Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Kenya

the distinction between nature and culture (Deisser 2015). For many
communities and individuals, the boundary is ambiguous. In fact, conserving
natural heritage may imply to conserve cultural heritage, and
vice versa. This holistic approach is often applied in knowledge systems
embedded in the cultural traditions of local communities, such as ‘traditional
knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), traditional ecological
knowledge (TEK) and the new and emerging technologies’. These
knowledge classifications generally refer to the accumulated experience
and know-​how that people in a given community have developed
over time.
The examples also show that an increase in population impacts
cultural heritage and natural heritage in similar ways, especially in the
case of the Kayas. The same can be said of the impact of LAPSSET on the
fragile ecosystem and the equally susceptible indigenous Swahili cultures.
Policymakers tend to see more direct benefits in the conservation
of nature, where a higher level of activism is apparent than in cultural
conservation. Even in cases where the two are inextricably linked, there
are concerted attempts to separate them as distinct issues that should
be handled differently, at the risk of breaching extant instruments, thus
abusing human rights.
A case in point is the separation of two corruption cases on
gazetted heritage presented to the Public Investment Committee (PIC
2012), which concluded that the gazetted Ojijo cultural property,
which was threatened at the time, should be de-​gazetted while the
Karura Forest property retained its gazette status. It is also important
to note that private ownership of title deeds of the individuals involved
in Karura forest case were revoked while Ojijo cultural property owners
retained their titles, though they had been acquired corruptly (PIC
2009, 2012). Ojijo cultural property remains a major political issue
to date and to the dismay of conservators. This blatant breach of the
sanctity of cultural properties emanated from a misconception among
the top lawmakers in the nation that economic progress overrides all
other forms of human ambitions. It is also informed by poor appreciation
of cultural heritage in the community. This study highlights that
the two forms of heritage need urgent protection through proper use
of domestic and international instruments which the country is signatory
to. The constitution is clear on the issue of culture and nature but
the level of sensitization is low. Communities need to be sensitized on
the access to culture as a human right and ultimately on the access to
its conservation.
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Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Kenya