THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

an effort to regulate biodiversity. This has in most cases increased tension between the
government and the communities. Mbugua illustrated this using the Taita-Taveta
communities. He mentioned that even before independence, 62% of their land was classified
as public land and placed under Kenya Wildlife Services for administration. This translated
into 2,604,186.9 acres of land for which the people of Taita-Taveta earn nothing, yet land is a
crucial factor of production in the development of communities ranging from agricultural
development to shelter as well as environmental growth. This has increased tension between
the government and the communities who live adjacent to the parks. 498
At present, Kenya has several inconsistent Acts of Parliament relating to the governing of
land. This continues to be a major hindrance to the development of community land and
inevitably affects issues regarding ownership of biological diversity. The argument to make
here is that since ownership translates into responsibility, it espouses biodiversity protection.
However, in cases where responsibility is suspect, biodiversity stability is put in a situation of
double jeopardy. 499
At a more regional level, there are cases of collective action to regulate the use of
biodiversity, primarily by banning incidents which lead to destruction of existing biodiversity
enclaves. In Kakamega for instance, there have been reinvigorated efforts to revive the Nyayo
Tea zones, a kind of forest buffer zone management system introduced in the post
independence years to protect the forest fringes. This kind of management system does not
only act as a boundary to prevent community encroachment on forest biodiversity, but it also
helps to control negative externalities such as fires to the forest.
It was found that the Nyayo Tea Zones Corporation was established through Legal Notice No.
285 of 1986 under the State Corporations Act. Its main objectives are to protect indigenous
forests currently threatened by human encroachment and over exploitation thereby
contributing to global environmental and biodiversity conservation. The other reason was to
provide an alternative source of earnings through employment in the intensively managed
Nyayo Tea and fuel wood plantations and lastly to develop rural infrastructure through the
construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. The Nyayo Tea Zones were established in
gazetted Forest Reserves. Out of approximately 6,154 hectares of forested areas that were
cleared for the tea zones, an estimated 4,000 hectares are currently under tea. These
plantations are being maintained with local communities through a non-resident shamba
system, whereby young trees are intercropped with vegetables and other food crops. 500
Another issue of concern here is the over abstraction of water tapped from the springs of
Kakamega forest. The Water from these springs is tapped far beyond the recommended two
thirds levels. The Water Act recommends that water extraction should not go beyond the
498
Mbugua, N. 1999. Getting to Terms with Wildlife Conflict with Man. Sunday Nations Special Reports.
499
Key Informant Interview with Mr. Mirambo, DistrictForest Extension Officer, Kakamega. 24 July 2006
500
MENR. 1994b. The Kenya National Environment Action Plan (NEAP). Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources: Nairobi.Government Printer.
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