WILL HELLS GATE NATIONAL PARK GO TO HELL?
(Posted 07th July 2014)
 HELLS GATE NATIONAL PARK |
National Parks, game reserves and national monuments and treasures are having a hard time anywhere to stand up against the so called ‘progress and development’ and East Africa is no exception. Regular readers of course will associate that topic mainly with Tanzania, which has a very checkered record over the past few years, getting into trouble with UNESCO and the global conservation fraternity over project plans which can only be termed a brutal assault against biodiversity and the fragile environment found in many of the sites in question.
Today though it is Kenya which has come under the spotlight. A recent announcement that parliament has started the process of degazetting a section of the Nairobi National Park to allow for the legal construction of the final link for the Southern Bypass Highway, is seen by many as opening the flood gates and setting the precedent for future land grab, be it for the new standard gauge railway, or yet another bypass highway or simply to satisfy the greed of developers who could get instant billionaires if they could carve out a corner of the park here and there and build a gated estate on such prized land.
The other day it was the African Heritage House which was singled out as an iconic building under threat of demolition to make way for a railway track, and besides this landmark building drive a lot of long term residents off their property, again in the name of development. Here it is interesting to note that suggestions have been made to let the track of the new standard gauge railway pass Nairobi along the outskirts north of the city, where a new transport hub could be created similar to when the present railway reached what was to become Nairobi in 1900.
(Picture courtesy of Lets Go Travel / Kenya_
This article however is dedicated to the Hells Gate National Park, which like few others is not just in danger of having a section carved out for that nebulous concept of ‘progress and development’ but is in danger of being degazetted altogether, or just remaining with a small core area compared to the present size of some 68 square kilometres. What is most intriguing though is that the guardians of Kenya’s wilderness areas, Kenya Wildlife Service, appears to have joined hand with developers to drive a hidden agenda and very covertly have measures taken which will irreversibly alter the fabric of Mt. Longonot and its surrounding area.
With over 100.000 visitors a year, most of them actually Kenyans who seek out the hiking trails, participate in team building activities or enjoy a few days in the great Kenyan outdoors taking part in adventure sports, this second smallest national park is nevertheless one of the most visited by Kenyans, largely due to the easy access from the capital Nairobi and the range of affordable accommodation in the nearby town of Naivasha.
The Star, one of Kenya’s daily newspapers, in May published an extensive article about the dangers Hells Gate National Park is now facing and courtesy of Tony Clegg-Butt, publisher of the Travel News Kenya, was the topic once again pushed to the fore, combined with his plea to get involved and help save this marvel of a park on the bottom of the Great African Rift Valley.
Start quote:
Hell’s Gate factories: Alarm over Kenya’s famed park
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014 – 00:00 — BY JOHN MUCHANGI AND KAGWENI MICHENI
Under siege: Hell?s Gate
Hell’s Gate National Park is facing certain death as Kengen aggressively drills wells all over its body to generate electricity, experts have warned.
They say half of the tiny park has already been paralysed by the wells, yet hundreds more and five huge industrial parks have been planned.
“Consultants told us it was time to consider de-gazetting the park as the development of hundreds of more wells was a certainty and the park could not exist,” says Simon Thomset, one of the Kenyans trying to save the park.
Tour operators and hoteliers around Naivasha complain the world famous national park is fast losing its natural aura and changing into a factory.
Kenya Power Generating Company (KenGen) managing director Andrew Mugo confirmed they will create five “industrial parks” inside the national park where manufacturers can build factories and access cheaper electricity.
Tour operators have already been asked to consider tourism based on visitors to the factories.
Kengen says it needs to produce more electricity to power Kenya’s industrial take-off.
It expects to complete 280 megawatts geothermal power plant inside park next month but boost that to 1075 Megawatts of by 2025.
Environmentalists say if the wells and accompanying infrastructure like roads, buildings, pipes and power lines go ahead, then Hell’s Gate, as the world knows it, will die.
“We need electricity but I will not afford it with no income from my tourism business,” says Isaac Ouma a bird expert and member of Naivasha Tour Operators Association.
Hells Gate is Kenya’s second smallest park but draws about 100,000 visitors every year and is one of the most lucrative for Kenya Wildlife Services.
It is currently the only park in the country where tourists can drive, walk and ride on bicycles.
KWS officials say visitors are already demanding their money back when faced with the horror of an industrial area rapidly destroying the landscape.
Hell’s Gate troubles began in in 1980 as geothermal enterprise around the park began to develop. An MoU was written in 1981 to protect the area, which was later gazetted in 1984 as a national park.
The understanding was that KenGen was interested in steam which is underground while the park would utilise the surface resource for the wildlife.
But in 2008 Kengen convinced KWS it could earn some extra money by allowing KenGen to drill many more geothermal wells in Hells Gate and Longonot National parks.
Former KWS director Julius Kipngetich and Kengen managing director Eddy Njoroge signed another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 8, 2008.
They agreed KenGen would pay a sublease fee and be exempted from paying land rates for the leased areas.
The two parties however admitted the new developments would be an ugly blotch on the body of a park famous for its “supernatural” features.
“The company (KenGen) undertakes to plant sufficient and suitable trees to obscure the view of power stations and enhance the natural features of the park,” says the MoU seen by the Star.
Hell’s Gate is now jointly managed by KWS and KenGen through a “joint implementation committee.”
“It must be noted that it is unusual for KWS to ‘give’ land to any profit making company with share holders, as the land is not their’s to give. Such a matter request a decision made in Parliament,” says Thomsett.
Kenya’s oldest conservation organisation Nature Kenya says says Kengen should be forced to comply with sustainable activities.
Nature has written to Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir asking him to make “hard decisions” and save Hell’s Gate.
“We request your office to make hard decisions now to limit unsustainable electricity generation by Kengen and encourage approaches that will support present and future generations in a healthy, sustainable Hell’s Gate National Park,” says the letter by Nature director Dr Paul Matiku.
He says Kengen has already destroyed half of the park (32 km2) and should now buy land outside for more developments.
Nature further says Kengen must immediately develop a zoning plan with legally binding no-go zones that contains the most important areas for biodiversity, tourism and cultural significance.
The organisation reveals the geothermal wells have already destroyed Kenya’s only known breeding ground for Ruppell’s vultures, which are are globally listed as endangered.
“The colony typically contains some 19 nests per year. However, since December 2012 they have not nested at the colony and this is due to the impacts of geothermal drilling in the park and destruction of nests as a result of drilling of wells,” Dr Matiku says.
Vulture expert and secretary of the Lake Naivasha Riperine Owners Association Sarah Higgins says one well was drilled right at the breeding place.
“The well was drilled at vulture nests over Christmas when no one was watching,” she says.
Sarah says Kengen has not revealed the full extent of planned developments in Hell’s Gate. “We get tidbits and by the time we get the full report everything will be gone,” she told a recent forum in Naivasha.
The drilling of well 040 at the nest flouted an agreement, with a conspicuous "keep off" sign.
Other endangered animals in the park are many species of birds and Coke’s hartebeest, which are resident in the park and their global populations are currently in decline.
Nyanza swifts breed in large numbers in cliff crevices inside the park. The park also hosts tens of thousands of roosting swifts on a nightly basis. Other swifts roosting in the park include Mottled and Horus.
“These species are part of Kenya’s natural heritage and KenGen has a responsibility and duty of care for them in the course of geothermal electricity generation,” Dr Matiku says in his letter.
He says KWS and Kengen should create a no-go area which should include the area surrounding the main road (where most tourists go) and the lower gorge, a dispersal area on the plains at the mouth of the gorge, as well as areas at the top of the gorge in order to avoid erosion or rock slides into the gorge.
“Kengen and its sub-contractors should be required to submit a percentage of their profits towards the monitoring and management of the park,” Dr Matiku says.
KWS sounded helpless. Deputy director Patrick Omondi said the developments were due to “conflicting development interests”.
He said the park was not being suffocated to death. “National Parks are gazetted. You cannot annex any part without approval of Parliament,” he told the Star. “Whatever we do, we do it in the best interests of animals.”
He said a proper Environment Impact Assessment must be carried out and show proper mitigation measures before any developments.
Omondi was among the six KWS officers suspended last month for failing to allocate resources to combat poaching.
Acting KWS director general William Kiprono says they are trying to contain the situation.
“We have ordered a Sea (strategic environmental assessment) for any further developments,” he told The Star. Kiprono however says they cannot stop more exploration in Hell’s Gate. “We’ll have a balancing act. It’s a case of competing national interests. They can have the geothermal but shouldn’t destroy the park.”
Kengen has already engaged five Capital Habitat Planners for the next round of Sea over the future projects.
In first consultative meeting in Naivasha, those present complained Kengen made a hurried power-point presentation of a “befuddling amount of detail.”
The consultants have organised more meetings have been but still not provided the map showing the planned well sites. However, Menengai, Suswa, Longonot, Soysambu and Lake Bogoria, all protected areas have been ear-marked for geothermal development.
Kengen’s geothermal development manager Geoffrey Muchemi says Hell’s Gate and geothermal exploration can co-exist.
“However, once the impact assessment is done, the company will work on the recommendations,” he said at the last consultative meeting in Naivasha.
Indeed, Kengen believes Kenya’s “success experience” can be replicated elsewhere in the world.
Kengen’s former geothermal development manager Martin Mwangi extols global geothermal global decision makers to emulate Kenya.
“The adherence to the MoU and Kengen’s strong believe and desire to follow and to surpass the guidelines has contributed to the success of this development,” he says in a paper titled “Geothermal Projects in National Parks”.
It was initially presented at a UN meeting for decision makers on geothermal projects in Central America in San Salvador.
Mwangi, now a geothermal consultant, says the power plants have become a tourist attraction themselves recording about 2000 visitors a month.
“In our view, the power stations is a major attraction to the tourists and consequently
benefits the park,” he says.
Kengen says it has gained valuable experience at Hell’s Gate and will replicate it in other sites located in national parks and national reserves.
“Kenya would like to replicate this success in other geothermal sites some of which are located in either National parks or Game Reserves,” says Mwangi’s paper, presented when he still a Kengen employee.
Lake Naivasha Nature Club’s Douglas Gachucha says the successes are far from the reality.
“These explorations are destroying the park,” he says. He calls on stakeholders to attend the SEA meetings to give their input on how best to conserve the environment while producing clean energy.
The local chapter of tour operators says while Kengen’s experience with Olkaria I and II was a success for industrialisation and conservation, those gains are quickly dying.
Isaac Ouma says the company is clearly flouting its MoU with KWS. The first requirement was that Kengen would re-inject all waste water into the ground. But Ouma says waste brine flows freely in the gorge, where most tourists like to walk.
He complains wells have been dug at some of the most important areas in the park.
“One point that has been destroyed is a hill that gave you a view of Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nauru and the whole Rift Valley,” he says.
Thomset says while energy production is important, the public have a right to know what is at stake.
He says “conservationists” are easily portrayed as people who place wildlife concerns in front of those of people.
“An easy accusation that conveniently forgets the national importance of wildlife and tourism in Kenya’s economy. Energy is not given to us for free,” he says. “We pay for it ultimately with proceeds from our economy; which was founded on wildlife tourism. To threaten tourism is to threaten energy production.”
According to Dr Matiku, Kengen, KWS and the public can reach a compromise.
He says KenGen and its subcontractors must agree to underground lateral drilling (despite the added costs) in sensitive areas that are of high importance for tourism, cultural values, and wildlife.
The local association of tour operators say once Hell’s Gate loses its “hellness” and becomes an industrial park, then its gone forever.
Geothermal activity is present across the Rift Valley which spreads from Djibouti to Malawi. “Must it be carried out in Hell’s Gate in Kenya? What about other parts of Rift Valley,” asks Ouma.
End quote
The article not only raised a number of very relevant questions but also shows that corporate objectives will easily brush aside the concerns of the conservationists, as shown with the drilling at the very site where the greatly endangered Ruppell’s Vulture was breeding, with all previous 19 nests deserted since 2012, when in a cloak and dagger operation drilling was started, driving the birds away from their nests before the alarm was raised – too late as it turned out.
(Picture, courtesy of Kenya’s Daily Nation, showing the Olkaria geothermal power station in the park)
Also under renewed scrutiny is former KWS Executive Director Julius Kipng’etich who signed the initial deal with KenGen back in 2008 but who is now a top manager at one of Kenya’s leading banks keen to doing business with KenGen. While there is no suggestion of impropriety at this stage, it nevertheless goes to show that the management of KWS has given itself an additional if not official mandate, namely to let go freely of protected areas as long as big business interests are served and it fits into the bigger concept of ‘progress and development’. It is here that a substantive board of directors is sorely missed which could reign in a management team which got its priorities all confused. Instead of concentrating on vigorously defending the country’s wildlife against poaching and the protected areas against encroachment and those individuals and corporate entities intent to chop off lucrative pieces of land from those parks, it seems they now rather understand themselves as a promoter of such business ventures.
Wrote Tony Clegg-Butt last Friday: ‘I think we need champions to take this on and turn it around — otherwise we lose a National Park with others to follow as outlined in the article. Are there any other bodies who have taken this on other than the reported Nature Kenya? We need to all come together to make this not happen.
Kengen and KWS are saying (see article) that de-gazetting the Park is in the national interest — drilling wells, generating power stations to which they add plan to add industrial parks. All in Hells Gate National Park, and it’s already happening per the article.
This is a huge cause, so please take the time to get involved.
Perhaps the best place to start is Nature Kenya – they already have traction — but I think they might need our added capacity to get this job done.
Kenya needs YOU…
I applaud Tony for raising this issue and hope that similar to the effort to protect and conserve the African Heritage House, here too enough momentum can be generated to push back corporate greed and protect the Mt. Longonot ecosystem for future generations of Kenyans.
