Objective:  o support inter-community dialogue between Gabbra of Kenya and Boran of Magado region of Ethiopia for protecting the Forole sacred land and to pave way for the Gabbra sacred journey in 2014.

Background

The Forole Mountain which is an important spiritual and cultural site on the Kenya-Ethiopia border faces conservation challenges. The Mountain and the area around it is a holy ground where Gabbra tradition forbids the hunting of wild animals and the cutting or removal of any plant.

Despite the weakening of these rules the area still teems with remnant and unique species of wild life including Oryx, Somali Ostriches, grants gazelles and other large mammals which thrive on abundant grass.

 

The community and the wildlife which dwell in the region have faced serious security problems. While the animals are poached, the communities have had their movements, including pilgrimages curtailed by endless inter-ethnic conflicts.

The increased human occupation of the sacred Forole Mountain has resulted in environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity leading to local extinction of important wildlife species including the reticulated giraffe and the black rhino.

The Arda Jilla Ecosystem Management Association (AJEMA) hopes to promote peaceful coexistence and environmental conservation through the creation of peace building processes in the Forole-Magado regions of Kenya and Ethiopia.

Summary

The project supports the Gabbra dwelling in Forole sacred Mountain region in Kenya to hold peace meetings and dialogue with their Borana community who live in the Magado region across the border in Ethiopia in order to promote peaceful coexistence and to reduce incidences of wildlife poaching in the region.

In addition, the project assists the Gabbra community of the Forole Mountain to conduct an inventory of wildlife and initiate the process towards the establishment a community-managed conservancy in the culturally conserved Forole area and in so doing protect the scared mountain and its biodiversity.

Funding

Grantee: Arda Jilla Ecosystem management Group (AJEMA)

Grantor: The Christensen Fund

Project period: September 2009 – October 2010