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Chapter in Brief:

Our Mission
To enhance an understanding of ecological and economical roles of Mt. Kenya and its forests amongst the people living around and utilizing the mountain forest resources through their social and economic development and understanding over a long-term period.

Our Vision
To have a community that clearly understands the roles Mt. Kenya forest and other adjacent forests play in enhancing and supporting their daily lives.

Long-term Goal
To work with the people living around and utilizing Mt. Kenya forest resources, to enhance their sustainability and service to the local environment and world as a whole.

Implementation of Mission and Long-term Goal
The EEIU Mt. Kenya Region Chapter's activities will be carried out with partners in the districts of Embu, Meru South, Meru Central, Meru North, Isiolo, Laikipia, Nyeri and Kirinyaga Districts. Programmes will target empowering local people to sustainably manage and utilize natural resources, basically within Mt. Kenya and other adjacent small forests, and have communities as managers of their own resources. Programmes will be geared towards working mainly with the forest users, among them women and youth. Groups with interest in this forest include illegal timber harvesters (loggers), marijuana (Bhang) cultivators, illegal forest farmers and grazers, wildlife trophy and bush meat poachers, firewood merchants, and other parties. The Chapter will seek to work with partners in the following organizations: youth groups, womens groups, charcoal unions, timber unions, county, municipal and town councils in the target districts, forestry officers in the target districts, and local elected leaders as well as wildlife managers. Programmes on tree planting, bee keeping, ecotourism development, energy-efficient cook stoves, sustainable weaving for export and environmental education are targeted. Instilling capacity to local groups with a purpose of environment and forest protection will also be targeted. Methodology to be applied includes holding training workshops, running environmental education programs for schools and the community, establishing apiaries and demos alongside establishing ecotourism sites.

About Mt Kenya Forest
Mt. Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa, is a volcanic mountain reaching an altitude of 5199 metres above sea level. It is located on the equator 180km north of Nairobi. It is one of the five major water catchment areas in Kenya. Mt. Kenya Forest alone is estimated to provide more than 40% of the country's water requirement. It is the source of the Tana River, the biggest river in Kenya. The waters of the Tana hold the country's most important hydropower plants. The River Tana provides water to the Seven Forks hydropower plants that produce over 50% of Kenya's total electricity output. Mt. Kenya is also the source of the Ewaso Nyiro River, the only river supplying water to Laikipia and Samburu to the north of Kenya. The mountain supports a number of agricultural activities including major irrigation schemes — the Mwea rice scheme, Bura settlement scheme and Tana Delta irrigation scheme.

Biodiversity. Due to the wide range in altitude and amount in rainfall, the mountain has a rich biological biodiversity. Mt. Kenya has eight different natural forest types and a variety of wildlife. Six species of large mammals of international conservation interest are found in the forests — elephants, black rhinos, giant forest hog, the bongo and black fronted duiker. 882 plant species belonging to 479 genera and 146 families have been identified.

Problems. Mt. Kenya has a myriad of problems, namely, illegal logging of trees, forest excisions, marijuana cultivation, illegal food crop cultivation, and poaching and solid waste pollution.

For more information, please visit the following sites:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=29891
http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/230499/News/News6.html
http://forests.org/archive/africa/mtkenyfo.htm
http://www.mountkenya.org/

This page was last updated on 26 July 2004.