Environmentalists: Kenyan Avocado Farm Would Block Elephant Movements
2021-03-08
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1A proposed new avocado farm in Kenya would block the movements of elephants and other wildlife near a major national park.
2Local conservation activists say the farm would cut off the free movement of about 2,000 elephants living in the area around Amboseli National Park.
3The park is in southern Kenya near the border with Tanzania.
4The area is also home to other wildlife, including giraffes, zebras and hippos.
5Kenyan agriculture company KiliAvo Fresh Ltd has farms near Amboseli on nearly 70 hectares of land.
6The company is preparing to grow avocados which have been rising in popularity around the world.
7Conservationists say the new farm and an electric fence around it will block the path of animals moving between Amboseli and other national parks nearby.
8The parks bring large numbers of tourists from around the world.
9Area tourism is mostly related to safaris.
10Tourism brought in about $1.6 billion in 2019 to the country.
11But avocado farming also brings in a lot of money.
12With ideal conditions for growing avocados, Kenya's export earnings rose 33 percent to about $127 million in the past year to October 2020.
13KiliAvo says it received government approval in mid-2020 to begin work on the farm after presenting an environmental report.
14Jeremiah Salaash is a shareholder in KiliAvo and runs a farm for the company.
15"Local people here all know the project and they are happy because it's another source of employment and of making their land have value," Salaash told Reuters news agency.
16However, Kenya's National Environment Management Agency ordered work halted last September.
17The agency said it wanted to withdraw the permission to build the new farm.
18Lawyers representing KiliAvo say the company has appealed that decision.
19The agency's acting director, Mamo Mamo, told Reuters it first decided to approve the farm plans because of support of the project by the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust.
20The trust is a coalition that includes community groups and government representatives.
21But the agency said it changed its position after that organization withdrew its approval.
22Conservationists say blocking the elephants could harm their population and the large tourism trade.
23Vicki Fishlock is a scientist working for the Amboseli Elephant Trust group.
24"We can't just say to the elephants: 'Would you mind not going that way because we have decided that we are going to do stuff here?'" she told Reuters.
25Blocking the animals "would surely kill the sanctuary as it depends on the animals migrating from Amboseli," added Samuel Kaanki.
26He leads a group of 342 members of the Maasai tribe who own more than 8,000 hectares where elephants live.
27Kaanki said the elephants would seek other paths if they are blocked by farms like KiliAvo's or others.
28"This would...result in massive human-wildlife conflicts."
29Lawyers for KiliAvo say the farm sits about 17 kilometers away from Amboseli within an area approved for farming.
30The company also noted the project has been good for the local economy.
31It says the farm employs about 300 workers and established new technology in the area.
32The lawyers for KiliAvo also told Reuters that those who are opposed to the project have "mischaracterized" it for their own gain.
33They said the company is being mistreated.
34Another conservation group, Big Life Foundation, released video from October of four gazelles that appeared to be trapped on one side of the fence and could not pass through.
35It also said the fence was damaged at least three times last month by elephants.
36"If they are trapped in one place, populations will collapse," said Big Life project manager Ernest Lenkoina.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A proposed new avocado farm in Kenya would block the movements of elephants and other wildlife near a major national park. 2Local conservation activists say the farm would cut off the free movement of about 2,000 elephants living in the area around Amboseli National Park. The park is in southern Kenya near the border with Tanzania. 3The area is also home to other wildlife, including giraffes, zebras and hippos. 4Kenyan agriculture company KiliAvo Fresh Ltd has farms near Amboseli on nearly 70 hectares of land. The company is preparing to grow avocados which have been rising in popularity around the world. 5Conservationists say the new farm and an electric fence around it will block the path of animals moving between Amboseli and other national parks nearby. The parks bring large numbers of tourists from around the world. Area tourism is mostly related to safaris. Tourism brought in about $1.6 billion in 2019 to the country. 6But avocado farming also brings in a lot of money. With ideal conditions for growing avocados, Kenya's export earnings rose 33 percent to about $127 million in the past year to October 2020. 7KiliAvo says it received government approval in mid-2020 to begin work on the farm after presenting an environmental report. Jeremiah Salaash is a shareholder in KiliAvo and runs a farm for the company. "Local people here all know the project and they are happy because it's another source of employment and of making their land have value," Salaash told Reuters news agency. 8However, Kenya's National Environment Management Agency ordered work halted last September. The agency said it wanted to withdraw the permission to build the new farm. Lawyers representing KiliAvo say the company has appealed that decision. 9The agency's acting director, Mamo Mamo, told Reuters it first decided to approve the farm plans because of support of the project by the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust. The trust is a coalition that includes community groups and government representatives. But the agency said it changed its position after that organization withdrew its approval. 10Conservationists say blocking the elephants could harm their population and the large tourism trade. 11Vicki Fishlock is a scientist working for the Amboseli Elephant Trust group. "We can't just say to the elephants: 'Would you mind not going that way because we have decided that we are going to do stuff here?'" she told Reuters. 12Blocking the animals "would surely kill the sanctuary as it depends on the animals migrating from Amboseli," added Samuel Kaanki. He leads a group of 342 members of the Maasai tribe who own more than 8,000 hectares where elephants live. 13Kaanki said the elephants would seek other paths if they are blocked by farms like KiliAvo's or others. "This would...result in massive human-wildlife conflicts." 14Lawyers for KiliAvo say the farm sits about 17 kilometers away from Amboseli within an area approved for farming. The company also noted the project has been good for the local economy. It says the farm employs about 300 workers and established new technology in the area. 15The lawyers for KiliAvo also told Reuters that those who are opposed to the project have "mischaracterized" it for their own gain. They said the company is being mistreated. 16Another conservation group, Big Life Foundation, released video from October of four gazelles that appeared to be trapped on one side of the fence and could not pass through. It also said the fence was damaged at least three times last month by elephants. 17"If they are trapped in one place, populations will collapse," said Big Life project manager Ernest Lenkoina. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 21_______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants and natural resources 24tourist - n. someone who travels to another place for pleasure 25safari - n. a trip to see or hunt animals, especially in Africa 26source - n. someone or something that provides what is wanted or needed 27sanctuary - n. a place where people or animals are given protection and shelter 28mischaracterize - v. to wrongly characterize; to wrongly describe the qualities, or character, of a person 29manager - n. someone who is oversees a business or department of an organization