Conservationists raise alarm over plan to relocate animal orphanage

The planned relocation of the 63-year-old Nairobi Animal Orphanage to a new site is drawing sharp criticism from conservationists.

Inconsistencies in the project’s reports have raised fear it could expose the park to a land grab.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the project seeks to move and upgrade the orphanage from its current cramped five-acre site to a larger, modern facility aimed at improving animal welfare and easing congestion.

The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) issued a licence for the development opposite the Bomas of Kenya in December last year.

This is not the first time President William Ruto’s government has pushed for controversial projects within protected forests. Another project President in the Karura Forest has raised alarm owing to the opaque nature, as conservationists fight for the indigenous forests.

The latest initiative has been marred by serious inconsistencies, a lack of transparency and concerns that it is serving as a cover for larger commercial interests linked to the controversial Bomas International Convention Centre.

Project documents contain conflicting information on the scale of the development. While parts of the Environmental Impact Assessment report mention an 18-acre site, others refer to 64 acres.

Initial proposals indicated that up to 99 acres of the national park would be affected, including a 76.6-acre core area, a 22-acre ecological corridor to the Nairobi Safari Walk, a 10-kilometre electric perimeter fence, and a 700-metre predator-proof barrier.

Parking lot

Conservation groups argue that a 10km fence could enclose as much as 1,500 acres — far more land than needed for an animal orphanage alone. Particular concern has centred on plans for a 1,300-vehicle parking lot, which critics say greatly exceeds the needs of the orphanage and appears designed primarily to serve visitors to the new Bomas International Convention Centre.

“The relocation of the orphanage is clearly an excuse to build a parking facility that will primarily serve the new Bomas International Convention Centre,” said Friends of Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP).

Clearing work reportedly began on March 21, in what FoNNaP describes as a sensitive upland forest zone. The group says tree-felling and bush clearing have already displaced lions, rhinos, Maasai giraffes and other wildlife while destroying vital habitat.

Sharon Sitienei, programmes director at FoNNaP, warned that the works contradict the park’s management plan, which designates the area as a low-use zone intended to remain largely undisturbed to protect endangered species and maintain ecological connectivity.

The Green Belt Movement has described the project as “not merely a development decision but an existential threat to one of Kenya’s most iconic ecological treasures.”

Advocacy Manager Job Mwangi questioned the logic of sacrificing protected forest for parking and access roads. “Conservation areas are not idle land banks waiting for construction,” he said.

The controversy is heightened by separate concerns surrounding the Bomas International Convention Centre itself. Auditor General Nancy Gathungu recently flagged the Sh41.9 billion project as irregular, citing unauthorised procurement and use of public funds.

Critics also point to the opaque nature of the BICC project, including the unavailability of its EIA report to the public.

Conservation groups are now calling for the immediate suspension of all clearing and construction within the national park, full public disclosure of all documents and an independent review to ensure compliance with the park’s management plan.

They are also urging the government to explore alternative sites outside protected areas. This latest row comes as a similar battle continues in Karura Forest, where court orders have temporarily halted government development plans at Rangers Village following strong opposition from conservationists.

Tree nursery

Conservationists warn that the incremental chipping away of protected green spaces through such projects threatens to irreversibly erode Kenya’s remaining forests, wildlife habitats and ecological heritage. The uproar over the erosion of the forest comes after another development project was started by the government at Rangers Village inside Karura Forest.

The government announced plans to clear three acres of the forest to set up a tree nursery to plant two million seedlings and a logistical hub to accommodate National Youth Service personnel who are set to man the nursery. The development drew resistance from conservation groups led by the Friends of Karura.

Already, the court has issued an order halting development in Karura until a final decision is made.

“The Government earlier indicated it had withdrawn plans to house National Youth Service personnel inside Karura, but with no formal confirmation.”

“Karura’s long-term management plan, developed jointly by Friends of Karura and Kenya Forest Service, is clear that Rangers Village should not be developed and instead restored to an indigenous forest,” reads a statement by the group.