The Auditor-General has warned about threats to Amboseli and the Lake Nakuru wildlife parks if ongoing destruction and encroachment is not stopped.
Capped by Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, the Amboseli National Game Reserve is one of Kenya’s most popular parks. It is also one of the best in the continent to view large herds of elephants up close.
Lake Nakuru National Park is situated on the floor of the Great Rift Valley and surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland. It is renowned for bird watching, hiking, picnic and game drives.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu says the continuity of the National Park and its viability is under threat.
“The existence and viability of the Amboseli National Park depend on the three zones being intact and the land use remaining unchanged. However, recent developments on the buffer and the transition zones of the park endanger its viability and existence,” Ms Gathungu said.
She said community ranches have been subdivided and land use has changed from natural livestock grazing and wildlife dispersal area to farming.
“Lands that have been converted to farmlands have also been fenced out hence blocking animals’ natural migratory routes and feeding grounds,” Ms Gathungu said in an audit of the Kenya Wildlife Service books of accounts for the year to June 2020.
She added that the destruction of the Lake Nakuru National Park ecosystem has reduced the feeding ground for animals.
“Audit inspection carried out … revealed that nearly half of the park was submerged by water. The size of the land is therefore shrinking,” Ms Gathungu said in a report to Parliament.
She said important park infrastructure such as park headquarters offices, the gate to the park and sections of the park roads had also been submerged by the lake.
“Under these circumstances, the park faces uncertainty of existence and sustainability,” Ms Gathungu said.
The audit comes barely days after the Ministry of Lands commenced a survey around Lake Naivasha to establish its boundary.
The one-month exercise that will be carried out by the Department of Survey is meant to demarcate the lake’s boundary at 1,892.8m Above Sea Level (ASL).
The State move comes at a time when private institutions and unscrupulous traders have encroached on riparian lands in the last couple of years.
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