Grassroots conservation groups sound alarm ion widespread Biodiversity destruction

Mangrove reforestation.[File Standard]

Grassroots conservation groups working across Kenya’s Key Biodiversity Areas have warned of widespread degradation of critical ecosystems, driven by aggressive infrastructure expansion, industrial agriculture, and commercial encroachment.

The coalition of 30 Site Support Groups across 26 major Key Biodiversity Areas stated that economic projects are increasingly being prioritised over long-term water security, local economies, and climate resilience. They attributed the ongoing decline to weak law enforcement and the deliberate exclusion of host communities from environmental decision-making processes.

The members met during the annual Site Support Groups workshop in Nairobi.

“The biggest challenge with these projects is that public participation has just become a rubber stamp for the process to go on. Community views are barely captured, and that is why these projects keep sprouting within delicate ecosystems,” Agnes Jilo, and SSG member from Arabuko-Sokoke forest, said.

Deliberate moves to exclude community voices in critical areas to pay way for developments, the members said, have led to a surge in activities encroaching into major water towers and sites that host rare species.

“In Upper Imenti Forest, a critical water tower for the Tana and Ewaso Nyiro rivers, construction has commenced on a proposed airstrip, golf course, and state lodge inside the protected reserve. At Lake Elementaita, high-voltage power transmission lines cutting across the site continue to cause the electrocution of hundreds of migratory birds, including endangered vultures and flamingos.” David Musya, one of the Site Support Group members from Mumoni, said.

Along the coast, the members warned that land grabbing claims and uncontrolled tourism developments threaten sensitive estuaries.

At the Sabaki Estuary, the local Site Support Group has already petitioned state agencies following an Environment and Land Court ruling involving a disputed parcel in Mambrui. The group warned that private claims over historical river channels and floodplains threaten vital mangrove forests, fisheries, and migratory bird habitats. Similar commercial developments and hotel construction at Mida Creek continue to choke coastal ecosystems, leaving communities vulnerable to sea-level rise.

In the Lake Victoria Basin, commercial sugarcane and rice farming, the conservation groups say, continue to drain the Yala Swamp, destroying its natural water-filtration capabilities. They also raised concerns over a proposed nuclear power plant in Siaya, which groups argue threatens Lake Victoria’s freshwater ecosystem and regional food security.

The groups emphasised that these ecosystems directly sustain millions of livelihoods and drive local economies through sustainable enterprises.

They demanded the immediate revocation of commercial and infrastructure licenses in sensitive sites, a complete halt to illegal construction in wetlands and forests, and an immediate halt to the Siaya nuclear project pending independent socio-environmental assessments conducted with grassroots community consent.

The statement by the Site Support Groups comes a few months after a status report on Key Biodiversity Areas warned of the mounting threats across all 58 KBAs that were analysed.

The report, by Nature Kenya, had warned that conservation efforts struggle to keep pace with rapid degradation, with only five sites remaining in favourable condition, while the majority, 31 sites, are now ranked as unfavourable.

Among the most distressed are the Busia grasslands, Kianyaga and Mukurweini valleys and Sio Port swamp.

“The four sites are not protected; they face a very high level of human activities. These unprotected, privately-owned sites face intense pressure from land conversion,” the report notes.

Dandora ponds, Kwenia, Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Marenji Forest, and Masinga reservoir are the only five sites that topped the list of stability.

The report also highlighted a widening rift between national development and environmental preservation. Large-scale infrastructure projects, including the proposed Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway and a proposed nuclear plant in Kilifi, are increasingly encroaching on sensitive habitats like Mida Creek.

Mining is also an emerging concern. While extraction has yet to begin, prospecting for limestone in Chasimba, titanium in the Tana River Delta and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, and rare earth minerals at Mrima Hill is intensifying. This industrial push, the report warns, is pushing ecosystems to the brink.

Further complicating the survival of these sites, the report cited that climate change is altering weather patterns and triggering prolonged droughts that disrupt species migration. Major changes have been recorded within the Rift Valley lakes.

The report warned that critical habitats are being sacrificed for agricultural expansion, most notably in Yala Swamp, where large-scale irrigation projects are threatening the wetland’s ecological integrity. Land conversion in the Kinangop Highlands, where grasslands are being replaced by woodlots, is also flagged as a growing threat alongside the growing crisis caused by pesticide runoff, leading to toxic bio-accumulation in Lake Nakuru.

Despite the mounting threats, the report documents critical conservation wins. Forest fires have decreased in the Taita Hills, the Aberdares, and Mount Kenya. In the Dakatcha Woodlands, seasonal wetlands supported a successful breeding season for the rare Kilifi Weaver, with 850 individuals recorded in 2024.

The Status and Trends report also revealed the stability of some rare bird species, such as the Taita Apalis population, which are only found in the Taita Hills.

Besides being critical sources of water, key biodiversity areas play a role in climate regulation. They also support agriculture, tourism, energy, and public health.

Every year, the status of the sites is assessed to evaluate their condition while identifying prevailing threats and reviewing conservation responses.