Helen Byron is a regular contributor to this blog, here she gives us the latest on her work to save the Tana River Delta in Kenya.
I’ve got a unique job working closely with some of our BirdLife International Partners on their campaigns to save their special places. Our aim is always constructive engagement with developers and decision-makers to get workable solutions. But sadly this isn’t always possible, so some of the work is simply outright battling against crazy developments. The camaraderie with my BirdLife colleagues as we work shoulder to shoulder in these battles is immense, as is the passion I feel for the amazing places we are striving to save.
Tana River Delta is right up there at the top of my list of places we must save and secure a more sustainable future. Over the last four years I’ve been so privileged to work alongside my talented Nature Kenya colleagues Serah Munguti and Paul Matiku in their endeavours to safeguard this remarkable place.
The campaign has had many twists and turns and ups and downs. Back in 2008 it looked like Tana River Delta was doomed to imminent destruction from a deluge of large agriculture proposals. Fantastically this has not happened and, as you’ll know from previous posts, we are delighted to be supporting the strategic planning process for the Delta which has now started. Next week the Secretariat leading the planning and Strategic Environmental Assessment process are travelling to the Delta for a series of stakeholder meetings – things are really progressing.
But sadly it’s not all good news. There is still a live permission for a 10,000 ha biofuel project and the Canadian developer Bedford Biofuels is progressing activities on the ground. Valuable habitats have already been damaged.
We strongly believe that this permission must be cancelled. The Kenyan authorities have acknowledged irregularities in the way it was granted and we think it jeopardises the strategic planning process by proceeding before this is settled. In addition, by jumping the gun it fails to take account of which areas are suitable for which types of development and which should be safeguarded for biodiversity. And it’s not just us – many of the local communities also oppose the project.
And here’s Please help us urge the Kenyan Government to rethink and cancel the permission. It will only take a few minutes to email the Kenyan Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to tell him what you think – and here’s how.
We know from Nature Kenya that these emails really do make a difference. So thank you in advance if you can make time to do this!
Helen will keep us updated.
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