- Mau Forest is one of the largest forests in East Africa, and the most important water catchment in western Kenya, providing water for millions of people.
- Mau is also home to a plethora of wildlife, including endangered species such as African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana), African golden cats (Caracal aurata) and bongo antelopes (Tragelaphus eurycerus).
- But Mau lost some 25% of its tree cover between 1984 and 2020, and satellites show continuing loss.
- The primary drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion, including slash-and-burn farming for cattle grazing and crop cultivation.
Encompassing some 2,700 square kilometers, Mau Forest is considered the most important water catchment in western Kenya, providing water to millions of people. But recent satellite data reveal that Mau is continuing to lose its water-giving forest cover.
Most of Mau Forest is encompassed by a complex of around a dozen protected areas. However, despite formal protections, Mau lost around 25% of its tree cover due to human pressure between 1984 and 2020, according to forest monitoring groups.
Satellite data from Global Forest Watch (GFW) show forest loss dropped dramatically in 2021 and 2022 before shooting back up in 2023. Preliminary GFW data and imagery indicate parts of Mau Forest have been experiencing another major bout of deforestation in 2024.
Clearing activity this year appears to be concentrated in the northern Mau forest reserves of Northern Tinderet, Tinderet and Mount Londiani, as well as in Olpusimoru Forest Reserve in southern Mau.
Mountain forests play a critical role in capturing and recycling water, and tree loss disrupts local climate patterns. Reduced rainfall and drying rivers are already affecting crop yields in the surrounding communities, according to local residents. Daniel Koros, a resident of Olpusimoru, told Mongabay in 2022 that once-predictable rainfall had become sporadic, hurting local farmers.
In addition to regulating the regional climate, Mau Forest provides important habitat to endangered species such as the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and the bongo antelope (Tragelaphus eurycerus), as well as many rare plants and birds.
The primary drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion, including slash-and-burn farming for cattle grazing and crop cultivation. Fires are commonly used to clear land, contributing up to 14% of annual forest loss between 2012 and 2017, according to research by geospatial data analyst Stefanie Mehlich.
“The Mau Forest region is one of many examples where protection status does not guarantee protection of the forest ecosystem, prevention of excessive resource extraction, or illegal human activity,” Mehlich wrote in 2023.
But the definition of “illegal human activity” in Mau is complicated, and the solution contentious. Indigenous Ogiek communities inhabit portions of the Mau Forest, and in 2017 won a court case that recognized their rights to their ancestral land in Mau Forest, according to previous Mongabay coverage.
However, the Kenya Forest Service maintained the ruling did not extend to agriculture or house-building, and in 2023 began demolishing Ogiek structures located within Mau.
“They have been burning houses and food stores, which is really frustrating, especially during such a rainy season,” Daniel Kobei, executive director of the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP), told Mongabay during a phone interview in 2023. “We estimate the losses currently at 50 million shillings [$330,000]. It is a humanitarian crisis.”
Meanwhile, government officials said that they we doing what they had to in order to protect the forest, and that the Ogieks’ rights as an Indigenous group did not give them carte blanche.
“The aim of flushing people out of the forest is to restore and rehabilitate the forest,” Rift Valley regional commissioner Abdi Hassan told Mongabay in 2023. “Does Indigenous mean they have to interfere with biodiversity? They are farming, building homes, leasing land — activities which do not define them as hunters and gatherers.”
Efforts to combat forest loss in Mau include initiatives by local organizations like the Paran Women Group and Bamboo Junction, which are engaging in reforestation, education and poverty-reduction efforts.
“Poverty in this area is driving deforestation, but we are trying to educate the community on the dangers of cutting trees,” Wilfred Sanlam, a Community Forest Association official and conservationist who works with Bamboo Junction, told Mongabay in 2022. “[Bamboo Junction’s] tree nursery is one of the projects that will help us reverse the damage.”
Those familiar with the situation said that more action is urgently needed to protect what remains of Mau.
“Mau Forest is an important ecosystem, and continued degradation will affect millions of people who depend on it for water,” Collins Keter, a local leader of the community of Olenguruone, told Mongabay in 2022 “Our rich biodiversity is also at stake if this shrinking continues.”
Banner image:African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) cross a river. Image by Geoff Gallice via Wikimedia Commons (CC 2.0).
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