Nature Kenya purchases 1000 acres of land for in-situ conservation of endangered birds and mammals

Land purchased will be converted to a nature reserve for conservation of the Clarke’s Weaver bird which is only found in Kilifi County, as well as other rare coastal animals. It will also protect water sources and fragile soil.

At a time when the United Nations warns that the loss of biodiversity threatens our common future, Nature Kenya – the East Africa Natural History Society – has purchased some land to counter this loss. The land will become a nature reserve to conserve the forest, seasonal wetlands, and wildlife threatened with extinction. 

Nature Kenya recently purchased 1,000 acres in Dakatcha Woodland north of Malindi in Kilifi County. It will help to conserve a bird species – the Clarke's Weaver – that lives only in Kilifi County – nowhere else in the world. The purchase will protect one of the bird’s known nesting sites. Clarke’s Weaver is considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

Clarke’s Weavers have only been seen in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and in Dakatcha Woodland, where they nest. They are usually seen in small flocks, feeding on insects in the forest. They consume large numbers of insects. The birds have a small and fragmented range, as their forest habitat is being cleared for cultivation or to make charcoal.

The acquisition of the 1,000 acres is seen as a first and critical step towards giving Dakatcha Woodland some form of formal protection. The land was acquired with support from the World Land Trust, resolve and African Bird Club. It will be designated as a nature reserve. 

Located in Magarini sub-county, Dakatcha Woodland is recognized nationally and internationally as a site of immense importance for biodiversity. Dakatcha Woodland is designated as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), containing a mix of special forests, seasonal wetlands, eroded sand depressions, farmlands, and homesteads. The forest of spreading trees called Mrihi (Brachystegia spiciformis) is the most northern Brachystegia forest in Africa. It protects water sources and the fragile, sandy soil as well as biodiversity.

Dakatcha Woodland is home to several rare coastal birds and mammals. Two other Endangered bird species, Sokoke Pipit and Sokoke Scops Owl, are found here. The Golden-rumped Sengi (Elephant-shrew), a globally threatened mammal found only at the Coast, lives here too. More than 220 kinds of birds can be seen in Dakatcha, including the spectacular Fischer’s Turaco and international migratory birds such as Eurasian Rollers, Eurasian Golden Orioles, Nightingales and Spotted Flycatchers.

 There are more than eleven rare plant species in Dakatcha, including the tree Warburgia stuhlmannii, a shrub Pavetta linearifolia, the succulent Monadenium invenustum and an orchid Eulophia serrata.

 Uncontrolled logging and illegal charcoal production have destroyed large tracts of forest vegetation and wildlife habitat, posing a major threat to birds, water sources and the fragile soil. Encroachment for agricultural expansion, especially pineapple production, has led to the clearing of Cynometra forests, important for the conservation of several rare birds and mammals. With no formal protection status, Dakatcha Woodland’s remarkable biodiversity faces a serious threat from over-exploitation of resources.

Buying land is a new initiative by Nature Kenya to conserve rare and endangered species. The Society recently leased 17 acres of private forest fragments in Taita Hills and is in the process of acquiring a further 30 acres to increase the habitat of the Taita Apalis, a Critically Endangered bird species found only in the Taita Hills forests. On the Kinangop Plateau, Nature Kenya acquired 178 acres of private land to protect the natural tussock grassland that is the home of Sharpe's Longclaw, another bird species found only in Kenya.