Ngong Forest

Category: Ngong Forest | Date: Mar 27 2009 | By: ngongforest

During our patrols, we have noted there is another form of tree destruction taking place. It involves removal of tree bark for medicinal value. Some parts of the forest are not affected but the problem seems to be in the forest part adjacent to Kibera slum. Everyday we have to get two to three trees completely debarked.

a ranger showing a debarked tree

Formerly herbalists were allowed to debark medicinal tree (were issued with permits and were always accompanied by rangers), currently, there has been increased debarking by illegal herbalists. According to our views we suggest that the people who debark trees have a booming business in the slum and that is why they come daily to fetch it. Effort to trace them has been fruitless. You can imagine how many trees die per a year as a result careless debarking.

a dead debarked tree

We have noted two major species of trees are the targeted since they are highly valued to cure many ailments. They are:
1. Local name: Muthiga
English: African green Heart
Scientific name: Warbugia ugadensis

2. Local Name: Mutanga
Scientific Name: Elaedendron buchananii.

This two species are endangered in Ngong forest, efforts to replant them were strained by effects of maasai cattle that were allowed to graze in the forest due to draught.
By Nicholas Akach
Akach.nicholsa388@gmail.com

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Mar 13 2009 | By: ngongforest

It is in our line of duty to man the education centre and its premises during the night. every little noise at night is ominous .Today at around 3.45Am i heard something like a knock on the back door,i alerted my other colleagues and we tip toed towards the glass made door.

we crossed the auditorium careful not to make any noise,i opened the door leading to the back reception as Moses,one of the Kenya Forest Service guard held his gun in readyness for attack,suddenly i saw him lowering his gun with a wide smile on his face, it was a leopard staring at us!i could not beleive it,just a distance of 3 meters from where we were standing,the glass door separated us!

Ngong forest is a habitat for a list of wildlife species, however,cat are rarely seen especially like leopards who hunt during the night.there is usuallly a cross over of species in the neighbouring favourable enviroments like Nairobi National park and Ololua forest which form part of the large ecosystem.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Mar 11 2009 | By: ngongforest

Forest is an important resource, but different people will view it differently:

Some thugs view the forest as either a temporary hidding place/shelter or as a valid source for their products- the tree loggers, (The proximity of Ngong forest to the capital city and its location in the midst of the poor slum habitats and on the other side one of the rich estates-Karen).This makes it a prerequisite to be in the company of our rangers and any other armed security officers ( arrangements are made for this at our main entrance-main gate) whenever there is an event in the forest, we call upon the Kenya police and Kenya Forest service for assitance in terms of security.

Recently, i heard someone cutting a tree using a panga just a some meters from our main gate and with my walkie talkie,i marched to look out,i was in civilian, reason being that i had washed my one and only pair of uniform. i managed to arrest the logger and as we were walking to the Main gate i spotted a police squad ahead,they had been laying ambuish. we were ordered to surrender at a gun point, and before introducing myself as a forest ranger and the fact that i was doing my duty , we had already been arrested!infact the police refered to me as the “wanted”.

luckly, the exit route was through the main gate, my colleagues at the main gate saved me, as they confirmed me as one of them.it is at this point the police explained that they were looking for a group of gangsters who had fled into the forest.

should i have had another pair of uniform, for sure i would have escaped this incident.

A pair of a complete uniform costs approximately $ 242 US dollars. the last purchase of the already worn out uniforms that we are currently using was in 2005. and since the Trust is currently financially stressed, we are appealling for your donation towards purchase of new uniforms,these will go a long way in ensuring that our rangers are fully uniformed as they engage in their daily tasks.

a ranger in full attire

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Mar 04 2009 | By: ngongforest

illegal hunting has been one of the major threats in the forest. This morning, in our normal patrols,we came across one of the uncommon occurances,a sykes monkey trapped in a snare!

A trapped monkey

Ranger George who had accompanied me held the monkey down with a stick as i tried to untie the wire around its waist, the wire was too strong therefore we had to use a pliers to cut. its rather risky,as the monkey tried to attack me and also the cry from other member of its troop who kept a stone throw distance.

Ranger Karanja cuting the snare using a plier

its no doubt that the few forest faunas are in danger too,recently a desnaring exercise organized by Born Free and Wildlife Clubs of Kenya in Ngong forest, a total of 300 snares were found in a 4 days operation,100 of which were active, the rest were inactive.

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Category: Ngong Forest | Date: Mar 02 2009 | By: ngongforest

Ngong forest,like any other natural setting has suffered from exploitation. To minimize the rate of exploitaion in 2003, an electric fence was erected to cover a total of 600ha which is now the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary.

Not all measures will work as expected, even with this high voltage fence, enemies of conservation will still find their way in!

One of our camps, Hillcrest camp, due to limited number of rangers, only one of the rangers was located at this point,he evacated due to increased threats by thugs.our rangers are not armed and also the introduction of the Nairobi Southern bypass that cut across the sanctuary opening access to the forest thus increased insecurity cases.

The fence controll unit in Hillcrest camp that was located inside a container (these are residential units for the rangers)was stolen,this included:energizers ,batteries and solar panels rendering the fence powerless and prone to damagers.

have a look at this,

This is the point where the energizer and batteries were located inside a “container” at the Hillcrest camp

t

a similar complete and funtional controll unit at the main gate

the “container” remains which are chipped off by thugs including the solar panels that were located at the roof.

potion of the fence where there is no current flow,the forest intruders use this as the entry point including huge herds of maasai cattle.

after cutting the wire its coiled together and ready to be carried by thugs

As a result,an approximate a length of 5km of the fence is unfunctional since it was served by the controll unit in Hillcrest camp.

Having the 23km perimeter fence functional is our aim,we are able to maintain the 18km already functional ,but currently we are financially constrained and we can not meet the urgent need to maintain the remaining unfunctional 5km fence ,we are therefore appealing for your help, to aid in revival of the hillcrest camp and to have the system powered again.

Nothing will initiate a smile on our face, than to see your response to help protect this adorable resource.

Thank you.

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