UNESCO World Heritage Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests: Multi-Generation Dialogue for Sustainability

The Mijikenda Kaya Fforests consist of 10 separate forest areas along a 200km long coastal strech, which contains the remains of numerous fortified villages, so-called kayas, of the Mijikenda people. These kayas, which were built from the 16th century onwards and were abandoned by their inhabitants in the 1940s, are now considered to be the homes of ancestors. They are venerated as holy places and as such are maintained by councils of elders. The site is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a unique testimony to a cultural tradition functioning as a direct link to a living tradition.

Restrictions due to the pandemic

The informal governance structures of the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests and unstructured management approaches are currently threatened by poaching and internal conflicts. The forests provide various forms of livelihood for neighbouring communities. However, small local businesses are not profitable enough to alleviate the pressure and to ensure alimentation. Moreover, the local communities contribute to the depletion of ressources as they use firewood as their main source of energy and for building their homes. In addition, since the first COVID-19 case in March 2020, forests have increasingly been subject to urban-rural migration caused by job losses.

It is therefore necessary to strengthen the industries and promote sustainable agriculture. Data collection on the state of forest resources and the impact of the pandemic is currently needed to protect forests against the growing population.

Remedy through digital encounters and sustainable businesses

Through the project funded by the German Commission for UNESCO, National Museums of Kenya created platforms for an interactive exchange between the elders and the other age groups ("Rika") of the local population to involve them in the governance and sustainable management of the forests. Various joint activities such as a cultural walk, bird watching, traditional hut building or an open discussion session promoted mutual knowledge sharing and enhanced the community’s sense of belonging. Local awareness of the value of the cultural heritage was raised by supporting existing local culture- and nature-based small businesses with information and equipment. This included, for example, bead embroidery, weaving and pottery, as well as agriculture, tree nurseries, beekeeping, and butterfly farming.

In this way, National Museums of Kenya created new sources of income for the local residents and reduced the pressure on the forest ecosystem in the short and medium term. In addition, in the framework of the project, an inventory of the fauna and flora was carried out and cross-checked with data collected in 2018 before the COVID-19-Pandemic.