Save Amboseli
Open Letter to the His Excellency,
The Rt. Hon. Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya.
Mr President:
Your recent decision and the issuing of Legal
Notice No. 120 by the Hon. Minister for Tourism and Wildlife,
seeking to degazette Amboseli National Park has brought the
future of Kenya's wildlife heritage to a cross-roads. As such
it is a matter of great national and international concern.
Kenya is recognized the world over as a country
that places a high priority on the protection of wildlife
and the natural environment. Amboseli itself is a United Nations
(UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Reserve, which should encourage
the highest possible national commitment to man and the environment.
Kenya's international reputation and commitment to environmental
protection are seriously jeopardized by your decision.
Amboseli is one of Kenya's most important wildlife
assets, generating essential income for the Kenya Wildlife
Service that enables the survival of numerous less well-known
and economically impoverished but biodiversity rich National
Parks. Degazetting Amboseli removes this source of income,
endangering the survival of other Parks.
While we fully recognize the importance of encouraging
the involvement of local communities in wildlife conservation
and the need for those communities to benefit from their participation,
we do not believe that the downgrading of Amboseli National
Park to a National Reserve is necessary to achieve that objective.
Revenue sharing and community participation in the development
of management plans can contribute to the success of a 21st
Century National Park.
Degazetting Amboseli sets a most unwelcome and
potentially catastrophic precedent that could lead to the
disintegration of Kenya's much envied National Parks system
and ultimately the loss of not only Kenya's natural heritage
but, along with it, Kenya's wildlife tourism appeal which
accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs and which contributes
almost $1 billion dollars annually to the Kenyan economy.
Finally, it would appear that degazetting Amboseli
in this way is illegal under the termsof the Wildlife Act.
Mr President, this decision and the way that
it has been enforced is unjust and, for the reasons set out
above, threatens the future of Kenya's wildlife and the very
fabric of Kenyan society. We strongly urge you to repeal this
decision.
We remain most respectfully
The undersigned
Born Free Foundation Kenya, Youth for Conservation
Kenya, East African Wild Life Society, David Sheldrick Wildlife
Trust, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Pwani
Environmental Resources Alliance (PERA), Animal Defenders
International (UK), Animals Asia Foundation (Hong Kong), Born
Free Foundation UK, Born Free USA, Care for the Wild International
(UK), Cetacean Society International (USA), Co-Habitat (UK),
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (UK), EIA (UK), Friends
of Elephant/Vrienden van de Olifant (Netherlands), Humane
Society International, Humane Society of the United States
(USA), IPPL (USA), IWC (International Wildlife Coalition)
(Canada), Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA) (Cameroon), League
Against Cruel Sports (UK), One Voice (France), Pan African
Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), Prowildlife (Germany), Rainforest
Concern (UK), RSPCA (UK), Society for the Conservation of
Marine Mammals (Germany) and African Ele-Fund