NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 – The Taskforce on wildlife corridor connectivity between Nairobi National Park and Athi Kapiti plains has proposed a 15-kilometre wildlife corridor involving stretches of land, fencing, bridges, tunnels, anti-predator lights, predator-proof bomas and other measures.
These include compensation to be negotiated between government entities.
This comes after the taskforce established that the Nairobi National park risks collapsing if the government fails to urgently reopen and secure wildlife migration corridors connecting it to the Athi Kapiti plains.
“The need for the government to save Nairobi National Park is urgent. Critical decisions and actions are required, and fast,” the task for report reads.
The task force said the dispersal areas for wild animals in the park are extremely threatened by isolation, infrastructural development, human settlement and fencing leading to a limited gene pool and eventually extinction of species.
“The lack of land use, planning and zoning has edged out wildlife from much of the ecosystem, resulting in closure of historical corridors and conversion of dispersal areas for other conservation-incompatible uses,” it warned.
The nine-member task force formed in August 2020 by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala to establish permanent migration corridors between the park and Athi Kapiti plains estimated minimum cost is Sh663 million for land to be used for bridges and tunnels.
“The attendant long-term benefits of wildlife conservation and reduced human-wildlife conflicts are worth the investment,” the task force said.
The task force had been given 60 days to undertake their mandate before furnishing the CS with an interim report in seven days. Their term was extended for another 60 days from December 9.
The report has since been approved, waiting for implementation.
The park is one of the few urban but wild national parks in the world that provides immense services and income as a unique City-based wildlife ecosystem with more than 100 mammal species, more than a dozen different reptiles, over 400 permanent and migratory bird species.
