Environmentalists fear that the move if implemented will impact negatively on 2 of the country’s main forest the Aberdares and Mt Kenya which are the main sources of water in the Kenya.

The forests being tropical in nature are also seen as major sieve of carbon purifying air beyond the country, besides hosting some of the richest flora and fauna on the continent.

Besides hosting a wide variety of wildlife and 2 game reserves the forests are a major magnet for rains in the Kenyan highlands of central Kenya the supply most of the food to the country.

Confidential government reports indicate that, authorities here plan to settle thousands of displaced members of the Kikuyu community on the slopes of the 2 forests currently covered by thousands of hectares of state owned tea plantations called the Nyayo Tea Zones , established by Arap Moi in the 1980s.

Those to be settled here according to leaks, include those that have vowed never to move to move back to the rift valley where they were evicted by Kalenjin militias and those whose homes are too close to those of their rivals to he extent that their safety cannot be guaranteed.

Thousands who left their ancestral homes in central Kenya in the early 1920s have vowed never to return to the rift valley, saying that recurrent tribal clashes every five years since 1991 were too costly.

But being densely Kikuyu populated dominated region central Kenya hardly has any land for settling such families, informing the decision by the Kibaki government to settle the families on the tea zones located on the edges of the 2 forests.

The tea belts are seen as an important buffer between peasants and the all important forests preventing unhindered access to the forests by locals , who engage in activities such as logging and hunting.

But conservationists are blaming the Kibaki government of taking environmental issues lightly , failing to tackle the ghost of Kenya land question head and confront the political crisis gripping the country, thus provide a solution to question of thousands of displaced Kikuyu.

They reason that the tea belts ringing the 2 forest reserves, would after all not accommodate every displaced in need of land, but would basically sound a death knell for the precious resource.

Furthermore they argue ,locals who have lived next to the forest reserves may as well want a share of the land, they have always salivated for years.

The tea zones, environmentalists argue have the effect of stopping soil erosion in the fertile red soil central Kenya highland and also serve to sustain the forests as critical water catchments.

“The way out of this IDP question lies in a political settlement to current stalemate and a critical look at the way Kenya has shared out her wealth, resources and power amongst her people” says 2004 Nobel laureate prof Wangari Maathai.

“ Half measures will only give a temporary settlement to the land question in Kenya , a radical and deliberate review of our constitution would a help settle the whole question o land tenure and ownership in Kenya” she adds.

But it the mere thought that IDPS be settled on forest edges that is concerning serious concern to many.

“The whole idea is misguided and a cruel sentence to our forest reserves , these people will have unlimited access to natural forests in pursuit of dwindling resources” said Joseph Kanyanya of Kenya forest working group.

“ It would be condemning the forests to death, people will be cutting down trees for building material and firewood while at the same hunting wildlife for meat, we will be finished “ he emphasizes.

The 2 forests have some thousands of years old indigenous trees including precious Meru Oak and Camphor both highly valued for their quality wood for furniture making and building .

Poaching of these 2 species have seen the government times with support of donors spend millions of dollars protecting the species for posterity.

Kenya’s now improving elephant numbers would also be at risk of poachers in pursuit of quick riches from ivory.

The country’s biggest river Tan that flows all the way to Indian ocean has Mt Kenya as it’s source and feeds 2 dams in lower Tan that produce half of the country’s electricity.

Besides Tana river supports more than a thousand of acres of irrigation schemes in Tana River district not t mention the many small users of her resources up stream .

In total no less than 3 rivers have their source in Mt Kenya that supply water to million in Central and Eastern Kenya regions. The case is the same for the Aberdares valued for as the only water source for the capital Nairobi.

The settling of IDPS here would only worsen matters for a forest that Bhang growers have targeted in the past destroying thousands of hectares and forcing authorities to put it under armed patrols of the Kenya Wildlife Service guards .

Charity bodies have spent billions putting a near 1000, km electric fence around the ranges to secure it from poachers.

The Kibaki government t has promised to resettle more than 350,000 IDPS victims of post election violence and rebuild their burnt houses as well .

Keywords:  kenya society nature climate