In 2013, researchers discovered that Clarke’s Weaver’s only known nesting site was in the miombo woodland of Dakatcha. It is a home of iconic species and we also need the forests for the rains.”īesides being a key pillar of identity for the Waatha community which has set aside 3,000 acres as part of indigenous community conserved areas, the future of one of the world’s rarest birds – Clarke’s Weaver is dependent on Dakatcha. “Years later, hunting was outlawed and we are now farmers but we still need these forests. We survived because of the Dakatcha Woodland where we used to collect food and hunt,” said Abaduba Guyo, 88. “Originally, we were a hunter-gatherer community.
The disappearance and lack of formal protection also led to the purchase of parcels of land within Dakatcha that currently serve as nature reserves.
The area majorly consists of miombo woodlands and impenetrable thickets of Cynometra but their slow disappearance is what led to the setting aside of community conservancy. We want to know the challenges that were recorded in the past few weeks and how they would be addressed by the community,” Mary says.Īlthough Dakatcha Woodland has been identified as a key biodiversity area and important bird area, it currently has no formal protection. “We are deliberating on the state of the forest today. The conservancy, which is currently being watched by over 40 community scouts, is part of Dakatcha Woodland, an extensive tract of somewhat intact coastal woodland, north of the Sabaki River.
#SABAKI PROTECTION TEAM UPDATE#
The day’s agenda of the meeting is an update on the state of the 3,000-hectare Kasikini community conservancy, land donated by the Waatha community for conservation. Mary is the secretary of the group which is mostly drawn from the little-known indigenous Waatha tribe, a marginalised hunter-gatherer community on the Kenyan Coast.
Mary Badiva cautiously scanned through minutes of a past meeting, as she prepared to lead a group of community members through a meeting at Kasikini village in Kilifi County on Kenya’s northern coastline.
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