Lamu Map and Guide Hollywood Ending for Lamu's Boni-Lungi Forest

Lamu, Malindi and the North Coast Ksh 200 Issue 11

Lamu map and guide Hollywood ending for Lamu’s Boni-Lungi forest? Lamu Port: regional integration or cultural extinction? Watamu dolphin project FEATURE Hollywood ending for Lamu’s Boni-Lungi forest? by Kevin Doyle he blockbuster Hollywood film Avatar was practising some agriculture, depend on resources not filmed in Lamu, though maybe it could in the forested lands between the Dodori and Boni Thave been. The plot parallels a story playing National Reserves for collecting natural fruits, honey, out today in Lamu’s backyard, minus blue-skinned plants for traditional medicine and building materi- humanoids and flying dragons. The story depicts the als. They survive despite the fact that, technically, battle between the forces of capitalism and of land they are squatters on the land on which they live— and resource rights. without formal rights whatsoever. In the film, a foreign corporation has discov- Despite their identifying them- ered rich deposits of a precious selves as Muslim, the Boni maintain mineral called unobtanium sacred forest shrines to protect their (ironically, meaning ‘unable to spirit world. The destruction of the be obtained’) on a moon in a forest and the expropriation of their far-away star system. The main land pose a serious threat to Boni characters are a three-metre-tall, survival, as well as the loss of signifi- blue-skinned sapient humanoid cant biological diversity. Numbering species called the Na’vi. They live about 3,500, the Boni are one of in harmony with their mystical en- the most marginalized indigenous vironment and worship a mother cultures in the country, and they are goddess called Eywa. The richest threatened with losing their land, deposits of unobtanium are locat- their livelihoods, their way of life, ed beneath an enormous beautiful and perhaps their very lives. tree with sacred powers—the cen- Ironically, the Boni themselves tre of Na’vi culture. Extraction of have not perceived these threats. the mineral means destroying the Until recently. tree and likely destroying the Na’vi The shifta wars of the 1960s people as well. and 1970s in Kenya’s border area

Here on earth, on the mainland Boni children. Traditional land of the with Somalia precipitated a com- side of Lamu, outsider (that is, non- Boni community is threatened by pulsory villagization program and local) investors and speculators outsiders. the Kenya government moved the threaten a rich forest and the land Boni out of the forest and into vil- on which it sits. The inhabitants of lages for reasons of security. This the forest are the Boni people (also move effectively eroded their deli- referred to as Aweer). Their situation is eerily similar cate relationship with the forest. to that of the fictional Na’vi. Boni identity is closely Today, the Boni practise some subsistence farm- bound to the Boni way of life as forest dwellers. They ing, using slash-and-burn and shifting cultivation are traditionally hunters and gatherers who, despite methods. They eke out an income by selling woven

22 Chonjo – Lamu, Mailindi and the North Coast FEATURE

Above: Boni-Lungi Forest in Lamu Coun- ty. Forest canopy is diminishing at an escalated rate.

Left: Lamu County Map. Protected areas Dodori National Reserve and islands in the Kiunga Marine Reserve are being encroached by land speculators.

2011 – Issue Eleven 23 FEATURE mats and honey collected from the forest or har- current population is estimated to be about 300—yet vested from beekeeping projects, and it is likely that still poachers prowl the area. they supplement their diet with small quantities of game meat. Threats to the Boni-Lungi forest The Boni live in the forested corridor between The most immediate threat to the forest is the slash- the Boni and Dodori National Reserves, and south- and-burn cutting by the Boni and, more significantly, west of the Dodori Reserve towards the tip of Dodori by immigrant outsiders establishing agricultural plots. Creek in what is known as the Boni-Lungi forest. The Each new growing season, more people arrive with international conservation community regards this machetes to cut the forest for farming. The soil in the area, together with the coastline and islands of the area is not highly suitable for agriculture. If farmers Lamu Archipelago, as a hotspot of biodiversity and a are lucky, they may have two years of productivity, priority for conservation, because of the concentra- but even that depends on adequate rainfall. If they tion of endemic plants and animals, and the severe want to continue farming, they will need to shift cul- degree of threat to their habitat. tivation to a new plot—ultimately requiring them to The Boni-Lungi forest is a vast expanse (approxi- slash and burn more native forest. mately 95 km2) of coastal scrub forest, with pockets of But a disturbing new trend is emerging: chain savannah, harbouring a significant amount of wildlife. saws are entering the scene, giving way to fears that The area provides wildlife corridors between the Boni larger swaths of forest will be cut at a faster pace and the Dodori National Reserves, as well as south- than ever before. Power tools also assist illegal log- wards to the Kipini forest and the Tana River area. The gers to decimate the forest hardwoods. forest is ungazetted and unprotected despite its rich Recently rumours abound about outside inves- wildlife, including buffalo, lion, leopard, African wild tors and developers eyeing large tracts of this forest dog, coastal topi, Abyssinian bushbuck, Ader’s duiker, land—for ranches and commercial farming, includ- desert warthog, golden-rumped elephant shrew and ing a plantation of jatropha (a biofuel crop). But the the critically endangered hirola (Hunter’s hartebeest) indigenous occupants of the land, the Boni, are left as well as hundreds of bird species. The region once out of any discussion about the land and its uses. supported one of the largest herds of elephant in East Soon they may find their land appropriated or sold Africa. From an estimated 30,000 in the 1970s, their (extra-legally) out from under their feet.

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24 Chonjo – Lamu, Mailindi and the North Coast FEATURE The proposed port in Lamu District is also a po- and the National Land Policy could be years away— tential threat to the Boni-Lungi forest and the culture years that the Boni and the Boni-Lungi forest cannot and livelihood of the Boni people, but details of its spare. construction (and the associated developments) have Presently, the Ministry of Lands is working on a yet to be made public. The rights of the Boni (as well new model of land ownership that recognizes, for as the other local groups, including the Swahili, the the first time in Kenya, community customary rights Sanye and the Bajuni) need to be addressed, as well to land. The Community Customary Land Rights as the environmental concerns that accompany such Recognition model, developed by the ministry in a huge development, particularly in an area that is so conjunction with the Kenya SECURE Project, intends culturally and biologically rich. Hopefully there will to identify, demarcate and recognize—through ti- be appropriate planning and mitigation measures to tle—community lands. The model will be piloted this avoid, minimize or offset any negative impact. year in the Boni area and other select coastal villages While the proposed port looms large, perhaps in Lamu East. the most immediate threat is the planned upgrad- In conjunction with these measures, the Kenya ing of the road that transects the forest between Forest Service has also expressed interest in protect- Hindi and Kiunga. Granted, improving the often ing a large tract of the Boni-Lungi forest outside of impassable road is not a bad idea. It will encourage what will be designated as Boni community lands. much-needed economic activity and make it easier Hopefully, the government will grant the Boni specif- to provide social services in an area that is often ic user rights to the protected forest and its products, inaccessible when it rains. A tarmac road could also to help sustain their way of life. In this scenario, the play a significant role in improving the security of Boni would become owners of the land they have the region, which has been ravaged first by shifta, lived on for eons, and would have a say and a re- then poachers and now Al Shaabab from border- sponsibility in how the larger forest is managed, as Kevin Doyle Photos : © Kevin ing Somalia. However, without Left: Forest devastation caused by well as share in benefits accrued first securing the land rights of the slash-and-burn cultivating methods in from the use of land-based natural Boni and without proper land-use the Boni-Lungi forest. resources. planning, the road may facilitate a Right: Coastal topi enjoy open glen in In Avatar, a bloody battle for faster intrusion of outsiders at an the Boni-Lungi forest land and resources ensues between exponential rate—thus spelling doom for the forest the greedy corporation and the indigenous forest and demise of the Boni. dwellers. The Na’vi beat back their invaders with tac- But it doesn’t have to be this way. tical ingenuity and their bows and arrows. Here on The new Constitution and the National Land earth, in Lamu county, the Boni must rely on the gov- Policy provide a legal framework for dealing with ernment to fulfil the promise of the new Constitution these acute land issues. The Bill of Rights in the and the National Land Policy to save the forest, the Constitution states that the government shall put in land, their way of life, and their community. place affirmative action programs for minorities and marginalized groups. Certainly, the Boni fall within this category. And, the National Land Policy calls for Kevin Doyle is team leader for the USAID-funded SECURE the protection of land rights from unjust and illegal Project based in Lamu District. The project is implemented expropriation of both vulnerable and minority com- by the Ministry of Lands, facilitated by Tetra Tech ARD, and munities. Again, the rights of the Boni are established works in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Services, as well here. as a number of civil society and community-based organi- However, full implementation of the Constitution zations and community members.

2011 – Issue Eleven 25