28 July 2009
Nairobi — Kenya's tourism, energy and agriculture sectors may be irreparably damaged unless the Mau destruction is reversed.
The United Nations Environmental Programme recently put the nature-based assets exposed to decimation at $300 million ( Sh24 billion).
That may not include the loss arising from heavy capital outlay in the likes of the Sondu Miriu electricity project commissioned by President Kibaki recently.
The project, seen as a critical cushion against costly thermal power generation is expected to generate 60 mega watts. But its viability is in doubt in view of the destructive economic activities upstream.
Apart from energy projects, tourism has been suffering heavily as rivers originating from the Mau sustain important lakes in Rift Valley.
For instance, Lake Natron, fed by River Ewaso Ng'iro, is the breeding ground for flamingoes that are the main attraction at Lake Nakuru.
The Mau Complex sustains the world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve, the most visited in Kenya. The reserve generates around Sh1 billion a year.
A substantial amount of this is from the wildebeest migration across River Mara, now threatened with extinction.
Ironically, a 1988 study titled "Maasai Mau National Reserve: Proposed Development Plan" had envisaged huge synergies between Lake Nakuru and Mau Forest in tourism.
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