The Maasai Mau Forest covers 46,278 hectares, and is located some 17 kilometers north of Narok Town, near the world famous Maasai Mara National Reserve. It is part of the larger Mau Forest Complex, Kenya’s largest forest block and East Africa’s largest single block of closed canopy indigenous forest.
Once pristine, Maasai Mau has become the target of unfortunate land allocations, which have resulted in massive destruction. By February 2005, when an aerial survey was conducted resulting in the publication of the Maasai Mau Forest Status Report, the western part was heavily destroyed. At that time, the forest was being actively cleared with smoke billowing above the forest canopy.
In 2005, the government took action against further destruction of the forest, evicting nearly 10,000 people from the affected area. The controversial evictions, reported to be unnecessarily brutal, resulted in a court case instituted against the government that now stops it from taking further action, including further action against people who are returning to the forest and carving out new plots.
A visit in September 2007 by the KFWG and journalists from the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation recorded intensive farming, timber sawing and charcoal burning. Those interviewed said they had bought the land and will not leave unless the Government compensates them and offers alternative land.
The illegal sale of the forest land by unscrupulous persons is the genesis of the problem. While most of the forests in the Mau Forest Complex have been gazetted and are managed by the Kenya Forest Service (former Forest Department), the Maasai Mau Forest is Trust Land, managed by the County Council of Narok (NCC), which also manages the Maasai Mara National Reserve. In 1999, the Council gave consent to surrounding group ranches (owned communally) to be subdivided and sold to members. After consent was issued, government officers, politicians, private surveyors and influential people increased the sizes of the group ranches far in excess of their registered areas. The additional land in the forest was then sold to unsuspecting outsiders who had no information about the forest. Most of them say they sold their farms at their original homes and used the money to buy land in the forest.
The government had agreed to offer alternative land to people who had title deeds to their forest plots. That exercise never took place. Further promises have been made by a variety of politicians and officials.
Now deeply suspicious of these promises, the evictees would rather stay put in the forest, unless a solution is provided. Meanwhile, the forest continues to suffer.
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Apr 29th Theresa S USD 50.00
9 Comments
Thank you for the report. That´s really bad news!! I wonder if nobody can do something to stop all this…
Maybe if some international organizations like WWF knows about this problem… Do you did tried to make this of the knowledge of organizations like WWF or IUCN? maybe they could help to stop the destruction of the Mau Forest. Please keep us updated on this situation…
Thanks for your comment. Yes the issue is widely known. Its important to note that only one side of the forest is affected where the sale occurred. This is what needs to be sorted out – resettlement of genuine title deed holders as promised by government, forest boundary demarcation for the entire forest and rehabilitation. We will keep you updated on developments there.
Thank you very much for your answer, I look forward to know much more about this situation. Please let me know how do I can help! I hope all the problems on Mau Forest could be resolved as soon as possible…
We have to conserve Mau since it supports the livelihoods of many east africans. Let us do away wiht the political manipulations and face realities. It us who can save tyhis important heritage. We have listened enough to politics! Lets mobilise the communities to realize the importance og this important resource.
Everything in Kenya seems to have been infested by the political fever that seems to be eating up all the developments in this country. That is the main reason why everything yet to be solved by a politician wiil go through a beam balance to check the effect it will have on somebody’s political future. The Mau forest issue is therefore a case that could be solved by an independent commission clear of any political interference.
All efforts must be made to save the Mau Forest and those who have illegally encroached removed. The rich have acquired land there and need no help in settling elsewhere but the poor should be moved to alternative lan, once the genuine ones have been identified
The only way to save Mau Forest is to save people by compensating them their Title Deeds.
it is so sad to see mau destroyed yet it is the water catchment area of the mau river which supports biodiversity and human life at the maasai mara all those who have encroached land should be evicted and given alternative land.
The mau issue will not rest unless those duped to buy forest land are fully compensated and alternative land is provided,and those living around the forest are incorporated into planting trees and encouraged to practice shamba system.