Kenya: Activists Protest Alleged Plan by Developers to Grab Karura Forest Land
Kenya’s Green Belt Movement environmentalists have raised alarm over an alleged plot to hive off land in the Karura forest – a reserve located in the northern part of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi that was a key focus for conservation efforts by the late nobel laureate Professor Wangari Maathai.
Reports say that there is a plan to develop 25 acres of Sigiria Block in the forest for commercial use. A company by the name Ibis Hospitality Ltd is alleged to have proposed to build a six-star hotel in the forest against public interest.
Karura forests sits on 1,000 hectares of land and is one of the country’s few remaining indigenous forests.
The Green Belt Movement, a conservation group founded in 1977 by Wangari Maathai is calling on the public to protest against the latest attempt to grab part of Karura, after reports surfaced on social media about a plan to build a six-star hotel in the forest.