Kenya’s biodiversity is facing significant threats, highlighting the need for urgent conservation measures, according to a new report released by Nature Kenya, a conservation lobby group.
According to the report, key biodiversity areas (KBAs) in Kenya are under threat due to pressures from drought, infrastructure development, land use changes, and deforestation.
The report, titled “Kenya’s Key Biodiversity Areas Status and Trends 2023”, was launched in Nairobi on February 3, 2025.
KBAs are areas contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity.
Globally, there are more than 16,400 KBAs. Kenya accounts for 109 KBAs, sites identified on the basis of different taxa, including 68 sites identified on the basis of birds. These are also known as Important Bird Areas.
Every year, assessments are carried out to determine the condition of Kenya’s KBAs, the threats facing them and any responses to safeguard them.
Basic Monitoring Protocol, globally designed monitoring criteria that assesses the STATE, PRESSURE, and RESPONSE, is the methodology used to assess Kenya’s KBAs.
The STATE score (Very unfavorable and Favorable) measures the condition of the KBA based on trigger species (a species by which at least one KBA criterion and associated threshold is met) and habitat condition.
The PRESSURE score (Low and Very high) measures the status and intensity of threats faced or experienced in the KBA, affecting the habitat and trigger species.
The RESPONSE score (Negligible and High) evaluates the conservation actions being implemented in the KBA and supporting overall conservation of KBAs in Kenya.
Of the 56 sites assessed in 2023, only three — Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Mau Forest Complex, and Mrima Hill Forest were ranked as ‘favorable’ in the STATE score, a decline from the five sites ranked under a similar category in 2022.
In 2023, only one site — Dzombo Hill Forest — had a ‘Low’ in PRESSURE score, while twenty-nine recorded a score of ‘Very High’.
In 2023, six KBAs recorded a ‘Negligible’ in RESPONSE score.
The report reveals that the conversion of grasslands to croplands in Kinangop highland grassland in central Kenya has resulted in the loss of habitat for an endangered bird known as Sharpe’s Longclaw, which is only found in Kenya.
Extreme unprecedented weather events resulting in prolonged droughts from 2020 to 2023, particularly over the 2022-2023 dry season, affecting vegetation cover. Wildlife populations were affected.
According to the report, 10 per cent of Endangered Grevy’s zebra died as a result of drought in the Samburu landscape in the Amboseli landscape.
The report raises concern about the collision and electrocution of birds by energy infrastructure. Results from the power line survey work carried out from October 2022 to September 2023 besides Lake Elmenteita KBA recorded a total 20 incidents of 10 bird species fatally interacting with power lines were documented.
Water pollution, resulting to accidental poisoning of wildlife and bioaccumulation in the food web, was recorded at Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha.
Disposal of brine by salt manufacturing factories along the Kenyan coast affected mangrove forests by killing trees due to increase in water salinity.
The report warns that unregulated livestock numbers are increasing pressure on pasture and competition with wildlife, resulting in human-wildlife conflict and rangeland degradation, documented in the Amboseli, Masai Mara, and Samburu-Laikipia landscapes.
Despite the average decline in the RESPONSE score, there are notable conservation efforts in these sites. There are leading efforts from county and national governments; national agencies like Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service; non-governmental and civil society organisations; and community groups such as Site Support Groups.