GVI Kenya

 
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) declared 2007 the International Year of the Dolphin, an initiative to promote awareness and conservation of Dolphin species around the world. Kenya Wildlife Service took up the challenge, in partnership with corporate sponsors and local tour operators and at around this time last year, [...]

Following my post on 25th November about the new threat of charcoal burning in Shimoni Forest, and concerns that you shared with us about it, I am pleased to be able to update you with some very encouraging news already! Having started reporting what we observe in terms of clear felling and now the alarming number [...]

GVI’s research team headed back in to Shimoni Forest today, to survey the primates along our Transect 1, which runs parallel within 100m of the coastline – the area of forest at most risk of development. We survey Shimoni East forest on a regular basis to keep track of the presence of the Colobus, including [...]

The Kisite Marine Park and adjacent Mpunguti Marine Reserve, where we are working with Kenya Wildlife Service to research the dolphin populations, can attract over 200 tourists a day, drawn by the beautiful coral reefs around Kisite Island. The diving and snorkelling can be exceptionally rewarding with the diverse array of marine life. However it [...]

Kenya may be most famous for its incredible big game and open savanna, but its coastal forests, although small, are no less significant for wildlife conservation. The Eastern Africa Coastal Forests Ecoregion is in fact the smallest of 25 Global Biodiversity Hotspots but contains the highest density of endemic plant and vertebrate animal species.

Above: one of the Colobus monkeys spotted [...]

I first arrived in Shimoni, a remarkable coastal community tucked away in southern Kenya close to the border with Tanzania, in November 2005, to set up GVI’s wildlife research and community development expedition. Since the beginning of 2006 we have been working closely with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the local villagers to integrate scientific [...]