Disturbance Report Submitted
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 15 2009 | By: gvikenya
East African coastal forests are some of the most critical habitats for wildlife conservation in the world. Once upon a time they were a continuous belt that stretched from Somalia down to Mozambique, and were home to some of Africa’s most diverse and unique wildlife. Unfortunately today, what remains are small, isolated and fragmented patches, in which the wildlife is becoming more and more vulnerable.
One of the many new roads scarring the forest
GVI has been conducting disturbance surveys in Shimoni forest for over three years now, and have a solid and robust set of data, which highlight the plight of this beautiful area. The main aim for our research in the forest, is to be able to hand it over to Friends of Shimoni Forest (a community-based organisation), which will empower them to lobby, apply or petition for things like land allocation or protective status for the forest.
The work of illegal loggers
We have been very encouraged recently however, as government organisations and the local administration have actively approached us for our data and results, as they too are very concerned with the level of destruction. Off the back of this, we have spent a lot of time putting together a disturbance report, which summarises our results over the years. This report has been written on behalf of Friends of Shimoni Forest, and has been submitted to Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, the Chairman of the County Council, the District Commissioner, the East African Wildlife Society and the IUCN.
A charcoal pit in action
It is massively encouraging to know that our results are being looked at by so many people, and that the number and range of people concerned with this destruction is ever increasing. We cannot wait to work with everyone in the future, so that together we can put a stop to it.
Tags: , administration, Chairman of the County Council, Charcoal Pit, critical habitat, data, destruction, District Commissioner, disturbance, diverse, East African coastal forest, East African Wildlife Society, fragmanted patches, Friends of Shimoni Forest, government organisations, illegal loggers, isolated, IUCN, Kenya Forest Service, Mozambique, results, robust, Somalia, surveys, unique wildlife, vulnerable, wildlife conservation
A Big Thank You
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello all,
This blog today is mainly to say a huge thank you to the responses we’ve had regarding the issue of charcoal. Last week we wrote three blogs focusing on charcoal burning here in Shimoni forest; how it is done, why people do it, and finally a brief introduction into the alternatives available.
We had some great responses, with Kathy informing us that the BBC did a programme related to this subject recently, and that they were offering advice to anyone who would like to know more. And then Sherri pointed out the ‘ending charcoal’ site on our very own Wildlife Direct! The internet here has been playing up recently so I’ve only managed to have a brief look, but at first glance it appears both inspirational and genius!
It never fails to amaze me how lucky we are to be a part of this online network of like-minded people, groups and organisations that are all doing such fantastic work. It makes such sense as well – everyone can ask questions, share ideas, help out and support one another. I’m going to give the ‘ending charcoal’ blogs a good, solid read, and see what ideas I can plagiarise! Once we’ve got a prototype kiln and press up and running we can hopefully do our part by sharing ideas, mistakes and thoughts.
So again, thank you guys for your interest and support, and of course your super ideas. And here’s to us all working together for a brighter future!
Matt
Tags: BBC, charcoal, ideas, kiln, mistakes, network, press, prototype, Shimoni Forest, thoughts
Charcoal - The Alternatives!
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 27 2009 | By: gvikenya
Ok people, so in the last two blogs we’ve discussed how charcoal is made here in Shimoni forest, and how it is done mainly by desperate people with no other choice who, given the opportunity, would gladly do something else. So I’ve spent the last day fighting a battle with our temperamental internet connection to see what kind of alternatives I can find. I shall continue my search relentlessly, until we find an option that will work here.
Kenya’s coastal forests
All of the techniques I’ve manage to find so far all seem to revolve around a similar principle. One puts the organic material of choice into a large steel drum, burns it under low-oxygen conditions (to allow for carbonisation), mixes it with some sort of binding agent, and then presses it into charcoal briquettes. Depending on the organic material used, the methods differ slightly, but not by much. Here are some of the options…
Corn cobs
Get a 200 litre steel drum and fill it 1/3 full with dried corn cobs. Ignite the contents, and burn until the smoke disappears. Refill the drum approximately 2/3 full and reignite. Allow to burn until the smoke disappears. Allow the contents to cool, empty the drum and sprinkle the contents with water. Allow to dry in the sun, and then separate the “charcoal” from the ashes.
These were all the instructions given – they appear a bit basic and I’m skeptical about the quality of the resultant charcoal. Quick and easy though, so worth an experiment!
An earth-mound kiln
Coconut shells
Again, get a 200 litre steel drum. Cut a hole in the top (30cm diameter), and attach poles to the cut section so it can be used as a lid. Drill a series of small holes in the bottom of the drum and place the drum on stones to allow air to enter. Fill the drum 1/3 full with coconut shells, add a little bit of kerosene and ignite. Allow to burn for 5 minutes before putting the lid on. The colour of the smoke should change from black to white. Take the lid off, add more shells (up to 10kg’s apparently) and wait until more black smoke is produced (this means the new shells are burning). Repeat this process until the drum is full of charcoal. After 8 hours, remove the drum from the stones and seal the lid with mud so no oxygen at all can enter the drum. Leave in this state for 12 hours. Remove and sieve contents.
Sugarcane waste (bagasse)
This method is very similar to the above method. The instructions I found however are written by a student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and are very detailed. She gives much more instruction with regards to the different stages and required airflow through the drum. This method differs in that once the initial carbonisation stage is over, the resultant charcoal “fines” need to be mixed with a binding agent. In this case she uses a porridge made from cassava – a hardy root vegetable.
Various organic material
I found another set of instructions that again, is a similar process to the ones above. It follows suit with the sugarcane method, and requires a binder. They suggest using soil with a high clay content. This method claims that almost any organic material can be used (coconut shells/husks, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse, roots of vetiver grass, dry leaves etc.).
So there we have it. Finding all of that took a matter of a few hours. I think with a bit more digging, plenty more is out there. It is time for me to ask a small favour from all of you wonderful readers who would also like to see the end to the destruction of our beautiful forest. If anyone has any bright ideas about what we can use as a binding agent (we don’t have soil with high clay content, and I don’t think cassava is abundant here – I will check though), please throw them our way. Remember it has to be cheap (preferably free…!). And of course, if anyone has any information / ideas / websites / friends / contacts / suggestions about alternative charcoal – you know where we are!
I’ll keep you all updated on our experimentation progress…
Tags: bagasse, binding agent, briquettes, carbonisation, carbonised, cassava, charcoal, coconut husk, coconut shell, corn cobs, experimentation, kerosene, methods, MIT, organic material, oxygen, porridge, root vegetable, Shimoni Forest, smoke, steel drum, sugarcane
Charcoal - The Real Issue…
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 26 2009 | By: gvikenya
So everyone knows about the problems related to unregulated, inefficient and illegal charcoal burning. It’s very easy for one to sit back and point the finger at the people conducting these activities, labeling them criminals. The real issue however, is slightly more complex than that.
We have been conducting research in Shimoni forest for over three years, and have been working with the community group Friends of Shimoni Forest for two and a half years. Through all of this we have had a lot of experience with the issue of charcoal burning, and have countless meetings (both organized and impromptu) with the charcoal burners themselves. What we’ve found in the majority of cases, is that these people do not want to be charcoal burning any more than we do. The difference being, we have the luxury of choice.
The result of a charcoal pit
The vast majority of people in this area are living below the poverty line, and are desperately poor. They have families to feed and school fees to pay for, and they don’t have any choice. They know charcoal burning is illegal, and they know it does huge damage to the forest. Most of them would muc rather be doing something else, but if it comes down to feeding their families – it’s not even a choice. We have been asked by so may of them to find them alternatives, to offer them a choice. And if a choice was offered, they would happily give it up.
An earth-mound kiln ready to light
So that’s our mission. The solution to the problem is clear: find an alternative to charcoal burning. One thing we need to remember is that everyone in the entire area (and most of the country) use charcoal to cook. So not only do we need to find an alternative income for the burners themselves, but we need to find a charcoal replacement otherwise we will have only solved half of the problem.
The obvious way around this is combine the alternative livelihoods with the production of alternative, forest friendly charcoal!
To the internet! I will be back in the next day or two with what I’ve found…
Tags: , alternative livlihoods, charcoal, Charcoal Burning, criminals, Friends of Shimoni Forest, inefficient, poor, poverty line, Shimoni Forest, unregulated
Charcoal Burning - The Technical Side
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 25 2009 | By: gvikenya
If you cast your eyes back through some of the many blogs we’ve posted, you’ll see that plenty of them are about, or refer to, charcoal burning. We assume that most people have established what we are talking about – the means by which charcoal is produced. We thought however, it may be of interest to some people to know a bit more detail about this destructive and highly inefficient form of resource use.
About 47% of Kenyan households use charcoal, and total charcoal production is about 2.4 million tones (or 67 million bags weighing 36kg each). The widespread preference for charcoal is explained primarily by its affordability; it is the cheapest form of household cooking fuel (Kwale Management Team, 2009).
In Shimoni forest and the surrounding area, the majority of charcoal burning is done for subsistence purposes, and therefore on a relatively small scale when compared to commercial operations. The methods these subsistence charcoal producers use however, are basic and highly inefficient. The standard method is that of the earth-mound kiln.
A typical earth-mound kiln
The earth-mound kiln will begin with the digging of a shallow pit, which will be as big in surface area as the producer would like it to be. Just from personal experience, I have seen smaller kilns no more than 2 metres by 3 metres, and larger ones of up to 5 metres by 5 metres. These are quite small when compared to commercial kilns, but still do huge amounts of damage.
Trees are then cut down, cut into small pieces and piled up in the bottom of the pit. A wall, or structure is then built around the pit using lumps of rock and coral, tightly packed with earth. An earth roof is then constructed, sealing the structure. The idea is to starve the combustion process of oxygen, so only a couple of very small holes are left to allow smoke to escape. Some sort of fuel is poured over the wood before it is lit, to aid in the lighting process. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but my guess would be something like diesel, judging by the smell that is emitted. Long pieces of dry grass are fed in through the sides and roof so that once everything is sealed, the grass is simply lit, igniting the contents inside.
One of the smaller charcoal pits
Generally speaking, old, mature hardwood trees are cut down. Only a relatively small portion of the felled tree will actually go into the kiln. Only 10% of the wood that goes into the kiln will end up as usable charcoal. And of that percentage that does become charcoal, 80% of the energy in the wood has already been lost. The rest of the wood, and energy goes to waste.
The end result
Tags: affordability, burning, charcoal, combustion, commercial operations, cooking fuel, coral, destructive, diesel, earth-mound kiln, energy, hardwood trees, inefficient, kwale management teaem, mature trees, old trees, oxygen, resource use, rocks, Shimoni Forest, subsistence
Guided Walks A Step Or Two Away
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 12 2009 | By: gvikenya
I write to you all today with very tired legs, blistered hands and an aching arm, but with good news! Today we headed out into Shimoni east to help the members of Friends of Shimoni Forest (the community based organisation we work with) plan, cut and tag the trail through the forest that they will soon be taking tourists on!
Friends of Shimoni Forest have been planning these guided tours though the forest for a while now, and are finally almost ready to go. The idea is to take tourists on walks through the forest to visit the sacred Kaya’s (traditional religious sites), and to experience the amazing wildlife that exists.
A view of the mangroves from the trail
There were times of sadness and frustration, as we confirmed our fears that it simply was not possible to get up to the Kaya’s (which are a couple of kilometers past our normal survey transects) without passing through vast swathes of destruction. The areas of pristine, mature forest are becoming more and more fragmented and patchy. This was expected though, and maneuvering the tourists through only untouched forest would have been a falsehood (as well as difficult!). This way they will see both sides – the results of overexploitation and illegal activities, and the amazing coastal forest as it should be.
Some of the stunning forest the trail passes through
Raising awareness of this forest, and the issues that it faces is the single most important thing we can do. Not only will these guided walks show tourists what is happening, we believe it will raise awareness amongst the local community as well. Not only this, but it will bring Friends of Shimoni Forest valuable revenue which it can use to fund activities like forest patrols, tree planting, school scholarships, and perhaps will aide in finding alternative livelihoods for some of the people charcoal burning and logging.
A charcoal pit ready to burn
The main issue with ideas such as forest patrols, is that the people of these communities simply cannot afford to sacrifice a day earning money for their families, for patrolling as volunteers. And many of the charcoal burners we have spoken to said they would happily give it up if they could earn money in other ways. These problems are not easily solved, but there are many avenues to explore.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Community Conservation, community initiatives, deforestation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, guided tours, Logging, Shimoni Forest, tourist trails, tourist walks
Census - The Finale
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Primate Research, Primate census, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 07 2009 | By: gvikenya
Well hello again folks!
Apologies for not getting this blog up yesterday, we had issues with our elecricity…by which we mean we had none! But we’re back on line this morning so I can fill you all in.
So yesterday saw the conclusion to our colobus census in Shimoni forest! It has taken three days of long, hard transect traversing. We’ve tackled thorn bushes, impenetrable thickets and swarms of safari ants, but have come out at the end with some awesome data. Everyone is tired and covered in scratches, but we all had an absolute blast and got to see some fantastic sightings.
A colobus on the move
It was quite sad for a portion of yesterday however, as the destruction that has happened and is still going on up on the northern edge of the forest is awful. There are huge sections that can hardly be called forest anymore. And both teams observed charcoal pits in various stages of completion. My team actually stumbled across two men that were in the process of digging one, but they bolted as soon as they heard us coming.
On a better note, both teams had great sightings of primates. Between us, we saw 5 colobus troops and 6 sykes troops, plus the usual collection of beautiful birds, sunis, eagles and the back end of a very large snake! So in total over the three days, we have seen 19 groups of colobus and 24 groups of sykes!
We have also come to the conclusion that we shouldn’t really be calling what we’e done a census. Because a census is when you do a total sweep of the area in one day, so the number of primates you see is, in theory, all the primates in the area. But because we’ve had to do it over three days (due to man power), we will still be using distance sampling techniques to get population density estimates.
Some of the victorious team members
Unfortunately due to the power situation, we have not had a chance to run the data through the distance sampling program so don’t have any results for you yet, but as soon as we do I shall let you all know!
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, charcoal pits, colobus census, colobus monkey, Primate Research, Suni, sykes monkey
Land to be allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest!!!
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 22 2009 | By: gvikenya
What is the best way to have your voice herd? How do you convince the people in charge that your cause is important? When it’s the health of our rare coastal forest, how to you get the politicians on your side? Answer: Take it to their door step. And that’s what Friends of Shimoni Forest is doing. Last week we told you guys about our meeting with the Area Chief and the four Assistant Area Chiefs. This meeting really encouraged us to keep moving our cause forward with the local administration. The area chief recommended that we speak with the District commissioner and Chairman of the County Counsel. These two men are very influential here in Shimoni and the surrounding area. We immediately scheduled the two meetings for the begging of this week. The meetings were a great success and could be a huge turning point for our group and local conservation in general.
Our first meeting was with the Chairman of county counsel. The county counsel is in charge of the three major districts in the area. They are also in charge of allocating government land. We wanted to discus land ownership and the possibility of allocating a large plot of the forest to our group. We feared this may have been kind of a long shot so we took all necessary measures before raising the subject. We explained that we had the support from our Village Chairmen, Area chiefs and Kenya Wildlife Services. We talked about all the previous work we had done with youth education, patrolling of the forest, and creating sustainable alternative sources of income for the community. This last point really struck a chord with the Chairman. It is part of their mission to help communities grow and create jobs to raise the standard of living within their area. We explained that it was our goal to create sustainable work within the community to deter people from illegal and unsustainable practices such as logging and charcoal burning. Creating jobs and conservation are two very important issues to the counsel and the Chairman assured us we had his full support. He recommended that our group write a proposal for the land and that there is a high probability of placing a large piece of the forest under our protection. Amazing!!!
Our meeting with the District Commissioner was just as rewarding. Our goal for these meetings was to bring our groups intentions to the higher authorities. We want support from the authorities in obtaining this land. Getting the forest protected is a long term goal and will not happen overnight. We realized that as a CBO (community based organization) it can sometimes be difficult to move our projects forward. If this land is allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest and placed in our protection it will make our group a major share holder and give us a lot more influence in policies written. This will be a huge step towards protecting the entire forest. We are very excited! This will not solve all our problems, illegal practices will not just stop, nor will we. This will show everyone that our community is ready to take major actions to protect this beautiful coastal forest and the animals that live there. We will continue fight for our causes and the further we look the more we realize that we can build the support and make this work. We appreciate everyone’s support and can’t wait to tell you what happens next.
Until then this is Drew and thanks for your support and time.
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenyan Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Working together to end forest destruction.
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Forest fire, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 14 2009 | By: gvikenya
Drew here with more information on the fire and what’s happening with Friends of Shimoni Forest. Recently a meeting was held with community members and government officials about the destruction in Shimoni forest. This meeting was lead by KWS and involved many members of the community including Friends of Shimoni Forest. We had a major victory when the community decided to ban all power saws from the Shimoni area. And for a while we were seeing a real decline in logging which showed promise.
Unfortunately the recent fire which burned a large portion of the coastal forest reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done. Matt, working with GVI who discovered the fire, recently wrote about the fire in our blog. Yesterday Matt and I were called to have a meeting with the Area Chief Rashid Kassim Mklinynyihti and assistant Area Chiefs from the surrounding Kawle district. They were very concerned when word reached them about the fire and they had people soon on the scene. It is known that the fire was started by illegal charcoal pits and logging practices. During the meeting we discussed ways in which we could work together more efficiently to prevent these crimes. GVI and Friends of Shimoni Forest have always worked very closely with local community members and officials. The officers present at this meeting represent a greater area and have more influence in creating polices. Conservation starts at grass root levels and Friends of Shimoni forest is a perfect example of this.
We were very excited when the Mr. Kassim invited us to attend the weekly meeting held at the chief office is in Pongikie/ kidimu. He would like us to report to him personally anytime we have a concern or new plan of action. This is a great sign that the importance of conserving the forest is shared by both the community and elected officials from the greater area. Plans have been made to begin involving more influential politicians in our organization and this is a great step. We are setting an appointment with the district commissioner to discuss our concerns and raise money for saplings. FSF would like to sponsor a forest day festival. The Mr. Kassim is already on board and promises a lot of support. With the district commissioner’s help we think this event could be a huge success. We plan to invite local schools and other community groups and members to come and plant trees and learn more about the forest.
This just one more step towards reaching our goals. Every victory is important to our cause. Conservation is everyone’s responsibility. When communities join together to battle issues like global warming and protection of their environment amazing things can happen. We realize that the task at hand is immense and appreciate every step made forward. With the help of GVI and government officials, Friends of Shimoni forest and the community at large remain determined to put an end to the destruction of our coastal forest.
Tags: Charcoal Pit, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, conservation, Enviornmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest
Shimoni Forest Burns
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Elephant Shrew, Forest fire, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 09 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello again all,
This blog is not a happy one I’m afraid, as I bring you all news of an enormous fire in Shimoni East Forest. About three weeks ago, we were on Wasini Island - the location of our base - and we noticed an ominous orange glow on the horizon. It was in the direction of the forest, but we saw no signs of a fire in the subsequent weeks as we were conducting our surveys on the southern most transects, the ones nearest the coast.
Today however, we headed up to transect 6 (our northern most transect) for the first time in at least a month and a half. What we found was crushing, to say the least.
Some of the fire damage
A massive area just south of transect 6 had been burned, with most of the damage at the base of large trees. This is a method used to weaken the base of the tree and make it easier to fell. By our estimations, that area stretched for at least 150 X 150 metres. This was shocking enough, but the worst was yet to come.
The damage done to the ground
We managed to find the start of our transect (the north/south spine we use for access was obliterated by the fire), and headed east conducting a primate community survey. Around section 3 (150 metres from the start) we started seeing more evidence of fire damage. The further down the transect we went, the worse it got. Everywhere, there were big trees burnt at the base, and the entire ground was scorched black. Nothing on the ground seemed to have been spared; all the leaf litter, ground shrubs and saplings were gone, and any dead wood or old logs were piles of ash. The fire damage stretched up to section 17, which is 850 metres from where we started.
We don’t know how far the damage stretches in the other direction, but for a forest that has an area no more than 3 square kilometres, it is a scary size. We spent most of the day in stunned silence, not quite believing what we were seeing.
What we must be grateful for however, is that it was only a ground level fire that must have moved fairly quickly, the dry leaf litter being the fuel. The majority of the trees and the larger bushes, thickets and scrubs survived.
We’re not sure to what extent the fire stretched north or south, as we were walking east only. When we start surveying on transect 5, which is 200 metres south of where we were, we will see how far it stretches. All we can hope for is that it is a thin strip, and that other areas of the forest were spared.
Standing speechless…
One can only guess as to what happened, but my hunch is that people conducting illegal logging in the forest, set fires to weaken the trees. Then either the fires got out of control or were just left to burn away.
Our spirits were lifted throughout the day though, as we sighted three troops of Colobus monkeys, a zanj elephant shrew and a harvey’s duiker. There were also plenty of the usual butterflies, insects and spiders around, so it appears the damage was not as catastrophic as it could have been.
We contacted the assistant warden of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the members of the community policing unit and informed them of what has happened. Let us hope that this filters through to the community, and helps to highlight the fragility and vulnerability of this small, but ecologically critical coastal forest habitat.
Tags: , Forest fire, harvey's duiker, illegal logging, slash and burn, zanj elephant shrew
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