Nine Kayas within the Mijikenda tribes in Coast are set to get financial support from Unesco for their activities aimed at enhancing environmental conservation.
Kaya Rabai which has been renamed Kaya Mudzi Muvya has been receiving Sh1.5 million annually and is among three other historical sites including Lamu and Fort Jesus, which have been receiving funding from the international organisation.
Speaking recently at Kaya Rabai, UNESCO Secretary General Mrs Evangeline Njoka said the organisation was considering supporting the eight other kayas among the Mijikenda communities living in Coast Region of Kenya.
She emphasised that communities living within and adjacent to the sites must however show commitment in environmental conservation activities for them to be recognised by the organisation.
Other kayas set to benefit from the support are Kaya Fungo, Chonyi, Kambe, Ribe, Kauma, Jibana, Digo and Duruma respectively, located separately in over 12,000 hectares of land.
The financial support by the organisation will go towards initiating tree nurseries, training of communities living adjacent to the forests on conservation measures and constructing shelters for tourists visiting the sites.
Sadly, some of the kayas have been undergoing massive destruction by invaders who have destroyed the forests with the purpose of converting them into farmlands. Notable areas include Kaya Chonyi and Kauma where huge chunks of land have been converted into farmlands.
According to officials from Kenya Forest Services (KFS), the severe damages have been due to the lack of registration and titles for the sites as people arrested for the damages are often set free by the courts.
According to Kilifi County deputy ecosystem conservator Mr Nasib Mwamutsi, it has been difficult to keep off the communities at bay when they attempt to encroach the forests due to the lack of legal documents to support their evictions.
“After sensitisation meetings with the communities on the importance of environmental conservation in the sites, we are seeing positive changes as the communities have recognised the benefits and started reclaiming the land by planting trees,” said Mwamutsi during a tree planting exercise at Kaya Rabai recently.
The chairman of Kaya Mudzi Muvya Mr Daniel Mwawara Garero said a committee charged with the responsibility of caring for the forest has been effective in its work and that several people found cutting trees within the forests have been arrested and taken to court.
He said the only challenge facing them was the lack of vehicles to assist in carrying out patrols within the forest boundaries.
Garero who is also the chairman of Kilifi County Council of Kaya elders said with the support by UNESCO and Kilifi County Government, a tree nursery has been put in place with over 10, 000 tree seedlings being nurtured for planting annually.
“We appeal to our donors to complete power generation project to the holly site structures to attract more visitors and earn more income for self sustainability,” he said.
He added, “Other projects which require urgent attention are the rehabilitation of the roads leading to kayas which have remained in a dilapidated condition for years due to land degradation,” he said.
Kilifi County Deputy Governor Kenneth Kamto assured communities living adjacent to the kayas that the county was committed to supporting them in creating income generating activities like beekeeping and butterfly farming to minimise their attempts to destroy the forests.