The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is calling on the Ministry of Environment and the Kenya Forest Service to address concerns over reported encroachment on Ngong Road Forest, following sightings of a luxury hotel being constructed within the sanctuary.
In a demand letter to KFS, the GBM is demanding that the private developer's identity be revealed and that construction be stopped since it poses a danger to the environment.
The movement argues that the ongoing construction of a hotel in the middle of the forest poses a danger to the encroachment of protected forests, both as a water catchment and a natural habitat, calling for urgent intervention.
''As you are aware, Ngong Road Forest is a critical ecological and biodiversity resource in Nairobi. It provides essential ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, air purification, water catchment protection, and serves as an important recreational and educational green space for the city's residents,'' the letter continued.
"It has come to our attention that a private developer has begun construction within this forest area. This development, if confirmed, raises serious environmental, legal, and ethical concerns," the letter read in part.
The movement demands that, apart from the developer's name being revealed, they also want the process by which the developer was granted access to erect the hotel.
Additionally, they want KFS to provide a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and license as issued by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) regarding the project.
The construction comes months after the KFS withdrew licenses they issued to a private developer for a golf course and a restaurant in Ngong Road Forest.
In December, KFS and NEMA wrote to Karura Golf Range Limited citing various reasons for the suspension of the licenses they had initially issued.
Environmentalists raised alarm that the development of the golf course and restaurant posed a serious threat to Nairobi’s dwindling urban green spaces.
The complaints led the then Environment CS Aden Duale to order the immediate revocation of the license.
Green spaces in the city and Kenya at large have become the latest target for private developers who desire to own commercial projects and wipe out forest coverage, posing a risk to the environment.
The government has been walking a fine line between development and conservation. While it has hosted climate summits and pledged environmental protection, it has also lifted bans on logging and allocated forest land for projects.
