroves within their environments. The situation along the Kenya coast reveals that most destruction is done by businessmen who obtain annual licenses to cut mangroves for fuel wood and timber purposes. Efforts to replenish the mangroves cut through re-planting ore is still minimal. Most of the communities are not compensated for the mangrove resource obtained from their areas and non of the proceeds from the mangrove sales remain in the community. There is therefore a great need to involve major stakeholders in mangrove exploitation to guarantee future conservation. The management scheme i.e. licensing, used by the Forest Department needs to be re-examined with a view of making it more participatory where the people concerned-will play a major role. This calls for integrated management plans and the decentralization of decision making process. It is expected that by demonstrating a people centered management approach, there shall be an incentive created since the community's rights and respect shall be upheld. More community based conservation initiatives which will put more emphasis on local solutions to local problem are therefore mandatory in order to sustain the essential goods and services derived from the mangroves.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Gang, Patrick O.
Format:	Conference Material biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	East Africa Wildlife Society 1998
Subjects:	Mangroves, Resource conservation, Resource management, Natural resources,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/8471
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