The Milgis Trust

Category: De-brazza Monkeys, Eco-tourism, Livestock, Matthews range, Water holes, elephants | Date: Jul 08 2009 | By: milgistrust

Why?…. I suppose its because there are more people on the world??….. IE More trying to live off less… In Northern Kenya we can expect a pretty bad drought every ten years, but its worse each time… And this time its no exception… I’ve just come back from another beautiful safari in the Matthews, we climbed to the top, but we could not avoid seeing the people and animals enduring hard times…. And doing more damage just to stay alive… As in the pictures below…

Two valuable trees cut down for hungry livestock to try to keep them alive… But then what will they eat tomorrow?… We have so much work to do on this issue..

During our safari we saw plenty of Elephants, but every time one could not but think … Where is the nearest water?, for this beautiful herd of Elephants… Most of the wells we came across are over 20 feet deep, not even a chance for them, but we found flowing mountain water, thanks to the beautiful forest above on the slopes of the Matthews range, in the Ngare Narok Lugga, where the De Brazza monkeys frequent.. Indeed two herds of Elephants came into drink, at the same time, just behind our camp, plenty of trumpeting went on, which made our little camp with the camels all hobbled abit restless!!..

Huge tree in the Matthews range… Strangler fig, growing up a Newtonia..

Below is a positive note from a geologist who comes out to Kenya a lot… and he seems to be giving us some bright news!

Lets look at the forecasts at the Climate Prediction Centre and the
International Research Institute for Climate and Society. We are
currently moving into an El Nino year, slightly anomalous sea-surface
temperatures in the W Pacific, the El Nino/Southern Oscillation is
coupled with the Indian Ocean Dipole that influences E African
rainfall. They are not yet sure about the strength of the El Nino if
it comes later this year. El Nino means more intense short (oct-nov)
rains for most parts of E Africa. The prediction maps do not show any
difference in the rains from other years except for Oct-November where
there is a 40% probability of heavier rains in this time of the year.
Well, get an umbrella soon!!!

Our Milgis Trust website has been updated, If any of you have got time to read whats going on, it out lines all our plans and goals…

Finally a little note on how Pete is doing!! Hes walking!!… But the Doctor is still working on getting all the dead tissue, killed by the Snakes poison, out of his foot… What a palaver… but hes in good spirits, and looking forward to getting back to the bush…

One response so far

Category: Grevy's Zebra, Matthews range, Water holes, elephants | Date: May 05 2009 | By: milgistrust

Yes I have not been blogging lately, as if I use too much energy writing I will chase off those clouds…[ not a good excuse but feasible?? also I have been away!] and one just keeps on thinking it will rain and then we can talk about good news rather than bad… But no…. not yet… Yes there has been the odd sporadic storm, and of course this is helping the very worrying situation because luckily the people are still nomadic…People with their livestock and wildlife are moving from here to there, to keep themselves, alive… Thank goodness they still are nomadic, and the land has not been divided up, and fenced… But the situation is quite grave, as far as water for the wildlife is concerned… In 20 years, since I have been in this region, we have never got to May, and not had a huge flood or 20 down the big luggas, Laana Nikan, Parsaloi… Milgis.. We keep hoping, that because they, [the rains], are late, that it will come with vengeance!! … The other evening, while the scouts were opening up the well below Elkanto for the Elephants to use during the night, they suddenly saw a group of eight elephants, who were thirsty, and were not going to wait for the night… Every one scattered, and they moved in to drink…The site of a hot thirsty herd of Elephants taking a long cool drink is extremely satisfying, especially when you’ve spent the after noon digging!! This was the managers comment!!… It has been hard work keeping the wells for the Elephants as they do tend to destroy them every night… Not their fault they are so big!!…

Little snippets of news… The mini matriarch Lesanju, our first elephant that was rescued out of a well, and taken by helicopter to DSWT back in October 2006, has been taken to Voi, on her path back to freedom…We are delighted with this news!!.. The little Elephant mentioned in my last blog is also doing well, which is such great news considering the well water was very deep, but we keep our fingers crossed for her… Last week we had another young elephant about two years old, that was deserted by its herd down at the same place as the last one was rescued.. It was still alive, desperately thin, when the scout arrived, sadly it died before our team could get there…… We do not know if its mother was poached or he was sick..

The Grevy Zebra are in trouble again, to the west of the base, with another disease outbreak in the donkeys, the main symptom being constipation, they have found one Grevy dead so far.. One more bit of bad news, and almost can’t bear to bring this up, as so far we have not been part of this, but the bush meat trade has reared its ugly head in the area, with the scouts reporting, dikdiks, and guinea fowl being killed and sold in the towns, and missionaries buying warthog meat… This is not the first time we have heard of the missionaries involved in killing and eating wildlife…!! ?? YES, Im afraid so..

One response so far

Category: Conservation Awareness, Forest Fires, Matthews range, Milgis lugga, Ndoto Mountains, Samburu | Date: Apr 03 2009 | By: milgistrust

I gather the fires burning in Kenya one week ago became world news… I have never seen any thing like it… We heard on the news that the Mau forest, and Mt Longonot, where burning and we witnessed the terrible fires on Mt Kenya… Too awful, and then I fly up to the Milgis and this is what we were greeted with… A complete frenzy of fires all over, from the Matthews right across to the Ndotos… This tends to happen at this time of the year, just before the rains..Its some how related to the fact that they think that the smoke makes clouds, and looking at the fire in the Ndotos it looks as though it could be possible! but NO rain to be seen!!

The beginning of a fire down on the Milgis Lugga.. Although it looks ferocious, luckily it burnt out before it did too much damage to the all important Tortilis trees, further up stream..

The same fire gaining momentum… the main trees to be burnt were Tamarix……. not so important as a food tree, although, the goats can feed on it when there is not much else, and the Elephants chew on the roots… The big advantage is the cover for hundreds of different animals… Bush pig, warthogs, civets, caracals, genets, mongooses… etc to name a few

Massive fire on the southern flank of Upe peak, of the Ndotos… Re burning an area that had a desperate fire a few years ago and I showed you the results of in my recent blog on the klipspringer being caught out… I’m afraid I also have to give the very sad news that it died after a month…

On the 25th March we flew up to the Milgis with two women representing VOSS, to hand over the ‘WATER’ to the Latakwen community… It was quite a party and will give you the news in my next Blog… Also present was Stella, who will be introducing herself to you soon! BUT the celebrations were marred by people burning the forests, an embarrassment to all… This led to the following meeting which is yet another attempt at stopping the slow ‘eating’ away of their recourses… You note I say THEIR… Yes these guys are cutting their own throats by burning, and yet they continue???? The Original Samburu fought long and hard to keep these mountains as their land, why are the men of today not respecting their ancestors who saw the value of them… Really what has happened…

As a result below is a report from Moses Lesoloyia… The Milgis Trust Manager..

The meeting took place on 31/3/2009 at Mpelengos. the meeting was attended by elders from Nkare Narok 12, Ngwe entome 23, Latakweny 23, Sererit 3.. Milgis Trust scouts 10, chief 1, councillor 1 and KWS rangers from Latakwen at the beginning..

The meeting was chaired by the councillor from the Ndoto ward who asked elders from each of these areas to talk and say what thoughts they have on the fires and whether they are willing to stop burning or should the burning continue??. Each group talked against burning and all agreed that they are ready to stop burning. the councillor asked the elders to tell what methods and punishments are there traditionally to deal with those who burn the forest. the following methods were mentioned;

1. cursing by elders

2. banishment from the area

3. fining

4. taking their wife away ( even if it is children or women all the blame goes to the man, he should have told them about it.)

5.being refused to graze in other areas.

The councillor asked the elders to decide on which methods to use to stop this menace. The elders agreed that one or more of the methods can be applied together. The elders said that because the people are becoming stubborn they will use cursing and fining. They will put a fine of 5000 and goats for the elders when they meet to discuss the perpetrators. The number of goats depend on the number of elders who meet. …18 men were identified to have burnt the forests and were to bring this money which will be used to pay bursary for school children. The councillor promised to present the issue during their full council meeting and bring councillors from Nkare narok and Nairimirimo. He will inform us of the dates so that we can organise for a meeting and the plan according to the situation by then.

The elders cursed whoever will burn the forests again and the message seems to have gone through as there has not been any fires except for one on Ndoto that evening and one at Ndonyo nasipa yesterday, maybe the message hadn’t reached them yet… We sent two scouts, grants Gazelle and lesser kudu to ndonyo nasipa to find out what happened.

3 responses so far

Category: Desert warthog, Grevy's Zebra, Matthews range, Water holes, Wild Dog, elephants | Date: Mar 31 2009 | By: milgistrust

Just wish we had our dam project up and running, but thank goodness this morning there are exciting clouds billowing over the Matthews Range.. Finally we REALLY hope for rain throughout.. All I am getting news of, is wild animals desperately in need of water… Just to mention a few of the problems…. Two young Grevy Zebras died trying to get to water, on the east side of the Ndotos… And many more animals falling into wells, and not being able to get out .. On the lower Milgis a big elephant spent the night battling to get out, which it did luckily as we did not enjoy the thought of having a repeat of the one in September! Elephant in desperate situation is saved…. PHEW!!! I have added some pictures on the blog which you may like to see….. Another very pregnant Elephant that was going down a very steep path having drunk in the Langata Nanyuki to the south of the Ndotos, slipped down the rocks and landed badly, her front legs were under her body, all her weight was on her neck, and she could not get up… She died before the scouts could find help.. A warthog, which died sadly but two wild dogs where pulled out of a well in Nairimirimo, and released I am happy to tell you… Unfortunately we have got no further with our investigations on our wild dog that was tied up for two days, and supposedly taken by KWS?? [See my last blog] I’m afraid the plot is thickening, and please be patient, we are determined to find out what is going on… But have discovered that there is a trade in wild dogs, going to markets where rich people want these beautiful animals as pets!!..Which explains why we have heard of people looking for puppies… Going back to our ‘poor’ dog… It sounds like she was pregnant, somebody who tried to get a job with us a few years ago, with a letter from the KWS, [ who knows how genuine] suggesting we took him on to look after the wild dogs!!, He made the phone call, and refused them to let it go… What we haven’t managed to establish is whether the dog died or was taken… Our scout has been taken on a ‘wild goose chase’ and he will go back to investigate… He was told the dog died, but when he asked to see the body it did not seem to exist!!… Yesterday a young genet cat was found in a well near the base, which was brought in…Its too small to release but we will as soon as its ready to go… LETS HOPE IT POURS WITH RAIN… PLEASE EVERY ONE WAVE YOUR MAGIC WANDS!! We need the rain so badly..

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Category: Cheetahs, Grevy's Zebra, Matthews range, Ndoto Mountains | Date: Jan 07 2009 | By: milgistrust

All the very best to you all for the new year!… I do apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth… We have been busy over Christmas and new year with camel safaris, and the computer battery went flat after a couple of days!, and I forgot to take the charging lead..Oh well it was good to have a holiday!, from the blogging, it takes alot out of me, to write a good one!! …But don’t worry the scouts have been busy, and Pete and I have been able to meet up with quite a few of them and to check on their areas… We did alot of walking in the magnificent Ndoto mountains where sadly the November rains were not good, which will put a strain again on the wildlife..Unfortunately the worst to suffer will be the Grevy Zebra, that rely on the water, on the east side…..We have alerted the scouts to try to make sure the water available to these animals that walk so far to have a drink.. In the last week there have been a few signs that it may rain in the next few days… maybe at full moon?? lets hope.. Today we were in Ngurnit, and it was pretty cloudy.. Other wise, thank goodness the Matthews Range has had good rains, most of the rivers are flowing still…

On arrival at Elkanto, we were delighted find the young Cheetah in tremendous form, and it recognised me strait away as I walked in… It is doing very well indeed, its grown quite alot, and is very playful…Very aware, talkative, has a big vocabulary, and quite ferocious for his size!!… He looks even more like the ever fierce Honey badger…He is complexly free, but seems to like human company, and the dogs tip toe around him!.. At least hes stopped calling and searching for his mother, which was quite heart rendering…

This was a picture taken on the 23rd December

I was told that I should be careful not to leave him in the hands of the Samburu Warriors as they may kill it… But I certainly am not worried now, they all love it, are fascinated by him, and can’t keep away!!

5 responses so far

Category: Cheetahs, Forest, Matthews range | Date: Dec 14 2008 | By: milgistrust

I am back in the Milgis… and firstly would like to thank you all of you…Especially to Karen P, Laurens H, and Anna M… So much thanks for the donations…greatly appreciated… We appreciate every penny, and also every one that gives us encouragement in words is invaluable… …

In the mean time Moses Lesoloyia has travelled back up to the Ngeng valley to try and meet up with ‘the now famous Luca’!! as we have heard that he is in the country… Moses will give us a report on his trip, but what I gather in a short conversation, that Luca was extremely apologetic on many issues, was very pleased to see our contingency of scouts, and has assured us that no more trees will be cut down.. This was our stance from the beginning…as “What has been done can not be undone.”.. In our opinion now that the trees are down/dead,/gone he may as well get on with his research…And hopefully give something BIG back to this area??…We will also be following up on various things like the plastic streamers, tags, in the forest… whether the research money will go to saving the Matthews forest or will disappear into the system, and any other issues that have come up through this saga…

Other sweet news to the Milgis Trust is a young cheetah was found lost and hungry at Rairariti, and what would have happened before … it would have been killed , but not this time… the old man has killed one of his goats to feed it, and he has asked us to come and collect it… Moses Lesoloyia, will leave early tomorrow morning to collect it.. Tomorrow we are going to take the radio, up to the new hill, and will slaughter a goat up there as there has been such politics about our radio moving there… Only because the new councillor thought there was big money for his pockets!! All is sorted out now, and our new found friend, the baby cheetah will start his new life on the radio hill!… Then we will have to think how best we can bring it up, so as not to let it get used to eating goats!!

Also in an other area a baby gerenuk was found, and it is doing well with two goat foster mothers… We are keeping a close eye on it but hopefully it can go back to his herd!, or it will think its a goat..

One response so far

Category: Forest, Forest Fires, Matthews range, Northern Frontier District | Date: Dec 07 2008 | By: milgistrust

Richard, Thank you for your support on this Matthews Saga… I am delighted that you have brought these valuable forests in Northern Kenya to the lime light… This whole thing with Luca managing to get a licence to cut a substantial count of fully grown indigenous trees for research, will funnily enough I hope, end up helping these forests, I’m not sure about the reason for cutting the trees for research??, BUT.. below is more from Luca to try and convince us…What is more exciting hopefully the Kenya forest service will show more interest in these forests… Instead of only taking money from them, IE this research permit, and camping fees up at Mt Nyiru, etc….Each time they come for fees, I ask what the forestry are doing about the forest fires, they can not answer… I even wrote to them to ask them, and have had no reply… A couple of comments from your blog, for the record… Re the size of the gaps made in the forest…either Samburu, do not know what a meter is, or Lucas meters are long…We will send somebody to check again!.. so the record is strait.. BUT to me this is not the issue… The issue is the fact in this day and age a researcher was able to get a licence to cut, live indigenous trees…After all that has been said and done in Kenya lately about cutting trees… I actually thought there was a total ban… The Matthews range is Samburu district!! And the amount he paid or promised to pay to the community about a month or so after they had evicted him, and after the forestry had suspended his research, because he had not agreed with the community, is in the region of 100000/- not 150000/-… Just for the record.. Any way your support on this issue is very very much appreciated, and Wildlife Direct is is an unbelievable help to conservation… Thank you for the idea and for setting it up.. .. salaams Helen..

Matthews peak, taken from the north…

Lucas Justifications….

Implicit in much conservation thinking is the idea that the activities of local human peoples are damaging to the environment. The direct consequence of this is that local people are often excluded from protected areas, sometimes with little regard for their rights, but also with little appreciation that - as any other species - humans might have a role in the balance of natural ecosystems. Let me clarify with an example: we all agree that lions have a key role in controlling herbivore populations in African savannas. When lions disappear, chances are that the entire ecosystem will suffer. Now, my question is: given that humans have lived in Africa for longer than anywhere else, why can’t we hypothesize that local peoples might have a key role in the preservation of African ecosystems - including forests? Are we sure that a forest without human impacts is by default better that a forest whose structure is partly affected by the activities of local peoples living in that area? I guess that we are not at all sure. Research is badly needed on this subject.

I studied local nomadic peoples and their effects on Afromontane forests for some years. Let me summarize a few key facts. First, forest area in the Mathews range is 26,300 ha. Assuming 1% yearly growth, this means that approximately 36,000 cubic meters of wood are produced each year in the forest.

My estimates suggest that about 10,000-20,000 trees are *dropped by local people in the Mathews range during drought years. In normal years it is less than half, about 3,000-6,000 trees.

On average, a tree in the Mathews range forest has a diameter of 9.8 cm and a height of 8.3m. These data are from 800 trees that I measured in the forest in 2006-2007. With these measurements, we can calculate that an average tree has a volume of 0.25 cubic meters, which means that even in drought years, local people drop less than 5,000 cubic meters of trees in the forest. This is much less that the average yearly natural growth. Of course, I have not considered forest fires (which, however, are much less frequent now than a few years ago), and my estimates are very rough, but a case can be made that after all, human use of forest resources in the Mathews range might still be within sustainability levels.

Ecological knowledge tells us that Afromontane forest canopies have a discontinuous, “gappy” structure. This is not the Amazon: trees here are comparatively small. In Afromontane forests, 10-30% of the area is actually made up by gaps in the canopy, whose diameter is on average 29 meters (n = 232 measures). More than 50% of these gaps show signs of human activities, therefore I hypothesize that humans have an important role in the creation of canopy gaps in Afromontane forests.

Forest gaps are also important for wildlife. Herbivores preferentially graze in the gaps. Endemic chameleon species might be gap-specialists, and bird diversity in a gap is approximately twice as much than in “undisturbed” forest.

Now, I am not jumping to the conclusion that we should conserve the Afromontane forest by dropping trees. Much more humbly, I am asking whether the activities of local human peoples might be important in the maintenance of forest species diversity. If that was true, then by managing these activities in the proper way, we will achieve a win-win outcome, in which local people could maintain their lifestyles and at the same time contribute to the conservation of species diversity. Wouldn’t this scenario be enticing?

This is the theoretical justification of my research; now let me describe the experimental settings. In my experiment, I selected 20 small plots within an “undisturbed” tract of the forest. For two years I studied ecosystems processes and structure before the creation of a gap. Then, last August, I (with the help of two friends) created gaps in ten of the survey plots. The remaining ten plots will be left undisturbed to provide experimental control. The ten artificial gaps are 24m diameter (i.e. 12m radius), that is, approximately similar to the “average” forest gap in an Afromontane forest.

Concerns were raised over the ecological impact of my “destruction”. Please consider that the total area of my artificial gaps is tiny - 0.45 ha in all in a forest that is 60,000 times larger. Also consider that gaps are natural components in this ecosystem, nothing alien is being introduced here.

If you are thinking that this could have been done in “natural” gaps without the need of dropping any trees, you are wrong. There is too much variation in size, shape and age within natural gaps. By using an experimental approach I have zeroed many sources of variation: all my gaps were created at the same time, they have the same size and shape. This will allow to record changes in ecosystem processes with a detail that has probably never been achieved before in tropical forest research.

Now let me conclude. Readers of this blog called me “idiotic” “inconsiderate”, and used words as “catastrophe”, “madness”, “destruction” etc. Some snubbed at the “findings” of my “research”. Those people might want to reconsider their judgment. I am a serious naturalist, I spent years working in this region and I think I am in my rights when I ask to be judged on the basis of truth and not rhetoric. Nothing in my research is a secret. Those who wish to come and see are welcome at any time.

With my best regards, Luca

Helens comments on your justifications… *The trees that the Samburu people cut down for there cows are usually pretty small.. Or they prune big ones… We are working hard on teaching them how to prune, so that next year, that same tree can help them…Don’t get me wrong, we don’t support any one cutting trees, but I do understand that people will tend to ‘destroy’ if there livelihood is on its last legs…

2 responses so far

Category: Forest, Livestock, Matthews range, Samburu | Date: Dec 05 2008 | By: milgistrust

The amount of time I’ve spent on my computer, due to this forest destruction in the beautiful Matthews forest, is ridiculous and sometimes one thinks… Its just a drop in the ocean, compared to some of the things that are happening.. But then I don’t sleep, thinking about it.. WHAT FOR?? WHY CUT THESE TREES?..Then who is this person who cut the trees, the university advisers, the person who gave out the permits, probably people who’ve never been to the northern mountains..which incredibly have managed to keep out of the charcoal problems, and logging..The main damage to these forests is fires, of which we’ve battled with, as you know, with very little support..Also when it is very dry, and there is trouble in the west with the Turkana, the nomads tend go up into the forests, and unfortunately, if there is no grass, tend to cut trees down to save there cows from starvation… But they do not win quite often, and when the rains come its quite often a disaster for the cow population… I know that Kenya has recently had a change in the forestry department, and we all hope its a good thing, but this permit being issued has really shocked us.. Any way… see below the MT manager, says he’s not going to be maligned.. He saw for himself and he did-not like what he saw…

Response from the Milgis Trust Manager…to comments made by Luca about his report!!

Luca…It is clear that you have done some damage to the forest, and you are now trying to reduce the magnitude of this destruction…

1. Plots size. I am certainly not the only one that came up with 50/60 meters diameter…To the best of my knowledge… Even the MP counted 50 steps to measure the size of the plots that were cut, and others that came in from Wamba.. I counted 56 long steps in one cut plot and 60 in one not cut but marked with tapes.But because of the damage to the trees around the plots, I felt that 60 is fair to say… Leadekei from KWS also visited the area and could also be asked to give his measurement. I think the photos show even that the areas are bigger that 24 m. diameter… Is this really the issue??.. What ever the size its not ‘on’, in this day and age….

2. Over 80% of the kitich forest is Lmargueet and destroying it alone is no excuse. Cutting indigenous forest is damage no matter what tree it is. .Every tree that was growing in those plots, was cut down, what ever kind of tree.. Luca should realise that all the cut trees are lying dead in the forest and should evidence be needed it is all there. Everybody who went there knows this.

3. In my opinion what luca says is his purpose of research does not match the activities of his research?. What does nomads way of life have to do with felling trees with power saws?. How does pollination or seeds dispersal relate to clearing of gaps in the forest?. Where will the birds he mentions in his notes live, if the trees are cut down…

4. To who did luca pay the research fees to and for what purpose and why after the community had chased him away?…. Luca you should be honest. You only came to the open and to get papers signed by the community after you were chased away, why didn’t you speak to the community before you started cutting trees down..

My comment today is… Luca you have replied to Anna, and told her that ‘remember people living in Northern Kenya are very poor’…Sorry but certainly the people living around the Matthews are not poor, compared to many many other areas in Africa, but they will be poor if their water flow, from the Matthews stops due to forest destruction..Also there are very few people living in these mountains permanently, so who are you going to evict… Yes the population increase in the world generally, is posing a threat to all mountains, and this is a very serious worry..

One more thing…If you have nothing to hide… Many people have asked me this same thing…Who were the other people involved, helping you cut the trees, and the way all the trunks have been cut into neat sized logs, and numbered.. What were you going to do with them… Finally please explain.. TO US ALL… IN AS SHORT AS YOU LIKE… WHY YOU CUT THESE GAPS IN THE FOREST… WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT, IN THESE GAPS…BECAUSE SO FAR WE DON’T UNDERSTAND…

5 responses so far

Category: Forest, Forest Fires, Matthews range, Northern Frontier District | Date: Dec 04 2008 | By: milgistrust

Ok every one… Here’s more of an explanation?… and a contact… The University as you saw from the first two blogs, don’t seem to beable to give us any info, as per my emails to the Head of Dept., Mr Kay, and to his Thesis adviser…Henry Howe… Lucas contacts below…

From: “Luca Borghesio” <borghesio@gmail.com>
To: “Helen” <helendd@uuplus.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 10:31 AM
Subject: Re: Research in Kitich forest

> Dear Helen
> thanks to you too. So please let’s decide when we can meet so that we can
> talk. Of course I propose that talk means discussing, so I hope that in
> our meeting you will at least give me a chance to convince you.
> You said you have waited almost three months and tried a few channels to
> contact me. This is good because this inconveniences would have been
> avoided had we talked form the beginning. However, you could have found me
> very easily, by just typing “Luca Borghesio” on google - in this way you
> can get more information on me, my full contact details as well as
> descriptions of some of the other projects on which I am working in
> Africa.
> You and I are working on the same things, simply we have two different
> approaches to conservation. You perhaps believe that conservation means to
> remove human impacts from natural ecosystems. My point is instead that
> there is no such thing as a “natural ecosystem” as all ecosystems
> (especially in Africa have been modified and reshaped by humans for
> thousands of years). In my opinion, conservation means management of
> natural resources, including sustainable use, which is an essential point
> in a country like Kenya where 80% of energy resources are provided by
> fuelwood.
> Finally, I would ask you why not rewriting a bit you postings on Wildlife
> Direct. I wrote you and I repeat that much of what you wrote is plainly
> wrong. My plots are 12m radius, not 30m , I have no problem with maths.
> And “money talks” is simply an insinuation that is not appropriate to
> describe a honest person, as I am. I have proofs for what I am saying and
> you are welcome to visit my study area at any time to learn more about my
> research.

Readers… please take note of the above..

4/12/08 14.30…Luca, Thanks for this and I will post it on wildlife direct, so that all
the other people that need convincing can read… Alot of people have been
in contact with me about this… It is not just Milgis Trust… Soo I hope
you can convince us all…
I have been walking in and around the Matthews for 23 years… And
before then we used to go to the area above Kittich often, after Mills
Burton died and when they started Kittich camp up again…
Up in the Milgis we have very limited satelite internet, and I did
actually write an email to you, Ian Craig gave me your address… he was
the first person I contacted when this all started…which you didn’t
answer, I also sent a letter to Ngelai, which was mean’t to be given to
you…And several messages, via radio… Maybe you could have contacted
us.??.. You know we exist.. Maybe because of your contact with Julio, you
shrug, us off, but actually we are very serious, in trying to stop any
destruction in these northern forests, and I am happy to say, the fires are
much less these days esp. in the Matthews……Actually it was the fire
problems in the Matthews that sparked the Milgis Trust off… Many years
ago, we did a walk across the mountains from the north, into the Ngeng
valley, and we walked though a big area that had just been destroyed by a
fire… I decided on this walk that, something had to be done to stop this,
we started the ball rolling, and the’ Milgis Trust’ was formed..
Any way… The fact is that tree cutting in the Matthews by a
responsible person like you has left alot of people shocked, and saddened,
because this place before Julio took over the camp, and stopped people
camping, was visited by many people, and it is fairly well known…I used to
start all my camel safaris in the area just above Kittich camp…In fact I
spent many weeks up there…
I understand that people think in different ways as far as conservation
is concerned, and I am not the person to stop your research, or argue with
you…I just don’t want to see any more trees being cut down, in the
Matthews forest.. And with what is already cut down, I feel that is quite
enough.. If money doesn’t talk then why have the community who stopped you
cutting trees, agreed to you cutting more down…I hope you can finish your
research, and give us some interesting facts!!.. What comes to my mind is
… There is not a fire wood problem up there in the north, except where
people are beginning to settle in one area, ie Ngelai, Wamba, I would hate
to think that they would resort to going into the forests to find fire
wood??..Julio would love that!! Or are you going to come up with a better
idea…
I am away for a few days and will be back at the Milgis from the 14th
December… Where are you based??.. salaams Helen

5 responses so far

Category: Forest, Matthews range | Date: Dec 03 2008 | By: milgistrust

Unbelievably the researcher managed to cut trees down in 9 different places before the community discovered what was going on and went in to the Ngeng valley and chased them out… They were extremely angry… But the researcher has been back and has paid/has promised to pay the community money so that he can continue… Quite honestly I am disappointed with the community after all the good they did to stop the tree felling… Does this look like 12 meters radius… I think we both have a problem with Maths!! or meters..

Thank you for your notes about Ls research in the Mathews
Range. As Ls doctoral adviser, Head of dept., has asked me to respond.

Please note the attached letter, which indicates the approval process that
Ls pursued in Kenya. US law prohibits discussing details of student
records or activities without explicit permission, so feel free to contact
him directly.. Thank you for your concern… I have already tried this as per below…and the approval process letter did not come through..

Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 3:57 PM

Dear L, Please could you get in touch with me or the manager of the Milgis Trust, re the forest destruction in the Ngeng valley above Kittich camp… We are VERY CONCERNED… yours Helen and Moses Lesoloyia milgistrust@uuplus.com

Dear Mr H, Thanks for getting back to me… We are extremely concerned
> about the damage that has been done in the Matthews forest, in the name of
> research… think of it this way… 60 meters x 60 meters x 9 = 32400 meters
> squared of valuable forest has been cut down and he wants to cut more…
> …yes we know that Luca has the permits from the government… We’ve been
> through all this… Lots of money has passed hands, yes we know… But tell
> me what research through your university could possibly sanction tree
> cutting of such hugeness, in a remote pristine forest forest like this… I
> just don’t understand what you are thinking…
> All you need to do is look at the news and see whats happening in
> Africa, these government officials are willing to let any thing be
> destroyed if money is being offered..If the government were serious about
> looking after the environment we would not need to set up the Milgis Trust!
> Please please can we ask you to look into the reasons that more forest
> has to be cut down, surely what he has done is enough… These mountains are
> very very important to the arid areas around, and tree cutting in the name
> of research is embarrassing… all the best Helen

What is the motive here?.. These trunks cut into these sizes…

It really would be wise to contact L. directly - I am not at liberty to discuss details of his
work, by law, but he can. Your estimates of what he is cutting and what he
intends to cut are not accurate.

Thank you for your concern.

> Ok Sorry…if the area is 60 diameter its 2826 x 9 cleared so far its 25434
> square meters
> or lets give you the benefit of doubt.. [ a second report from another conservation group estimated each area was 50 meter Diameter]
> 50 diameter its 1963 x 9 cleared 17667
> square meters??
> I do apologise… Have I got it right now??
> let me put some pictures on wildlife direct blog for you to see thats
> its not just a maths problem I have!!
> I don’t think I have to say it again, as I’ve probably gone on but the
> damage in this beautiful pristine forest in the name of research is abit
> like the Japanese sending a ship off, with research written along the side,
> to kill whales for the Japanese people to eat!!…
> The only thing we want to know after all that I have mentioned in my
> emails before is … Is the University of Illinois at Chicago happy to know
> that indigenous trees in Kenya are being cut down… So many of us in Kenya
> are trying to stop the terrible destruction in all the forests….It is
> completely out of control throughout the country, and rivers are drying
> up… And you just seem so casual about it… Why doesn’t this guy stay in
> America, and cut trees down around the University or next to your home!!…
> Hes even got lots of money to give you….. Why does he need to do it here,
> is it cheaper??
> We are happy for you to send all this correspondence to L.. Thats
> fine by us..
> I was born and brought up in this country, and Kenyas biggest problem
> is trees being cut down at a uncountable rate, and L is adding to those
> numbers in the name of research… I can assure I’m not the only one that is
> unhappy.. H
>

FINALLY below is an email I received yesterday, from the researcher… I have sent it to the Manager for comment on the size, etc if this is correct I apologise, although I have seen two different reports saying larger…but this in my case is not the problem… it is the sheer fact that he was able to cut indigenous trees in the Matthews for research… I hope somebody can make out what the research is!!… I am confused…

Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 4:32 PM
Subject: Research in Kitich forest
Dear Mrs Dufresne
>
> I am L, the researcher who works in Kitich forest. I am
> writing to inform you about the purpose of my research.
>
> There was much confusion in the last weeks and lots of inaccurate things
> were said on my work Mathews range forest. I suggest that we should get in
> touch and exchange information between us to rectify those inaccuracies.
> Nothing in my activities is secret. As a researcher who specialises on
> conservation biology in tropical Africa - with more than 15 years of
> experience in the forests of Kenya - I would like the results of my work
> to find an application to conservation in practise, and it is saddening to
> see that the purpose of my research has so grossly been misunderstood.
>
> I am a forest ecologist, and I am aware of the conservation status of
> African forests - many of my past studies actually denounced the
> destruction of natural forests in Africa. However, in a country like
> Kenya, where 80% of the nation energy requirements are provided by wood,
> forest conservation must accommodate sustainable uses of natural resources
> by local peoples. My past research in northern Kenya suggests that nomadic
> people do not only have destructive impacts on forest biodiversity.
> Perhaps counterintuitively, I suspect that numerous species of animal and
> plants could actually benefit from the habitat diversity that is generated
> by activities of nomadic pastoralists in the forest. Of course, these
> activities should be properly managed and their effects carefully studied
> and understood.
>
> The primary purpose of my current research is to go a step beyond
> denouncing forest destruction. I am trying to find practical solutions,
> and I hypothesize that the traditional activities of local people can
> have a positive role in forest conservation. This same realization is
> beginning to materialize in many protected areas throughout Africa. For
> instance, Lewa recently started a community livestock grazing programme,
> acknowledging that carefully planned grazing can benefit both people and
> conservation (see: http://www.lewa.org/livestock-grazing.php). What I am
> trying to understand is whether something similar could be done even in
> forest habitats. My research is not wanton destruction but an attempt to
> understand if it possible to help local peoples to maintain their
> lifestyle and at the same time conserve biodiversity. In this purpose, I
> would like you and I to be partners, not enemies.
>
> I really look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully to meeting you
> soon. If we meet, I am sure you will quickly understand how I am in the
> reality.
>
> As a final note, I wish to rectify some of the inaccuracies found in Mr
> Lesoloya’s report.
>
> 1) the area affected by my research is tiny: I opened only 10 small forest
> gaps, each one of 12m radius (not 60m). The total area affected is
> therefore 4521 square meters - about an acre - in a forest of 300 sq km
> (the size of Mombasa town)
> 2) the selection of the site was done in order to minimize all types of
> impacts. There are no huge trees in my experimental gaps, no Piripirinti
> (Podocarpus falcatus), no Lporinga (Cordia africana). The largest trees in
> the site are Lmargueet (Croton africanus), most of which are already dying
> due to a fungal infection.
> 3) I live on a small university fellowship, and have no way whatsoever to
> produce large amounts of money. What I paid are simply the research fees
> that all researchers are required to pay when they work in Kenya or other
> African countries.
>
> With my best regards, L
>
>Dear L, Thanks for this email below, and the one this morning……Why
don’t you explain to the people reading the blog, what you are
doing…Actually I could put your letter on the blog… As you know I
have waited almost 3 months, since the community came into your camp to
evict you, before I decided the time was right, having tried a few channels
to contact you, find out from the forestry, UNEP, and through the University
to find out what is going on… You should know better if its true that you
have worked in the forests of Kenya for 15 years that cutting trees down in
an indigenous forest especially in the Matthews is not going to go down well
here.. As I have said to your head of dept, and your thesis adviser, there
are many people concerned about this tree cutting in the Matthews, not just
Milgis Trust…
I am happy to meet with you and to hear what you have to say, but on one
condition that no more trees are cut down in the Matthews… Unfortunately
the damage has been done… ‘what is done cannot be undone’ , but did you
the ‘forest lover’ not feel a ping of sadness, or have a conscious that
cutting these beautiful trees down is going to come back on you?? Quite
honestly I find it very difficult to believe that doing this damage to the
forest is going to help the communities live a better life, and isn’t it
just going to encourage them to cut trees, if you a foreigner can do it..,
maybe they will try!!?? yours Helen

2 responses so far