Nairobi — Plans by the Kenya government to build a second port and a refinery in Lamu have put the country on the horns of a dilemma: They could see the island dropped from the World Heritage List, losing out on the funding Unesco provides for the maintenance of the 12th century houses on the island.

Conservationists now want consultations and joint co-ordination with the government before the plan kicks off.

Lamu Old Town -- the oldest surviving Swahili town in Kenya, dating back to the 12th century and a famous educational centre for Swahili and Islamic culture -- was included in the World Heritage List in 2001 because of its outstanding universal value to humanity.

But now a series of planned projects like the port, a refinery, a railway line, a pipeline and an airport, will not only interfere with the delicate ecological system, but also erode the strong Islamic and Swahili culture that attracts visitors to the archipelago.

These plans, meant to enhance Kenya's position as the economic hub of the region and open a trade route to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan have caused much excitement in the archipelago, where unemployment is rising and fish stocks are dwindling.

For instance, while the director-general of the National Museums of Kenya Dr Farah Idle supports the proposed development projects to alleviate poverty in the region, he maintains that there must be consultations between the government and the conservationists to ensure that Lamu Old Town and Manda Skyline retain their authentic historical value.

"We are yet to be contacted by the government for our opinion on conservation, but we are sending an appeal that the project should not change Lamu's image as a World Heritage Site. Definitely, the influx of foreign investors will change the face of Lamu and erode its uniqueness," said Dr Idle

Lamu could face the same fate as the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany, which was recently removed from The World Heritage List when the committee meeting in Seville, Spain, decided that the town could no longer retain its position of outstanding universal value because the authorities are currently constructing a four-lane bridge in the heart of the unique landscape.

It was the second time a site was removed from the list since the Convention Concerning for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by Unesco in 1972.

The first site to be removed was Oman's Arabian Oryx Antelope Sanctuary after the country decided to reduce the size of the protected area by 90 per cent, causing a drastic decline in the antelope population.

Dr Fumiko Ohinata, the programme specialist in culture at the Unesco office in Nairobi, told The EastAfrican that it is the responsibility of individual countries to ensure that listed sites under their jurisdiction are conserved to the required standards.

She said Lamu has an outstanding universal value to humanity.

However, Unesco will not interfere in the plans to build a port in Lamu because it is a national issue that requires the contribution of all the stakeholders.

Apart from the proposed Lamu port on Manda Bay, the government plans to construct a refinery at Magogoni in Pate Island, whose history goes back over 700 years.

Pate is the largest of the Lamu islands in terms of historical sites. It was originally occupied in the 7th century by Arab traders.

Pate is also home to the Shanga Ruins, Chinese traders from Shanghai settled in the town. Pate is mostly low-lying and almost surrounded by mangrove swamps, but remains an enchanting place to tourists and history scholars.

The Lamu archipelago -- which includes the islands of Lamu, Manda, Pate and the mainland -- has depended on tourism, fishing and harvesting and export of mangrove trees since 1978. But the government recently imposed a ban on the mass harvesting of mangrove, while the fish stocks are dwindling and the tourism industry has been hit by the global financial crisis.

It is these circumstances that have seen the locals welcome the huge investment albeit with a degree of caution.

The advantage of opening up a major port in Lamu is that the waters are 18 metres deep compared with the 13 metres at the Mombasa port.

With that depth, the work would require minimal dredging. Secondly, the open sea would allow many ships to dock as opposed to Mombasa, whose location in a creek can only allow a ship at a time.

The port project -- expected to begin early next year-- will also serve as a trade corridor from Lamu to Juba in Southern Sudan after a standard gauge rail-track is constructed.

Several investors, from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, the US, China and India have expressed willingness to finance the project. The project is included in Kenya's Vision 2030.

Prof Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany, a renowned Swahili scholar, said that if constructed, the Lamu port will "bring development to our people who have been starved of major investment since independence."

"All these years, the Coastal people have been told to wait for the coconut to fall from the tree, and they are content with being clerks and casual labourers. But we are tired; we can't go on like that," he said.

However, Prof Nabhany is concerned that the Lamu culture is already under attack from external influence.

He categorises the tourists who visit Lamu into three groups: There are professionals who visit Lamu for educational tours and benefit the locals by buying curios and artifacts for study; there are retirees who come to relax in Lamu and spend money boosting local tourism. But some of them target young girls, which is contrary to the Lamu culture. The worst are the backpackers, who don't stay in hotels but sleep outside, and are known for introducing the youth to drugs.

Even though the port will create much needed employment for Lamu people, there are concerns that qualified people from outside the district might be favoured over the locals for top jobs. Very few local above the age of 50 went to school.

Still, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, the Director of Sites and Monuments in Kenya, maintains that the Lamu archipelago is a fragile heritage area and NMK would like the government to ensure that all the development is done on the mainland with Lamu Old Town, Manda Island and Pate Island zoned off as heritage areas.

"It is a question of balancing heritage and the economy. We would not want economic development at the detriment of the heritage we have taken care of for a long time. The culture of Lamu and its social cohesion are what put it on the World Heritage List. If that is lost, then Lamu will have no universal value," said Dr Mzalendo.