By Jason Straziuso and Tom Odula, Associated Press 20 April 2011 NAIROBI, Kenya—Stephen Omandi scratched out the number “55” on the sign advertising buckets of maize and wrote in the new price: 60 Kenya shillings. The price hike amounted to only $0.06. But for the residents of Nairobi’s largest slum, where most people live on […]
April 14 (Coastweek) – The Mountain Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) is on the edge of extinction mainly due to genetic factors, predation, disease, and forest habitat threats. This has been confirmed by both the Director of Kenya Wildlife Service Julius Kipng’-etich and Dr Jake Veasey, Co-ordinator for Bongo, IUCN Antelope Specialist Group. A recent joint […]
ISIOLO/MANDERA, 6 April 2011 (IRIN) – Thousands more heads of livestock have died in Kenya’s arid Northeastern province as La Niña drought conditions worsen and water shortages become more acute. Drought monitoring and assessment reports indicate that the hardest-hit areas are Marsabit, Moyale and Mandera. Livestock farmers in the three regions have lost more than […]
VIDEO: Somalis flee drought zones 30 March 2011 (UN News Service) – The number of people in need of emergency food aid in East Africa has increased by 2 million to nearly 8.4 million as drought continues to ravage the region, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today. Extremely poor rains from October to December […]
Nairobi — Rising inflation is threatening East Africa Community’s economic growth. From Nairobi to Dar es Salaam and Kampala, all signs point to surging inflation in the region in the coming days. An array of issues from drought to food scarcity to escalating oil prices continue to pile pressure on households’ expenditure. Political crises in […]
February 21, 2011 (World Meteorological Organization) — Since November, East African countries have registered serious drought conditions that are likely to worsen in coming months. According to data recently released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the La Niña weather effect is largely responsible. WMO said the phenomenon might last up to four more months […]
The lives and livelihood of communities living in arid and semi-arid lands were affected by the worsening drought conditions in 2010. Wajir district, in northern Kenya was the worst hit and continued to record deterioration of pasture, livestock body conditions, and access to water since August 2010. Worsening conditions were also reported in parts of […]
Tsavo National Park, Kenya (AFP) Feb 13, 2011 – A slowdown in the increase of Kenya’s elephant numbers is raising fears among conservationists that hard-fought gains in saving the animals may be reversed amid growing demand for ivory. An aerial census conducted in the east African country’s largest elephant sanctuary last week showed a drop […]
By Evan Abramson, Yale Environment 360February 8, 2011 For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80 percent of Kenya and 60 percent of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their […]
By ELISABETH ROSENTHALJanuary 21, 2011 KINANGOP, Kenya — Simon Joakim Kiiru remembers a time not long ago when familiar birdsongs filled the air here and life was correlated with bird sightings. His lush, well-tended homestead is in the highlands next to the Aberdare National Park, one of the premier birding destinations in the world. When […]
