Proposal
Nakuru residents have opposed a proposal to transfer the management of Amboseli National Park to Kajiado County. They indicated that the proposed transfer if effected would downgrade the park’s legal status as a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot.
The Ministry of Tourism has invited comments and submissions of memoranda from members of the public and stakeholders on the proposed transfer.
The advisory committee on the transfer of Amboseli National Park led by Ms Rachael Wanjiku that held a public participation forum at the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner’s plenary hall in Nakuru was informed by members of the public that other parks, including Maasai Mara, which were transferred to devolved units have performed dismally due to poor management, staff lacking in skills to handle wildlife and lack of capacity from the administration managing them.
Residents told the committee that the Amboseli National Park is a national natural asset that should benefit the whole country and not a few communities. Baharini Residents Association Chairman Mr Morris Otieno expressed concern that the transfer might reverse the conservation that has been maintained by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the community.
Mr Otieno stated that Kajiado County Council did not have expertise, resources and staff to maintain infrastructure, including roads and bridges inside the park, connected to other natural parks.
He said that the park should remain under stewardship of KWS, which has the capacity to manage and secure wild animals and natural heritage and reiterated that transferring it to the county government of Kajiado will interfere with the ecosystem.
John Kuria, a conservator and hotelier, said that the transfer would affect the movement of wild animals from Mara to Amboseli and Tsavo West, observing that the county government did not have the capacity to manage the park. In August 2023, President William Ruto made the proposal to return the management of the park to the county government of Kajiado.
Mr Kuria further indicated that KWS has the technology and manpower, which include wildlife trackers for the wildlife, which the devolved unit did not have adding that handing it over will interfere with the proper wildlife practices upheld by KWS officers.
The conservationist pleaded that the national park be retained at national government level to offer recreation and employment to all, and attract international tourists. Kuria argued that changing the park’s management could be detrimental to wildlife, the environment and Kenya’s reputation internationally.
“The transfer will compromise conservation efforts, set a negative precedent and erode trust with development partners,” he said. Kuria petitioned the national government to re-evaluate the decision and prioritize the long-term well-being of Amboseli and Kenya’s conservation efforts.
He indicated transferring responsibility of managing national parks to counties with limited expertise will lead to mismanagement and endanger wildlife populations. He said instead, KWS should be able to manage wildlife in all national parks and work out a fair revenue-sharing formula with counties and host communities.
“We have already started witnessing counties that are wildlife flashpoints making demands to take over the management of national parks. If Amboseli is relegated to a reserve to be operated by Kajiado County, what will stop all other counties from demanding the same treatment?” Mr Kuria posed.
Johnson Ndegwa, also a hotelier said handover of such resources to county governments sounded a death knell to national parks and the death of Kenya Wildlife Service and would signal the end of Kenya’s pride as a global wildlife conservator.
The proposal, he noted, will have irreversible negative consequences both to the wildlife and local communities who depend on livestock grazing and tourism revenue generated by healthy wildlife. Mr Ndegwa suggested a revenue-sharing deal between the national and county governments to enhance adequate incentives to communities.
Amboseli National Park is a globally recognized Key Biodiversity Area. It is a crucial conservation system linking Chyulu Hills National Park. Conservationists have argued that downgrading Amboseli National Park could dismantle the strong legal protection that is essential for its survival as a Key Biodiversity Area.
Amboseli ecosystem supports a web of migratory corridors and dispersal areas connecting the Amboseli National Park with adjacent group ranches and neighbouring conservation areas like Chyulu Hills, Tsavo West and Kilimanjaro West in Tanzania.
These corridors include the Amboseli National Park-Olgulului South-Kitenden-Kilimanjaro corridor. The corridor facilitates movement between the montane forests of Kilimanjaro and Amboseli National Park, Amboseli-Kimana-Kuku-Chyulu West corridor, Amboseli-Olgulului North-Selengei corridor, Amboseli-Olgulului North-Mbirikani corridor.
Mr Kariuki Muraya, a tour operator noted that Amboseli currently faces threats like subdivision of surrounding lands and that County management of the park will exacerbate the issues, harming the park’s ecosystem, which might lose its ecosystem support services.
Their views contradict those of Kajiado leaders, led by Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, a staunch supporter of Amboseli takeover. Mr Lenku insists that Amboseli will be in safe hands under the management of the county government. “It was a masterstroke for the President to allow the transfer on condition that the community cede land to open up blocked wildlife corridors,” he said.
Wanjiku, the committee chairperson, assured the public that their views would be considered and the committee would advise the President accordingly.