African countries urge government to reverse land transfer to developer

Yala Swamp in Alego Usonga, Siaya. [File]

Conservation organisations from over 20 African countries have written to the Kenyan government to reverse a decision to allocate 6,700 hectares of Yala Swamp to a private agricultural company.

The agencies affiliated to BirdLife International said Yala Swamp, Kenya's largest freshwater wetland, is under threat due to the allocation.

"The decision to give away part of Yala Swamp is problematic because over 250,000 people living within its vicinity directly depend on it for livelihoods," the organisations said in a joint statement signed by Sheku Kamara, chair of the BirdLife Africa Partnership council.

The 25 conservation bodies are drawn from Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Senegal.

They warned that while the private developer, Lake Agro Limited, is utilising the land for sugarcane farming, the crop is not compatible with other land uses and part of it covers land that is designated as an indigenous and community conservation area.