GOVERNOR TUNAI’S SPEECH AT THE HIGH LEVEL MASAI MARA STAKEHOLDERS’ FORUM HELD AT THE WONDSOR HOTEL 10/09/2014 Introduction Distinguished captains of industry; I delightedly welcome you all to this strategic stakeholders’ forum, thankful for the honour of your presence, grateful that our world and our interests are connected around Masai Mara Game Reserve and its ecosystem. Appreciating this fact, Narok County finds wisdom in bringing all Mara stakeholders together, creating platforms for dialogue, and remind us of the urgent need for making changes. This consultative forum seeks primarily to deliberate on the state, utilisation, conservation and sustenance of Masai Mara Game reserve, and the Mara ecosystem. In a sense this is a high level strategy meeting, the success of which will keep the Mara on top of the charts as a premium holiday destination for local and global citizens. Masai Mara Game Reserve is the best and unrivalled game reserve in Africa, whose spectacular wild-beast migration is an annual spell-binding phenomenon that confounds the imagination of the world. This premium holiday destination is the heart-beat of Kenya’s tourism sector, and the backbone of Narok County’s economic body. This momentous resource is managed by the Narok County government on behalf of the communities, since the game reserve’s land is established as community land under the Constitution of Kenya. In 2013, the Game Reserve was ranked as Africa’s leading National Park, but that is not enough. Masai Mara has won many more awards such as the Golden award for quality and business prestige in Italy, and the World travel awards for the best park in Africa. It is against this backdrop that Narok County government will not second-guess the urgency and absolute necessity for the conservation and sustenance of the Mara River ecosystem, protection of the Mara River, and the need to protect and improve the state and standing of Masai Mara Game Reserve, which is the best game reserve the world over. So today we meet as concerned interested parties to deliberate on urgent and vital matters regarding the requisite prosperity, conservation and the sustaining of the Masai Mara Game reserve and the attendant ecosystem. Leaders of industry, it must not be lost on us that successful, effective protection and conservation of Masai Mara Game Reserve will stand or fall on effective collaboration between us. Masai Mara is our destiny – it is the source of our livelihood – it is the shining star in the sky of global tourist attractions. Before our own eyes, we continue to experience the glamour, material and economic benefits of Masai Mara, which has won Kenya great recognition as a premium holiday destination in the world, and it remains an identity that continues to attract a galaxy of tourists every year. Where we have come from Masai Mara is the place of history. It was originally established as a wildlife sanctuary two years before Kenya’s independence, and acquired the national reserve status in 1974. Narok County government has inherited the Masai Mara Game Reserve from the defunct Narok County Council and Trans-Mara County Council. The county oversees the entire game reserve under which we also have the Mara Conservancy which oversees the management of the Mara Triangle. We inherited a game reserve with a fair share of challenges ranging from poor access roads, a dilapidated airstrip, tax evasion, insecurity, mismanagement of revenue collection, and mushrooming lodges among others. For over one year that the county government has been in place, we have rehabilitated access roads to the Mara and repaired the airstrip to ease transportation. Challenges abound Unmanaged tourism can have a major negative impact on the environment, the wildlife and the people of the area. Our lodges and the standards of most of them meet the expected international standards. That tourism brings the much-needed foreign exchange, creates jobs and contributes greatly to Kenya’s GDP and Narok County’s alternative revenue is not a subject of contest. For over forty years since the Mara became a protected area as a wildlife sanctuary billions of dollars have been channelled to our economy, hundreds of thousands of jobs created, businesses nourished and livelihoods created. Yet, over the same period to-date, the priceless gem that the Mara is, and its ecosystem have sadly faced frightening decline. Through the period of the Mara’s existence, man and wildlife have jostled for space and natural resources for survival, both categories have felt threatened, yet both categories cannot survive for long without a safe environment. Among the negative ways tourism is affecting the number of wildlife is by the disruptive human presence in the game reserve. A drop in the number of wildlife could result in a decrease in the number of tourists. Off road driving in parks also affects the habits of animals and the presence of lodge restaurants is changing the dietary intake of birds and mammals such as baboons as they are eating food from the garbage From the evident decline of the Mara over time, and the emerging tourism challenges, it is clear to us that we need a new tourism and conservation strategy for Masai Mara, underpinned by a compelling new Masai Mara brand proposition to redress the existing competitive deficit. We must be dissatisfied with too many lodges around the Mara, and sadly, some have had, in the dark past, to bribe their way to plant lodges without even NEMA approval. We must be dissatisfied with concerted deliberate efforts to interfere with revenue collection by the corrupt irresponsible few. Clearly, we cannot be content with the depressing rise in poaching activities and state of insecurity around the Mara. Poaching of wild animals such as elephants and rhinoceros for their ivory and skin is impacting negatively on the game reserve’s wildlife and the Mara ecosystem. Unless we step up our conservation efforts, we stand to lose our elephants, lions, and rhinos. This prospect will dim the glamour of the Mara, and leave it merely as a candle in the wind. In the midst of these challenges, a few months ago we endured the challenges of travel bans owing to insecurity and terror threats, which adversely affected arrivals and also saw many travel bookings cancelled. I made effort to meet the British High Commissioner who confirmed to me that indeed the travel advisories had not targeted the Mara. I fervently hope that never again shall such advisories be issued to the disadvantage of the tourism sector. Community Partnership & Conservation of the Mara Recently I signed the Mara Community Fund Bill into law, giving ground for 19% of revenue collected from the Mara to be channelled directly to communities around the game reserve, in a bid to boost community participation in conservation through that elaborate benefit scheme. This is part of the deliberate steps by Narok County government to bring communities together in a collective effort to have them participate in the conservation of the Mara. Where do we go from here? We need to come up with clear plans and policy direction. The county government inherited and embraced the Mara management Plan. Presently, this plan is being reviewed and improved, and once ready, it shall be unveiled. This is the time to draw the RED-LINE in the management of the Mara. It must interest us all as stakeholders, to give our views in this forum, with a view to scale up the effective management of the Mara, and to discard practices that harm the Mara. For instance, it has been the practice in the past for mini buses or tour buses to stray all over the Mara making new tracks. With new regulations that we should consider to impose starting November this year, such tendency will attract stiff penalties because of the deliberate harassment of animals and using undesignated roads. Without a doubt, the open and clear articulation of strategies as stakeholders is only the first step in the desired direction. Implementation will be key, but most importantly, abiding by the resolutions that we shall come up with. After harmonising the outcome of our deliberations today, we shall organize a critical meeting to commission the changes we shall have collectively proposed. A well conserved Mara is vital for the growth of our county economy and the communities’ well-being. Successful execution of the strategies we shall adopt after this meeting will stand or fall on our effective collaboration efforts. Our numbers here constitute the many parties that have a stake in the success of this endeavour. No party can work in isolation for the progress of the Mara. Narok County, through policy and regulation, will draw a RED-LINE, starting November, in the utilisation and management of the game reserve. We will not hesitate to impose hefty penalties and bans on those operators or end users who contravene this. The evidence of analysis of best practices in competitor tourist destinations around the world necessitates urgent measures on our end, if the Mara is to retain its global charm, fame and pride. If we yoke our collective interests, and appreciate the necessity of progressive collaboration, we all stand to benefit from the probable increase in economic activity generated by increase in the flow of tourists. The County appreciates the need to work together with you to improve the status of the Mara. Thus far we have a great feeling of the necessary changes, and we shall work with you to effect them. It must be our collective duty to improve the Mara, conserve and sustain it, keep its glow unrivalled, and secure it as the game reserve upon the hill, which all tourists, local and foreign, shall visit, and behold as the best game reserve upon the earth. Traveling to Masai Mara for holiday by foreign and local tourists should continue to bring leisure and fulfilment through fairy-tale holiday experiences. Let us work together to increase the Mara’s fascination. As captains of industry, you no-doubt appreciate that indeed we need to scale up that state of all our lodges, so that they may meet the high standards of the global world. It must be our abiding duty to sustain this product, and share it with the world as a premium holiday destination. Key Issues This consultative forum has identified six crucial pillars namely: Wildlife conservation; Safety & security; Road infrastructure; Guiding and driving protocol; the Mara’s reputation; and congestion concerns. We shall invest in conservation, marketing and branding the best we can. To achieve this, it will be vital that we all play by the rules which we shall collectively make. Yes, we shall take the Mara to the world through key markets and global media and advertising platforms. But it is more fulfilling to do this once we train our sights and efforts for the peak performance of this product. The primary intent is that this consultative strategy forum will serve as the orchestral mark for this multi-stakeholder alliance of interests, inspiring all the players to play in unison for the greater good of Masai Mara Game reserve. We have indeed reached a momentous stage in that effort, and I ask you to keep the faith. Mine is the pleasant imagination and trust that during the break-away session to discuss the selected thematic issues, we will collectively come up with lasting solutions to the chain of questions about the Mara’s improvement strategy. In Conclusion It is our duty to position the Mara for global competitiveness, with value for money for tourists as a premium holiday destination. Let us agree that we are walking on the same path, with mutual interests, knowing that as we draw benefits from the Mara, generations to come will want to drink deep from this well too. We shall not go below the minimum standards that we shall set, neither shall we relapse into functional management laxity that has been the norm before the county government came into place. Let us turn the leaf, hitch our standards on the demands of the changing world, and hold firmly the upward motion. It is now fitting and proper, that the facilitator gives direction on the break-away sessions for the all-important discussions. Our shoulders are broad enough to handle the task before us, so let us rise to conserve and sustain the Mara, because our destiny is tied to it. Thank you all and God bless you.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 17:39:47 +0000
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