The Role of Communities in Conserving Protected Areas
by Mitchell Okuto
The loss of biodiversity has contributed to the need to protect the species of flora and fauna from being extinct. Anthropogenic activities have significantly contributed to the disruption of ecosystems and the reduction/extinction of plant and animal species. A growing population, rapid industrialization and urbanization are among the human activities that continue to affect biodiversity globally adversely. Protected areas play a role in conserving and protecting wildlife species that still exist.
Nairobi National Park is well-known for its unique location within Nairobi City. The park is home to a vast variety of wildlife that includes birds, herbivores and predators. Also, it is majorly covered in yellow-bark Acacia trees and grassland vegetation. It is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) who have the main role of running and managing the activities in the park to help in the regulation and conservation of plants and animal species. Moreover, other groups like the Friends of Nairobi National Park and most wildlife Clubs assist the KWS in preserving and nurturing the rich biodiversity within the park and its surrounding ecosystem.
My interaction with the park started in primary school. During each school year, my school would organize field trips to visit the Nairobi National Park. Through a game drive in the park, I got to see wildlife species such as rhinos, lions, giraffes, elephants, and zebras in their natural habitats. The trips to the park also involved visiting the animal orphanage where some animal species, such as monkeys, baboons, wild cats, and birds, were being treated or rehabilitated. Visiting the park was always and is still an amazing and exciting experience. At this young I understood conservation as having a clean environment, properly taking care of animals, and planting trees.
An image of some of the animal species in Nairobi National Park.
However, as I grew up, this perspective changed since my understanding of conservation and protected areas also broadened. At the university level, I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Community Development. Fortunately, the school had an Environmental club – Kenyatta University Environmental Club (KUNEC) that provided opportunities to engage in different projects and activities. For instance, through KUNEC I got the opportunity to take part in a clean-up activity organized by the Kenya Wildlife Service in the Rongai area surrounding the park. Another activity relating to the park that I engaged in is the march to end the illegal poaching and trafficking of various wildlife species. The march started from the National Museums to the Nairobi National Parked with the main agenda being #NoMarketNoTrade.
Preparation of a clean-up activity around Nairobi National Park.
The Role of Communities
A park within a city is fascinating, right? However, its location exposes it to numerous challenges that need the intervention of both scientific and indigenous knowledge. One might think that innovations or technologies are enough to help in the conservation and protection of protected areas, thus alleviating these challenges. Some of these challenges include human-wildlife conflicts, infrastructural developments and the interference of migratory corridors.
Does the local community play a role in adding to these challenges or reducing them? First of all, what comes to mind when you think of a community? I believe we all form part of a community. A community can either be a group of people in the same geographic area (communities of place) or a group of individuals who have the same interests at heart (communities of interest). For instance, Environmental organizations or groups are part of a community of interest that advocates for sustainable environmental practices. Youth and women’s groups are also part of a community.
The Maasai community are globally known for residing near game or national parks and for their dress and customs. The Maasai as a community has interacted with Nairobi National Park for generations; this does not rule out practices like killing of the lions by the initiations of the Moran that were not harming the species. However, after conservation education and awareness creation on the need to conserve and protect the biodiversity that the Maasai are richly endowed with, the Maasai community came to realize the shortcoming of their traditional practices and have been working hard to change the narrative and to find better ways of initiating their moral warriors. This points out how community involvement is significant because if they would have been sidelined conservation efforts would be dwarfed. It would have led to poaching, deforestation, and the extinction of lion species in the park.
Some Maasai Warriors in Nairobi National Park.
We need to ask ourselves questions like, how did they coexist with the wild even before the Park was fenced (Fortress conservation)? Can we borrow from some of their best practices and incorporate them into conservation policies, technological advancement and activities? It is very exciting just to think of what can be achieved when the current scientific knowledge is incorporated with the indigenous knowledge of the Maasai group.
Ideally, fortress conservation is guided by the notion that in order to protect and conserve biodiversity and land, ecosystems ought to function in seclusion away from human interference. Moreover, it involves driving the local inhabitants away from forests and vast lands in an attempt to promote conservation. My understanding of this concept is that indigenous groups or local communities like the Maasai are not trusted to take care of their lands and the biodiversity in them. But how did they interact with nature for generations?
It should be acknowledged that the Maasai and many other local and indigenous communities have a better understanding of how to manage their own environments better than any of us. A few weeks ago, it was reported that the Maasai were facing eviction from Loliondo in Tanzania to pave the way for a game reserve- another fortress conservation model. In my opinion FORTRESS CONSERVATION DOES NOT ENTIRELY WORK! Humans and wildlife should not be treated as different units, but rather, the local communities need to be involved in all aspects of conservation. In this case, the Maasai community should be given the opportunity to make us aware of how effectively and efficiently they have lived harmoniously with nature. Conservationists and the KWS need to borrow and incorporate indigenous knowledge from the best practices of the Maasai community.
It is important to borrow and incorporate the indigenous Maasai Knowledge in the conservation and protection of Nairobi National Park because it will help in identifying indicators that measure the present state of ecosystem services, biodiversity and cultural wellbeing. It will also help in establishing different approaches to galvanize various management assessments to reverse the decline in biodiversity. Also, indigenous knowledge will contribute to setting targets to meet recovery rates.
For instance, to help in solving the challenge of human-wildlife conflict, we can borrow traditional knowledge and practices from the Maasai, such as understanding their traditional grazing patterns. Understanding the grazing patterns will shed light on the relationship the community had with wildlife, thus reducing the cases of human-wildlife conflicts. We have had cases of lions roaming in nearby towns, such as Rongai or elephants destroying crops on farms. The outcome is never pleasant since either individuals or the animals might end up being harmed or killed. Understanding how the Maasai related to wildlife will help in developing a human-wildlife relationship that mutually benefits both parties.
Also, we can borrow their indigenous knowledge of traditional medicines. The Maasai have knowledge about medicinal plants. I have seen some of them walking around selling their herbal medicines, which they get from plants. The Maasai community only sources enough products from the plants such as tree bark. I am impressed that they never cut down trees; rather, they would give the trees time to heal. It is time the tables turn in conservation awareness creation. The Maasai should be given the opportunity to educate us on their traditional methods that advocate for the conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainability. There is so much we can learn from their customs and traditions. Therefore, I strongly believe that the Maasai community should not be excluded from the conservation and protection of Nairobi National Park.
The park area was originally their land, and they know how they initially interacted with wildlife and nature at large until today. We are only outsiders incorporating our conservation models and policies on the park’s conservation. But it is the time! It is time the Indigenous Maasai knowledge is also appreciated in protecting and conserving the park. Merging their traditional Knowledge and our scientific knowledge effectively and efficiently might be the beginning of the best results yet to be discovered.
Action plan
The Indigenous Maasai Knowledge should be appreciated and incorporated into the conservation of the Nairobi National Park.
New park strategies should be developed to assist where Fortress conservation is failing.
The members of the Maasai Community should be included in every planning and decision-making that involves the park.
Land is a resource that is continuously in high demand. For this reason, the local communities residing near the parks might be tempted to sell huge parts of their land to outsiders. The result of this is that the structures built might interfere with the dispersal areas and migratory corridors for migrating wild animals. To curb this, the government should offer incentives to the local community landowners or even set aside some of the earnings from the park for them.
The Kenya Wildlife Services is most of the time-pressured by government institutions to set up structures in the park. A recent structure is the standard gauge railway line (SGR). It fuels the conflict between conservationists and economists. Proper policies should be put in place to prohibit developments in protected areas.
More conservation awareness campaigns should be promoted not only to the local communities but also to individuals residing near the park.
Conservation should not involve separating humans from animals. As individuals, organizations, youth groups, women groups, and institutions we should come together and work inclusively towards the protection and conservation of protected areas. As the late Professor Wangari Maathai once said, “Once you work in civil society, you know. I’m very conscious of the fact that you can’t do it alone. It’s teamwork. When you do it alone, you run the risk that when you are no longer there, nobody else will do it.”
About
My name is Mitchell Okuto, and I am a member of KEAN. I am an environmentalist and a Community developer. I am enthusiastic about protecting and conserving our environment through sustainable practices. I love engaging with my peers in advocating for various campaigns concerning issues in the environment, such as climate change, ending single-use plastics, the importance of conservation, or any campaign that is environmentally related.