Mau Forest

The Mau Forest is a forest mining in the Rift Valley in Kenya and the largest indigenous forest in East Africa. It covers an area of ​​273,300 hectares and a height of 1800-3000 meters above sea level. Twelve of the Kenyan rivers originate in the Mau forest, including Ewaso Nyiro, the southern, the Sondu River, Mara River and Njoro River. These rivers feed Lake Victoria, the Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron in Tanzania. The Mau forest was the original home of the Okiek and serves the nomadic Maasai during the dry season grazing for livestock.

Flora and Fauna

In the Mau forest especially Pouteria Adolfi - friedericii, Strombosia scheffleri and Polyscias kikuyuensis grow. Furthermore, Olea capensis, Prunus africana, Albizia gummifera Podocarpus latifolius and find. The Mau forest is habitat for many bird species, including the Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Brown sailors, Kehl binding woodpecker and the oriole Gimpel. In the forest area also live among other Bongos, Yellow -backed duiker, African golden cats, giant forest hogs, leopard, hyena, buffalo, black and white colobus monkeys and impalas.

Destruction of the ecological balance

Through the continued deforestation of the Mau Forest, which has already lost a third of its original forest stand, it comes in Kenya to longer and longer periods of drought. The cool air rising from the Mau forest, collides with the warm air masses which come from Lake Victoria, together. This will form regular rainfall. The radical deforestation results in fewer trees, less cool air and thus less total rain.

2009 had the people who had settled on the deforested areas, rely on the instructions of the Kenyan government under Mwai Kibaki the area. The government wants to compensate those financially settlers who own less than five acres of land and be able to demonstrate that their land is not based on a donation of former President Daniel arap Moi.