KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE STARTS 6 MONTH PILOT PROGRAMME FOR MARINE PARKS
Beach management are the two key words it appears, after reading through details received over the weekend about a planned pilot programme, which has come about as a result of intense consultations between affected stakeholders, i.e. hotels, KWS and tourism operators.
One of the key demands by hotels, echoing many complaints by tourists, is to clear the beaches of beach boys who often are behaving like the proverbial pests, making foreign visitors regret even having stepped off the resort gardens to the beaches where they are then constantly harassed by vendors of curios, mementos and much more often shady if not outright illegal transactions.
More important for sources close to KWS though are conservation measures to protect the fragile marine environment, prevent the endless collection of shells and coral by tourists which has in sections of the park led to degradation and to promote best practices amongst visitors and their guides who are taking them on tours to the reef at low tide. Alongside such conservation measures the focus is also on regular beach clean ups, improved beach security through uniformed and plain clothes police, provision of sites for beach vendors to set up stalls and hold regular stakeholder reviews and consultations to ensure the long term success of making Mombasas beaches shine again. Well done, and AT LAST.
