Karura forest hosts the first ever G4S cross country challenge

Forest Ranger Wilson Mwangi who won the 9km event appreciates applause from the crowd after receiving his award

One of the young participants who took part in the race

The Head of Conservancy for Nairobi Mrs. Charity Munyasia addressing the Marathoners after the race

Karura Forest played host to a unique cross country championship organized by private security group G4S Kenya in partnership with Friends of Karura (FKF) on 30^th July. The challenge saw over 600 participants take part in five, nine and 16 km races inside the forest in what is billed as one of the most enchanting races in the world. Joel Melly and Pauline Waruguru won the men and women 16 kilometers races with the winning times of 47:60 minutes and 59:49 minutes respectively.

In the men’s 9km race, Kenya Forest Service’s very own Wilson Mwangi won with 29 minutes and 59 seconds beating Jeremiah Maina at second place. Japan-based Lucy Kabuu, the 2006 Commonwealth 10,000 winner clocked 32:55 to win the women’s 9km race. The 5km race saw Peter Mwangi and Hellen Wanjiku win for both men and women respectively. Winners of 16km received a cash reward of Kshs50, 000 each with the winners of 9km bagging Kshs25, 000 each.

More than 15 corporate teams participated among them, Access Kenya, Tribe hotel, Lucozade, EABL, Magnate Ventures, Fairview hotel, Mathare Youth Association, Kenya Shell and British High Commission which entered a team and contributed Kshs 250,000 towards the Karura conservation efforts. AON Minet also contributed Kshs 100,000 and entered a team of 10 participants.

Apart from organizing the race in partnership with Friends of Karura Forest to raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts, G4S has also offered to provide professional risk management services worth Kshs3.4million. They are also targeting Kshs20 million to be used to improve various infrastructures in the forest.

Speaking at the ceremony Head of Nairobi Forest Conservancy Ms Charity Munyasia thanked the organizers for participating in the inaugural Karura Forest Marathon that will now be an annual event.  Also present was the Kenya Tourism Board chairman Mr. Michael Joseph, Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi and the Chairperson Friends of Karura  Ms Alice Macaire among other dignitaries. 

Article by Carolyne Kahuria

VMPP Presentation to Marakwet Stakeholders

The consultant Margaret Ombai explaining the objectives of the VMPP to the Cheregwen/Sengwer community.

The Project Manager for NRM Mr Yakhama Inganji addressing the stakeholders during the workshop

 
The final presentation of Vulnerable and Marginalized People’s Plan (VMPP) took place recently at Cherengany Forest Station in Mt Elgon. The participatory plan consultant of Natural Resource Management (NRM) Mrs. Margaret Ombai of Tacitus Ltd made her final presentation to the Marakwet stakeholders after several consultations with the communities about management of forest and water reserves. The Project Manager of NRM, Mr Yakhama Inganji, accompanied by the Zonal Forest Manager for Marakwet Mr. Alfred Nyaswabu, the Cheregwany/Sengwer Community Chairman, Mr. R. Tekeroi and the Vice-Chairman, Mr. Paul Kibor were also present during the presentation.

In his speech Mr. Inganji reminded the communities that the work of the committee is to act as a bridge between the people and Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in ensuring that the agreement reached on VMPP is realized. The mandate of NRM will be to ensure that the Vulnerable Marginalized Groups (VMGs) of Marakwet West and East receive culturally appropriate social and economic benefits like training of farmers, beekeeping and ecotourism among other benefits. The plan will also stipulate ways on how to deal with potential adversaries on indigenous people. On his part, Mr Nyaswabu urged the communities to stop criminal activities like logging of trees if they want to benefit from the project that is meant to upgrade their livelihoods.

Article by Maureen Amenya

Misitu goes to the Nairobi Railways Golf Club

The 8^th round of Misitu Golf Challenge took place on Saturday, 30 July 2011 at Kenya Railway Golf club. There were 73 golfers who participated and the overall winner was Mr. N. Abbas with 44points while  the non-member winner was Mr. J. Ongubo with 36points.

Corporate Communications Officer  for KFS Ms. Anne Kaari while speaking on spoke Director during the prize giving session thanked the  Kenya Railways Golf Club members and other players for their participation in the tournament and  support towards realizing a 10% forest cover. The Captain of the club Mr. M Mbugua reiterated that they will continue partnering with KFS for the common objective promoting forestry through golf.

Article by Maureen Amenya

KFS participates in South Eastern ASK show

The South Eastern ASK Show just ended in Machakos having ran from 31^st June to 2^nd July 2011. Kenya Forest Service (KFS) zonal offices in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni joined forces to ensure an outstanding display of the KFS functions. On Display were models of the three KFS programmes namely Plantation Development, Natural Forest Conservation, and Forest Extension Services. Participatory Forest Management (PFM) was also on display with various Community Forest Associations (CFA) show casing their activities which included bee keeping, brick making and energy saving technologies.

Eco-tourism development in KFS was greatly emphasized. Community members from Makueni displayed forest products from neem, Moringa among other products. The famous Wamunyu Wood carvers were not left behind, same as the Matungulu based Community tree nursery that deals with Clonal Eucalyptus. Efficient Charcoal production technology was also on display with the presence of the drum and Meko kilns from Kitui. People dealing with medicinal Herbs from various tree species were present too.

KFS competed in four categories that saw it awarded First Prize for The Best Large Trade Stand, Third Prize for the Best Stand Exhibiting Information Technology and Documentation and another Third Prize for the Best Agro Based Statutory Board Stand. These was indeed the best ever performance in Machakos show.

 Article by Anne Kaari

Ten million people at risk as East Africa faces worst drought in 60 years

The latest famine in Somalia has put a spotlight on the urgent need to develop national and regional drought policies, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which are jointly leading the international action to address the growing impact of droughts.

Drought is expected to continue in hard-hit southern Somalia during August and September, as well as parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, according to the latest WMO Climate Outlook Forum for the region, which provides regional climate forecasts. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) already called for preparedness for an ongoing long period of drought over parts of the equatorial region in its climate update for the Greater Horn of Africa on 15 January 2011.

Droughts have become more common over the past two decades. This is consistent with reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stating that the world has become more drought-prone over the last 25 years, and will see an increased frequency of droughts in the future.

“Droughts do not happen overnight,” said Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), responding to the declaration of famine by the United Nations earlier this month. “The UNCCD joins the calls on the international community to respond urgently to this crisis.

At the same time, we stress the need for effective, long-term solutions to the root causes of famine in drought-prone regions, such as implementation of drought management systems and measures to stop desertification, which means land degradation in drylands.”

“We are moving forward quickly to provide integrated drought information to help decision-makers deal with drought, such as the one underway right now in East Africa,” said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization. “Drought is a serious and growing problem in many countries. Adaptation to drought, desertification and climate change urgently needs to be mainstreamed in national development policies.”

Mr Gnacadja visited Mr Jarraud at WMO earlier this month to discuss cooperation between the two organizations, following the UN declaration of famine for two provinces in southern Somalia on 13 July 2011. The two organizations have a long-standing partnership. Most recently they have championed the use of the Standard Precipitation Index, as a universal meteorological drought index to improve monitoring and climate risk management among countries.

“It’s high time for UN joint action on droughts,” said Mr Jarraud. “We need more coordinated action for monitoring and early warning systems that deliver timely information to decision-makers; improved impact assessment procedures; pro-active risk management measures and preparedness plans; and stronger emergency response programmes.”

WMO is working with its scientific network to offer the best policy advice available on drought management. A WMO international meeting on national drought policies, hosted by George Mason University (USA) on 14-15 July 2011, outlined steps for countries to learn from each other to reduce drought risks. WMO is compiling a “best-practices” compendium to help countries move rapidly to develop their own national drought policies appropriate to their local conditions.

As part of this process, WMO and UNCCD will lead international discussions in November to build integrated drought information systems. To this end, the two organizations, along with Morocco’s national meteorological service and the US National Integrated Drought Information System, are organizing an international symposium in Casablanca, Morocco from 9 to 11 November 2011.

Source: www.unccd.int

KFS participates in Kakamega ASK Show

The Kenya Forest Service once again participated in this years’ Kakamega ASK Show which was held at the Kakamega show ground from 23^rd to 25^th June 2011. The Service which entered three classes for judging namely; best government stand, theme interpretation and best medium trade stand scooped the 2^nd best medium trade stand award.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the Assistant Minister for Agriculture Hon. Gideon Ndambuki stressed the need for farmers in the province to set aside ten per cent of their farms for tree planting as one way of conserving the environment and reducing pressure on forests. 

Article by Mercy Ogolla