A lament for heaven

I remembered the words during a quick visit I made recently to the land that was considered by many good people to be heaven; was considered…. But she's about to lose her degree because of environmental degradation that hurts everything!

On one of the trips to the Samboru reserve in northern Kenya, I sat with Giora Ilani ("the man of the tigers") who tried to convince me (the convinced one) that "this is paradise, because this is where the first man came out", I will not exaggerate the explanations that convinced the The convinced, that when you get to know the environment of Northern Kenya it turns out that it provides all the necessities of life there. If we add to this the paleontological findings and the picture is clear - this is man's place of origin, that is, heaven.

Paradise also because of the wealth and wonderful variety of species.
Giora used to say "When it's hot they hide in the shade, when it's cold they go out into the sun", comfortable and pleasant weather... always.

Many travelers who saw the enormous biological wealth also accepted the definition paradise without question and without a second thought.

I remembered the words during a quick visit I made recently to the land that was considered by many good people to be heaven; was considered…. But she's about to lose her degree because of environmental degradation that hurts everything!

A number of years ago I flew over the Mau forest, the forest covered a plateau at a height of about 2000 meters on an area of ​​about 20 thousand square kilometers. From the plane, only trees were visible with no roads and no signs of human activity. Today most of the forest has disappeared in favor of agricultural fields and pastures.

The result: rivers that fed extensive parts of the country, reserves and two lakes dried up, since the forest/Mao Plateau formed the (watershed) source of water supply for a number of rivers that fed lakes and reserves over about a quarter (150 thousand square kilometers) of Kenya's territory.

Seasonal rains (about 2000 mm per year) were "stopped" by the forest and "released" into streams and rivers throughout the year.
The two lakes (that disappear) are New York and Vancouver, both of which have been declared "water bodies for conservation" by the World Conservation Organization.

Naiyosha: A lake that held (relatively) fresh water was known as a site that attracted a lot of people to build kite-cabins on its shores.
In its waters and around it lives hippopotamuses and alligators, waterfowl and many raptors.
Owners of farms for growing flowers (which are exported to Europe) pump the lake water. Pumping on the one hand and lack of filling on the other hand cause its level to drop. Hospitality and tourism facilities that were built on the shore of the lake are today hundreds of meters away from it.
The hippos are dead and so is the entire lake.

Nkuru is known throughout the world as the "Flamingo Basin" from its shallow waters grow algae that have attracted millions of flamingos as well as many pelicans and waterfowl.
A fence was erected around the basin, which made it possible to turn the area into a closed reserve to which many mammals were brought, including rhinoceroses (some brought from the Ramat Gan safari), lions, cheetahs and tigers completed the natural environment and gave visitors the opportunity to experience nature in most of India.

Like Naivasha, Lake Nakuru is also drying up, the rivers that stored water in the Maou plateau have dried up and in their place sewage (treated and purified) of the city flows into the lake.

The sad sight of dead birds on the receding shores "fits in" with dozens of skeletons of buffalo, deer, pigs and many other mammals.
In a few years, what was one of the main attractions for tourists will turn into... Madmana!

One of the rivers that originates in the Maou plateau is the Maa River.
The Mara flows through one of the most well-known and famous reserves in the whole world - the Maasai - Maa Reserve, which forms the northern part of the Serengeti (Tanzania).

The reserve has been described as "the world's largest cluster of mammals of many different species".
Anyone who has seen nature films, has seen the unique images of the crossing of the Mara by herds of wildebeests and zebras... today the animals do not need to know how to swim... The river is dry and going away, the hippo pools are disappearing and so are their inhabitants, and again in the surroundings of what used to be a river - skeletons and remains of those who came to drink water...water that is not.

Added to this were intrusive invasions of Maasai herds into the conservation areas, as they too are looking for pasture and water. The invasions bring the Maasai herds into the vicinity of the predators, they are tempted by the easy prey and pay for it with their lives as the Maasai kill the predators.
A combination of lack of water, lack of flow in the river and the killing of predators is a death blow to the reserve.

The ridge at the top of Mount Kenya together with the Aberdar ridge constitute the second and third most important watersheds.
Rains in the ridges drain into the two big rivers: the Tana and the Galana. These feed large parts of Kenya, including the Tsavo Giant Reserve (about 40.000 kmXNUMX), the coastal cities and the capital, Nairobi.
As in the Mau Ridge, wild logging and the invasion of settlers are expanding here as well, turning forest areas into agricultural fields and pastures.
As in the Mau Ridge, the upheaval causes water sources to dry up.
Electricity generating plants (hydro) are on strike due to lack of water and the capital Nairobi suffers from frequent power outages and a constant lack of water.

In northern Kenya, there has been a severe drought for several years.
The drought causes shepherds and their herds to migrate in search of pasture and water.
In the local press there are stories of tribal clashes in the struggle for pastures and water sources, a struggle in which the hidden sufferers are the wild animals.
The shepherds penetrate the reserves in search of pasture, goats, cows, sheep, camels and donkeys eat with every mouth the little pasture that was supposed to support wild animals....
The herbivores in the reserves die and disappear, the predators "come into conflict" with the shepherds and lose.

One of the more interesting and attractive northern reserves is Samboru (where we opened our story). The reserve is known for unique zebra and giraffe species, giraffe deer and other species that are adapted to life in a semi-desert area. Elephants are added to them and of course the big carnivores. All of these, all of them are suffering from the prolonged drought and the sacrifice of the shepherds and their flocks.
The Samburu Reserve, because of its unique climate and fauna, was the "favorite of the guides"!
How long?

It is worth noting that:
The environmental disaster occurring in East Africa and the Horn of Africa in general and in Kenya in particular has two main factors.
One factor is local: the destruction of forests that caused local climate changes.
The second factor is global warming.
One like the other is man-made, except that if the blame for the destruction of forests can be placed on the Africans, the West is to blame for global warming.

Therefore, the West must do everything possible to save Paradise.
Because this is the recurring motto:
It's time to:
Instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there will be control of the human population for the sake of the environment!