NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 25 – Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has announced that the size of the Nairobi national park has been increased to 78, 000 acres from an initial 29, 000 acres.
According to Balala, the increase was largely due to the International Livestock and Research Institute (ILRI) and Swara Plains Conservancy declaring 32, 000 and 15, 000 acres of land respectively for wildlife conservation in Machakos County.
“I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the two conservancies on behalf of the government and the people of Kenya for this wonderful gift that will ensure our unique biodiversity thrives for posterity,” he said.
The government has also added 2, 000 acres of land from sheep and goat ranch to the park whose title will now be under the Kenya Wildlife Service.
The park initially was 29, 000 acres with Balala noting that even with the latest increment the park is not big enough to meet the ecological requirement of its wildlife populations.
Subsequently, this will provide a wildlife corridor to inter-connect Nairobi national park, Swara, ILRI conservancies.
Balala however noted that despite the increase, the park is still not big enough to meet the ecological requirement of its wildlife populations throughout the year.
“On the northern side we are looking into acquiring 1, 500 acres of land to extend the park to Ngong Forest. We hope that all this will enable the park to be listed and declared a world heritage site,” he said.
