UNDP joins hands with State agencies in driving ecotourism

• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) will work with Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, National Environment Management Authority, and Kenya Forestry Research Institute to implement the project.
• The promotion targets Chereng’ani Hills in Trans-Nzoia, Nandi Forest, and Kakamega Forest among other tourism attraction sites in the region.
• The project aims at promoting tourism and environmental activities as alternative sources of income for local communities.
• The programme has started in Nandi County, targeting five tourism attraction sites.
• Local communities will be engaged through groups to facilitate implementation and sustainability.

A UN agency and an environmental organisation have donated Sh220 million to promote ecotourism in western Kenya.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) will work with Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, National Environment Management Authority, and Kenya Forestry Research Institute to implement the project.

The promotion targets Chereng’ani Hills in Trans-Nzoia, Nandi Forest, and Kakamega Forest among other tourism attraction sites in the region.

The project aims at promoting tourism and environmental activities as alternative sources of income for local communities.

“Support Nature Kenya, through funding from UNDP and GEF, is to spearhead the programme. Key government departments involved in environmental, wildlife, and tourism issues among others will be the implementers,” said Joel Kanda, the chief warden Nandi County.

The programme has started in Nandi County, targeting five tourism attraction sites.

Local communities will be engaged through groups to facilitate implementation and sustainability, said Mr Kanda.

“This is a community driven project where they are empowered to conserve the environment and promote tourism, including their own culture, to generate more income to improve their livelihood,” said Mr Kanda.

‘Programmes have been launch to educate local people on the importance of environmental conservation and promotion of tourism as alternative sources of income to livestock and agricultural products,” said Mr Kanda.

Kingwal swamp in Nandi County is home to the rare Sitatunga antelopes, which are found only in Kenya and parts of Central Africa.

But the animals face extinction due to human-wildlife conflict despite their potential to generate income through tourist attraction.

Boost tourism

“The project will boost tourism in the western Kenya circuit by opening up more tourism attraction sites, apart from conserving the environment to improve crop production and attain food security,” said Mr Kanda.

He said that the Koitalel Samoei mausoleum was one of the sites that were yet to be exploited as tourism attractions.

He appealed to the local community to value environmental conservation and protection of wildlife, noting that they stood to benefit from the project once it is implemented and left for them to manage.