The President of Kenya: We call on you to enlist Nairobi National Park as World Heritage Site

Nairobi National Park is certainly one of the most iconic metropolitan wildlife sanctuaries on this planet and harbours many species close to extinction.

Since the park was gazetted in 1946 the vast 117 square kilometres of abundant wildlife, savanna grasslands, forests and wetlands bordering Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, have always been a strong symbol of Kenya’s inherent dedication to its natural heritage.

No other scene would have channeled the country’s ivory burning statement more boldly than the capital’s National Park.

However, Nairobi National Park is under siege.

The Kenyan government with its Chinese development partners are determined to build a super railway bridge straight through the middle of the park.

While the bridge is considered an iconic monument, a symbol
for development and modernization in Africa the project will at the same time mark the end of the nation's dedication to its environmental assets.

7 options were tabled
for the railway's Nairobi trace.

The options avoiding the park all together were abandoned by
a pencil whipped environmental impact assessment which was hastily compiled.

Evaluation summaries contained in the assessment add up to the routes through the park having the least impact.
The good news is that the proceedings have brought about a
machinery of litigation now in court, but without public awareness these efforts to re‐instore reason and most of all justice will be wiped under the carpet.

After decades of surviving the pressure of urban expansion, Nairobi National park and the 400 bird and 100 mammal species it harbours are now at risk of succumbing to property speculation and ill‐advised, short term planning.

All this is happening without adequate public consultation
and consequently biasing the interest of the very future generations Kenya's president was referring to in his ivory burning speech earlier this year.

In times of climate change and the continuous loss of global
biodiversity, ecological concerns such as the down grading of the NNP have long ceased to be a national cause only, but
require global awareness and support.

The protection of Nairobi National Park over the past
decades from the great pressure it is exposed to by the growing African metropolis is a unique and grand cultural tribute of the Kenyan people to their natural heritage.

We believe that Nairobi National Park, as one of the largest
and last true wildlife sanctuaries in the world next to a capital city represents a unique ecosystem. The park has an outstanding universal value and deserves a global effort to support and protect its survival.

All efforts to declaring it a World Heritage site and protect it from further infrastructure encroachment need to be encouraged.

Kenya, since 2010, has one of the most modern constitutions.
Article 69 therein clearly states that every person has a duty to cooperate with State organs and other persons to protect and conserve the environment and ensure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources.

The Kenyan constitution thereby calls upon you to get involved.

Let’s make Nairobi a sustainable metropolis of the future, let’s make Nairobi National Park a blueprint for economic development in Africa&excl

Participate in our petition to express your opinion against the
further destruction of Nairobi National Park and to have Nairobi National Park listed as a World Heritage Site.

Your voice must be
heard&excl