Ecosystems when faced by disturbances whether naturally or human-induced work towards recovery – this is a show of ecological resilience. The ease with which a particular ecosystem regains its previous or improved status is a measure of this resilience. Where perturbation is of high magnitude, recovery takes place slowly and over a relatively longer period. It is in such a case that human intervention may be needed to aid in recovery. Kivaa Hill in Machakos County, Eastern Kenya, has over the last four decades been degraded by surrounding community members through extraction of timber, fuelwood and medicinal herbs as well as overgrazing. In 2008, the community members approached the Institute for Culture and Ecology to forge joint efforts towards supporting restoration of Kivaa Hill’s ecological integrity. A group of elders came together after the community started partnering with ICE and laid down strategies to employ in aiding restoration of Kivaa Hill, which the community had come to appreciate as a critical watershed. Led by their leader, Mzee (Elder) Munguti Kavivya, the elders mobilized Kivaa community towards reforestation of the hill and also lobbied to have grazing on it banned by the local administrators. Munguti Kavivya and Kivaa Hill are intricately bound together as revealed by a recent visit to the area. After a short briefing at the foothill, Mzee Kavivya strode off up the hill while we followed trying to keep pace with this nonagenarian who was accompanied by a battery of other local elders. A few metres up the hill, Mzee Kavivya stops at a spot which he calls the ‘gate’. He selected plants for us to hold as a sign of peace and warm welcome and then ushered us to some stones to sit on as he readied himself to answer any questions. We were not far from the Ithembo, the sacred site on Kivaa Hill. We asked Mzee Kavivya to tell us his story of Kivaa Hill. He began by saying that before 1949 there was virtually no-one living in Kivaa area. There was abundant wild life and hunters would pass through from time to time. In 1949 his father brought his family to settle in the area. They were among the first settlers. He narrated that in the next three decades many more people continued streaming into the area, some of them seeking jobs at the Seven Folks Hydro-electric power stations being established at that time along River Tana, Kenya’s largest river. The elders who moved to Kivaa brought with them their Kamba traditions. They earmarked Kivaa Hill as a Sacred site and carried out the first sacrificial ritual there in 1964 to cleanse the hill for onward ceremonies owing to the degradation that the hill had suffered. Elders in Kivaa carried out more rituals in the subsequent years up to 1975. During all this time Mzee Kavivya operated like a lone ranger as custodian of Kivaa Hill sacred site. He started the process of mobilizing other elders and these started engaging in dialogues on how to protect and conserve the Hill. They also brought along younger people in what they called intergenerational dialogues. These dialogues culminated in development of eco-cultural calendars and maps as tools to guide in ecological reconstruction which was done in partnership with ICE and with support from the African Biodiversity Network(ABN) among other partners. “Today Kivaa Hill has its owners and is able to protect itself’’ Mzee Kavivya proudly testifies. Mzee Kavivya reiterated that the Hill is now respected and cases of illegal grazing and extraction of materials is minimal. He commends the local chief for the support he gives the elders whenever they arrest illegal grazers. He also appreciates the support from ICE. “If you take your goat or cow there be ready for the consequences’’ Mzee Kavivya declares. Each goat apprehended on the hill attracts a fine of Ksh.500 and Kshs. 1,000 for cows. Today Kivaa Hill is now providing ecosystem services like there before, courtesy of a recent research done by ICE in partnership with selected local community members. Kivaa hill’s hydrologic potential has been restored and streams now flow from the hill traversing the neighbourhoods providing water to the local residents. “Let’s avoid conflict while fetching water as the Owner of this water might be offended and stop it, instead let’s respect the hill where this water comes from”. Mzee Kavivya concludes. Article by Elijah K. Karugia

For millennia, indigenous and local communities around the world have upheld the responsibilities of their great-great grandparents and their ancestors as the Custodians of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories. Sacred Natural Sites are critical places within ecosystems, such as forests, mountains, rivers and sources of water, which exist as a network embedded within a territory. Sacred Natural Sites are also of cultural and spiritual importance, as places where the ancestors’ spirits of the community reside, and are akin to temples or churches where the Custodians carry out ceremonies and rituals. Elders within the community play a vital role in upholding the ecological knowledge and customs practised over generations which maintain the well-being of Sacred Natural Sites, ecosystems, territories and local communities. These customary governance systems recognise Sacred Natural Sites and Territories as places where the laws of Earth can be read, and from which customs, spiritual practices and governance systems are derived to protect the territory as a whole. Therefore, Sacred Natural Sites and Territories are at the heart of ecological, spiritual and cultural practices, and governance systems of indigenous and local communities. Despite their vital importance, Sacred Natural Sites and Territories in Kenya, and across Africa, are faced with increasing threats of destruction from economic and other developments which have also eroded the customary governance systems of their custodial communities. The failure to respect ecosystems, and the Sacred Natural Sites within them, has a direct impact on the lives and well-being of communities of present and future generations of all life. This Report examines whether the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the legal, policy and institutional framework in Kenya recognises and supports, or undermines, the rights and responsibilities of communities to govern and protect their Sacred Natural Sites and Territories, according to their customary governance systems and on their own terms.

Kivaa hill is not an ordinary hill to the people of Matuu as Mzee Munguti Kavivya, chairman of the sacred sites protection group says, “The hill represents the strides we have taken as a community to protect our fragile ecosystem.” “This hill”, he points out, “was the source of rich traditional remedies used by our fore fathers and their fathers before them.” But population pressure and other effects of civilisation saw the community encroach into the hill and clear land areas for settlement putting this rich ecosystem at the risk of extinction. “People cut down trees to clear land for cultivation and settlement,” he adds. This wanton destruction of the hill’s natural flora had far reaching effects on the people of Kivaa. “It first began with very erratic rainfall patterns we could not plan for and then one day, the rains just stopped. What was to follow was a long spell of drought and famine that nearly wiped the people of Kivaa off the face of the earth – the drought is one of the harshest and the longest in Kenya’s history. “When ICE came, we were desperate and hungry. We had no water and our source of herbal remedies was quickly fading away. ICE told us that the secret to our survival rested in the protection of the indigenous forest on the hill”. It was after realising the blunder that they had done that the old men of the village came together and with help from ICE, they started a concerted effort to protect what natural heritage was remaining and rebuild the hill’s lost glory. “We owned up to our mistake as a community and worked collectively to revive the forest,” says mzee Munguti. Strict rules and regulations governing the use of the hill were developed and each member of the community was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring these rules were followed. “Our government also helped us a lot because any time a person was caught breaking the set laws, our local chief was on hand to administer the law of the land to its full extent, says Munguti. Soon word spread that the hill should be left alone. Since then we have worked together to replant trees on the hill and our efforts are beginning to pay off. We are hoping that some day we can even transform this place to an eco-tourism site. Kivaa hill is now a treasure for the people of Kivaa. It occupies a sentimental place in their hearts and because of all the conservation efforts that have gone into it in the recent past, it will certainly continue to be a source of rich herbal remedies and the source of much needed rain.

Elijah Kamau teaches biology at Maina Wanjigi Secondary in the Eastlands area of Nairobi. Eastlands is home to almost seventy percent of the slums in Nairobi. Elijah is involved in a project sponsored by the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) to promote the planting and care of indigenous trees and crops in secondary schools particularly in the Eastlands area. “It has come to our realisation that there is proliferation of exotic trees in the city. If you look at the recent beautification campaigns by the city council of Nairobi, you will quickly see evidence of this in progress. The city is full of exotic trees,” laments Elijah. Proponents of exotic tree species claim the trees are fast-maturing compared to the indigenous ones. A fact Elijah does not of course agree with entirely. “If you look at an indigenous tree like the famous ‘Mugumo’ (Fig tree), it does take almost fifty years to mature but one has to look at the non-consumptive benefits from the tree that can be enjoyed as early as five years after planting the tree,” he adds. Some of the exotic trees are what Elijah calls allelophatic – they do not allow other plants to grow within their vicinity. “This is not good especially for inter-cropping and it results to a huge waste on the land resource,” he adds. The Eucalyptus spp on the other hand is known to interfere with the water cycle. “But when you look at a tree like Muringa (Cordia spp), the benefits are many. To start with, it is a good source of shade and other vegetation can thrive well around it making it a good candidate for landscaping,” adds Elijah. The school project now in its fourth year, has since expanded to four other schools in the area. “These are St. Teresa Girls, Kayole secondary, Ndururuno, Embakasi and Ruaraka high,” Elijah adds. The project has within this period realised over one thousand seedlings which have been distributed to various schools. “At Maina Wanjigi, we have managed to plant about 200 trees,” Elijah says. Some of the indigenous tree varieties used in the project include Podocarpus, Cordia, Grevillea, Markhamia and the legendary Meru Oak. “The Meru Oak has proved a bit challenging to sustain. It is quite a difficult variety to develop,” adds Elijah. The project uses the small parcels of land allocated to the high school candidates for their examinable agricultural projects as well as members of the school’s agricultural club. “Most of the time,” explains Elijah, “the parcels are not in use by the school so we thought this would be the ideal place to establish our tree nursery and do demonstrations. So far the initiative has been very successful and it has received a lot of goodwill from the school administration.” According to Elijah, people are not aware of the many other benefits indigenous trees have to offer besides their aesthetic appeal. “They are a vital ingredient in maintaining the water cycle alongside providing a rich source of food and herbal remedies,” he says. Elijah is quick to offer a warning, “the availability of planting material for these trees is a challenge and the little that is available may not be viable. We are working closely with ICE on this but we realise it may be quite a while before we can establish a sustainable supply to meet the rising demand.” Coupled with scarcity of planting material is the fact that Eastlands area has the dreaded black cotton soil which is not conducive for the proper growth of these trees. “We have to import red soil from elsewhere and this comes with its own challenges of increasing cost through high overheads on transport logistics not to mention the student culture and perception that trees are not the in-thing to be involved in,” Elijah laments. At Maina Wanjigi, the students have made significant strides in growing indigenous food crops on the school compound. “Our primary goal for the indigenous and traditional food crops component is to explore avenues of introducing these food crops into the school’s diet,” Elijah points out. The project has been experimenting with Githigu, a traditional maize variety common among the Kikuyu community of Kenya that is normally planted during the long rains. “The results were very encouraging and we have since followed that up with the introduction of green Amaranth, Sesbania Sesban and Lucern. “We have discovered that there is a tendency among most indigenous food crops to take up minerals much better than their exotic varieties and I think this explains why they are that nutritious. In partnership with the national museums of Kenya, we will embark on undertaking more research to characterise and better understand these food crops,” he adds. Elijah’s dream through this component is that he may one day witness everyone in the locality maintaining a kitchen garden of indigenous food crops. For now his main task is to ensure strategies for continuity are in place to take this initiative to the next level. He is glad that leaders and the world at large are beginning to take notice of the impact the environment has on livelihoods. He only hopes that there will be more to look forward to beyond Copenhagen 2009.