Endangered bird species facing extinction due frequent forest fires in Taita Taveta

Environmentalists have raised a red flag over the rising forest fires in Taita Hills forests, warning that the trend is negatively impacting negatively on wildlife conservationists’ efforts.

They said that the affected forests are water towers and habitats for some critically endangered wildlife and plant species.

Some of the affected forests are also being encroached on and cleared for cultivation, besides being turned into a theatre of perennial fires to trigger rains.

Over the weekend, hundreds of acres of vegetation were devastated after a fierce fire swept across the Vuria, Iyale, and Mwamburwa forests that serve as key water towers of the county and habitat to the critically endangered Taita Apalis, Taita Thrush, and Taita White-Eye, whose populations have been declining at an alarming rate due to illegal human activities.

The two forests are among the 44 devolved woodlands and are being managed by the county government. The National Government, through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), only manages 24 local forests.

Yesterday, the County Forest Officer (CFO) Sylvester Mwang'ombe noted critically endangered bird species are facing extinction due to frequent fire outbreaks being caused by local farmers.

The CFO confirmed that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the outbreak of fire at Vuria Forest that devastated vegetation for three days.

At Mwambirwa Forest, measuring about 400 hectares, forest poachers indiscriminately cut down eucalyptus tree species and later burnt down the important bird area to conceal evidence.

The suspects poached tonnes of timber from the forest and fled, revealed Mwang’ombe, as efforts to contain the fire intensified yesterday.

Mwangombe said the community forest associations (CFAs) are reluctant because they are not being facilitated.

He said his department has no vehicles or forest rangers to effectively monitor the devolved forests and has constantly been depending on the KFS personnel.

“We have been depending on begged transport and KFS personnel to help us contain the fire. We need our own transport and rangers to effectively deal with frequent forest fires,” stated the CFO.

“We are still assessing the extent of the damage caused by the fire, but reports from the ground have described it as extensive and devastating,” he told The Standard.

Mwang’ombe said local farmers have been causing the fires in Taita Hills, which are the major water tower and habitat for endangered wildlife and plants.

He warned that security personnel are alert and will not allow anybody carrying machetes, matchboxes, and dogs to enter the local forests to destroy property. 

“We will also not allow locals to collect firewood in state forests, and anyone found violating environmental protection laws will be dealt with accordingly,” warned Mwang’ombe.

The fires come at a time when the forest cover in the region continues to reduce at an alarming rate.” The current forest cover stands at less than 4 per cent, and we are losing it at an alarming rate. We are also encouraging farmers to grow trees in the devolved forestry functions where destruction has been going on. Uncontrolled human activities are also to blame for the loss of biodiversity conservation in the region,” noted the CFO.

At the same time, farmers have been setting fires in the belief that the outdated cultural practice will induce rainfall.

In a long-held tradition, desperate farmers in the region have been engaging in an orgy of destruction of forests by setting them on fire in the belief that smoke billowing in the sky will induce rainfall.

This practice has persisted unabatedly, especially during the dry spells when rains are delayed, though it's been dismissed as a mere myth.

“The cultural belief has been working for the community, and it should not be ignored. When the fires are set, it will not take two weeks before it rains,” says Mzee Ben Mwangala in Voi Sub-County, who believes in the myth.

Wundanyi Location Chief Elijah Kimbichi and Taita Sub-County Administrator Anne Mwatika said they have embarked on sensitisation education forums to discourage local farmers from discarding outdated cultural beliefs that have no place in modern Kenya.

Similar fires have been reported in ranches and community private conservancies in the region in recent weeks, raising concerns about the devastating impact.