Community conservancy in Garissa protests logging in endangered Hirola antelope's habitat
Hassan Sheikh, the chairman of the Arawale Hirola community conservancy, called on the Kenya Forest Service to take immediate action against the loggers.
The Arawale community conservancy in Garissa has expressed strong disapproval and concern over illegal logging activities, citing potential environmental damage to an area that serves as a heritage home for the critically endangered Hirola antelopes.
They said loggers equipped with power saws invaded the forest along the river, causing widespread destruction.
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Led by Hassan Sheikh, the chairman of the Arawale Hirola community conservancy, they want the Kenya Forest Service to take immediate action against the loggers.
"We are witnessing a new trend that we never saw before; timber merchants have invaded the Hirola rangelands. We want the government to take the necessary actions before the community takes the law into their hands," said Hassan Sheikh.
Facing extinction
He said the area serves as a home for the Hirola antelopes that were facing extinction due to a habitat that is prone to prolonged drought and the forest along the river served as grazing land for antelopes during the dry season.
He urged the relevant authorities not to ignore their call against the illicit activities taking place in Bura East Sub-County in Garissa.
He further revealed how the loggers were not sparing big trees that were within farms located in the areas.
"For an indigenous tree, the farmer is given sh2000, and for the big mango branches, they were paying Sh3,000.
They are sparing anything," he decried.
He expressed concern that the area where logging activities were taking place is a flood-prone area where the forest cover provides riverbank protection.
Garissa County Eco-Tourism Conservancy Association Chairman Abdi Ibrahim also condemned the logging at the Hirola habitat.
He said the loggers invaded the protracted Hirola rangeland that does not enjoy the necessary protection from the government.
He appealed to the county and national government to intervene urgently.
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