Serengeti must not die: save Kenya's Mau Forest
There is power in a union: vast herds of gnus on their way to Mara River (© Xavier Surinyach Mateu)
The petition was presented and discussed at the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2016. The plans to clear Mau Forest were not realized.
Mau Forest is a critical source of water for the Mara River – the lifeblood of the Serengeti ecosystem and millions of people living downstream. Inexplicably, the Kenyan government has just authorized the cutting of 17,000 hectares of this forest. Tell them that this is a grave mistake.
Call to actionTo: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya
“Stop any attempts to clear 17,000 hectares of Mau Forest.”
Year after year, millions of gnus, hundreds of thousands of gazelles and vast herds of buffalo depend on the Mara River as their only reliable source of water during dry season. According to the NGO Serengeti Watch, wildlife could start dying at a rate of 30% a week if Mau Forest is cut down and Mara River dries up.
The Serengeti depends on the Mara, which originates in Kenya’s Mau Forest and flows into the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria. If the river dries up, the great migration will crash. Lake Victoria, which gets 60% of its water from Kenya, will also see devastating impacts.
The threat is real and looming right now – and it will only grow if Kenya does not adopt wise water management practices.
By permitting 17,000 hectares of Mau Forest to be cleared, the Kenyan government is not only jeopardizing the survival of many species, but also threatening the future of all Kenyans and millions of East Africans who depend on the water of the lakes and rivers that derive from Mara River.
Please tell the Kenyan government to scrap this potentially disastrous plan.
BackgroundVideo by No Water No Life about the downstream impacts of deforestation in the Mau Forest – the Mara River’s source (2009).
To: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya
Dear President Uhuru Kenyatta,
We, the Kenya Forests Working Group (KFWG) of the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS), other like-minded Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), local communities, Kenyan citizens and concerned individuals urge you to stop any attempts by your government to hive off 17,000 hectares of Mau Forest for resettlement or the excision of any other forest in Kenya as it contravenes the constitution, framework laws on environment and land and sectoral laws on forests, wildlife, agriculture, water and tourism.
Kind regards,
Recent successes