Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The Kayas are small, relict patches of forest that once sheltered the fortified villages of the Mijikenda people on the Kenyan coast. They have spiritual and ceremonial significance and are customarily protected by a Council of Elders. Kaya Gandini (also known as Takawa or Duruma, and sacred to the Duruma people) lies c.15 km east-north-east of Mombasa, near the town of Gandini, and overlooking the Mambome river. It is dry deciduous
Cynometra–Terminalia forest. Kaya Mtswakara (247 ha), which is similar floristically, is situated c.2 km away across the Mambome river, and is in turn adjacent to Mwache Forest Reserve (c.345 ha), a somewhat wetter forest across the Mwache river. The Kaya was gazetted as a National Monument under the care of the National Museums of Kenya in 1992.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. This is a potentially important site for the threatened
Zoothera guttata (a non-breeding visitor from March to October) and the threatened and restricted-range
Anthus sokokensis (recently recorded and presumably resident in small numbers). The avifauna is not well studied but is typical of East African coastal forests. Species of regional concern include
Pachycoccyx audeberti,
Pogoniulus simplex,
Campethera mombassica and
Prionops scopifrons.
Non-bird biodiversity: The threatened small mammal Rhynchocyon petersi (EN) occurs here.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
As in other Kayas, an increasing disregard for traditional values has led to conservation problems in Gandini. The Kaya has recently been the subject of a land dispute, where certain elders marked out and cut parts of the forest for farming. They have now been requested to move out by the Council of Elders. There has been some cutting of building poles, especially
Terminalia, but on the whole the forest is in fairly good condition. Gandini is relatively accessible from a main road, making it potentially attractive for timber extraction. However, these threats seem to be under control at present, and (with the support of the National Museums’ Coast Forest Conservation Unit) the elders are taking a more active role in managing use of the forest. Trapping of animals (possibly unsustainable) and collection of fuelwood and poles (possibly sustainable) continue. Kaya Mtswakara (gazetted as a National Monument in 1997) is separated from Gandini by c.2 km of settled land along the Mambome river. Restoring a strip of natural vegetation along the river would form a dispersal corridor for birds and other animals. Surveys showed Mtswakara’s avifauna to be similar to Gandini’s but less diverse, and apparently lacking the two threatened species. Mwache Forest Reserve has not yet been surveyed for birds. It could form a third part of a single conservation area; it has panoramic views of the coast from its ridge-tops, and could be opened up for recreational tourism. Additional surveys are needed to determine whether the threatened birds do occur in Mtswakara and Mwache, in which case the sites should be considered together as a single IBA. Mtswakara is well conserved at present and local control over forest use appears to be effective, but there is considerable illegal pressure on poles and fuelwood in Mwache.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kaya Gandini (Kenya). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kaya-gandini-iba-kenya on 23/12/2024.
