Mount Kenya Trust

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Apr 21 2009 | By: mountkenya

The current economic and political climate means there is more pressure on Mount Kenya than usual. We are facing escalating levels of logging and poaching and we are now fighting a rising tide of problems which have been further exacerbated by the drought. Although the rains have finally arrived, fires have been raging on Mount Kenya and failing crops in surrounding shambas mean that people are turning to the forests for survival. Reports of more snared young elephants, buffalo, eland and other species keep coming in and phone calls about fires and tree felling are coming in on a daily basis. More than ever the Trust needs the means to help the communities and keep the forests and wildlife safe. We help the communities by putting up fencing to prevent elephants trampling their crops and we give them advice on alternative sources of income and fuel. We are working with women’s groups and community based organisations to help them grow and sell trees. We need to keep up the pace of our work despite the setbacks and the global economic situation, it is vital we fight harder until times are better. The good news is that we finally have enough pledges to deploy the Joint Wildlife Protection Team. This has taken a long time to materialize but it is better late than never. We are grateful to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife for making this possible at a time when donor support is difficult to source. With more help we can secure the lives and welfare of more people and animals in the future.  

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