please support this request of
Dr. Daphne Sheldrick


Dear all,

This is a little out of the ordinary, but we ask all of those that support The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust through the fostering program to consider helping us save Amboseli, as a result of this new dramatic move by the Governement to degazette Amboseli National Park.

Click on www.saveamboseli.net to support the cause. Please also help further by forwarding this website address to your colleagues and friends for mass action.

Thank you.

Dr. Daphne Sheldrick


Park Move Illegal, Says Society
The Nation (Nairobi)
October 4, 2005

The move to degazette the Amboseli National Park was illegal, said a
conservation group yesterday.
By degazetting the park, the Government had contravened the Wildlife
(Conservation and Management) Act, said the East African Wildlife Society
(EAWLS).

The move to degazette the national park also overlooked the Kenya Wildlife
Service (KWS) which is responsible for the management and conservation of
wildlife in the country.

The Government's move is likely to affect donor funding for the wildlife
policy, being undertaken by the United States Agency for International
Development (USaid) and the infrastructure and park development by the
European Union, both projects under the KWS.

One of the leading international bodies on wildlife conservation, the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) said it was studying the situation before it
states its position.

The wildlife society said the degazettement was contrary to Section 7 of the
Wildlife Act, which states that the minister must consult with a competent
authority before changing the status of any national park, national reserve,
local sanctuary or even a part of it.

The order to degazette such an area must also get approval from Parliament
and a notice of 60 days must be published in the Kenya Gazette and in at
least one newspaper in the country.

Last Thursday, President Kibaki directed the Tourism minister to issue a
legal notice to ensure that Amboseli is returned to the Maasai community as
trust land. On the same day, minister Morris Dzoro issued a special gazette
notice making the national park a national reserve to be run by Olkejuado
county council. But the notice did not stick to the Wildlife Act.

The Government broke the law, said EAWLS chairman Imre Loefler in a
statement, and added that it was not surprising that the action was taken
without any consultation of the many organisations that have being involved
in the history of Amboseli - one of the best known game parks in the
world."The East African WildLife Society regards the degazettement as
illegal and detrimental to Amboseli as well as prejudicial to conservation
policy," said the society.

The EAWLS said it supported the concept that local communities should
benefit from parks but was doubtful that the latest move would benefit those
around Amboseli. "The Amboseli has been the responsibility of Kajiado county
council before and was made into a national park precisely because of poor
management, encroachment, environmental degradation, non-compliance with
national and international conservation policies and interminable
wrangling," said the society.

The EAWLS said it had persistently criticised the manner in which income
from game parks is distributed. "Handing over the park, however dramatic the
gesture may be and whatever political constellation may have motivated it,
is reckless, for the Kajiado county council has neither the capacity nor the
experience to manage Amboseli," said Dr Loefler.

The society said it was concerned about the domino effect that the ill
conceived and illegal action may trigger.

Last weekend, a lobby from Coast Province laid claim to seven national parks
in the area, demanding that they be handed over to the communities through
the local authorities.

The KWS declined to comment on the impact of the move by the Government but
conservationists, including former director David Western termed the
decision negative. They said the Amboseli ecosystem was delicate and needed
proper scientific management compared to that of the Masai Mara.

Conservationists warned that donors are likely to withhold funding until
after the November 21 referendum on the proposed new Constitution to see the
direction wildlife management will take.

Putting parks under local communities had not been successful, they said and
cited the Masai Mara as an example where money collected never reached the
community.

The elephant research programme at Amboseli is one of the few projects that
have survived with little disturbance in natural conditions. Each elephant
has a tag and is closely monitored.



Most Sincerely,

Dr. Daphne Sheldrick M.B.E.
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org