The Furadan Fiasco

There has been much going on in Kenya about Furadan - that lion-killing pesticide for which the US EPA has revoked all tolerances in food, the EU banned two years ago, Canada is considering to ban and Kenyans are agitating for a total ban.

Lion paralysed by Furadan in the Masai Mara

Despite the withdrawal of this most lethal of pesticides by the Philadelphia-based manufacturer Farm Machinery and Chemicals Corporation (FMC) from the Kenyan market, unscrupulous traders are still hoarding stocks and are selling them to farmers/herders for poisoning wildlife.

It is not surprising that Furadan is still available in the shelves (or under the counter) since Kenyan traders are known to be hungry for profits regardless of the consequences of their profiteering. It is thus clearly logical that environmentalists should be calling for a total ban. Perhaps when trading in this lethal poison becomes illegal, it will not be worth the risk of high fines, trading license revocation and lengthy jail terms – assuming that the punishment for such trading is made that severe.

The call for a total ban on Furadan is gaining momentum. The issue was discussed in parliament – following a question raised by Naivasha Member of Parliament, Hon. John Mututho -  on Tuesday, 2 June 2009. The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, Hon. Noah Wekesa, to whom Mututho addressed the question, said that he’s tasked a committee to draft a legal notice that will lead to the final ban.

Now that is good news and travel writer, Rupi Mangat, reported this message of hope in this weeks East African. In the same spread in the same weekly newspaper, a correspondent Philip Ngunjiri wrote about the under-the-counter dealings by the traders who’ve rendered the FMC instituted buy-back of remnant Furadan stocks ineffective.

I believe that a ban is forthcoming, just how fast it comes is the question. Hopefully, the Kenya government will act fast enough so that we can save the remaining 2100 lions, many hyenas, vultures, and other wildlife that are being poisoned by Furadan.

Pray with me.

No More Pet Chimps in Connecticut

After the brutal attack by chimp on a defenseless woman in Connecticut, the state has finally passed a bill that outlaws the keeping of chimps, gorillas and orangutans as pets. This bill had been ignored for weeks until the proposer lamented that the his bill was being ignored prompting its revival and a unanimous pro vote that is something of a phenomenon in my opinion.

The bill in – i must say – should cause primate lovers and conservationists to rejoice as a step forward in saving the great apes. It should be emulated by all states in the US, all European countries, China and all other wildlife pet-obsessed peoples and it should encompass all wild animals as we know them today.

The Hartford Courant wrote from the State Capitol that:

In the waning hours of the regular legislative session Wednesday, state lawmakers revived and unanimously approved a previously stalled bill prompted by the Stamford chimpanzee attack — a ban on the private ownership of gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.

Interestingly, this matter had been postponed for weeks because of worries by legislators and pet owners because the proposal, in its original form was too sweeping and it would – for example – have included ferrets.

One issue that had stalled the bill’s progress, for example, was the proposed ban on wolverines. It turned out that ferrets, which many people own as pets, are related to wolverines, and ferret owners expressed concerns about that part of the bill, said state Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the legislature’s environment committee.

The proposal passed on 151-0 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate.

Now that is something you don’t see in Kenya’s parliament except when the Members are voting for their own salaries.

It would be interesting to see how parliament would treat the issue of a Furadan ban as proposed by Hon. John Mututho, the MP for Naivasha. Furadan is a carbofuran-based pesticide and nematicide that has been killing lions, hyenas, vultures and other wildlife in Kenya

The story of the ban is contained on here

General Assembly Votes To Ban Chimps, Other Animals, As Pets.

Furadan: Harsh Punishment for Oregon Farmers and Lessons for Kenya

It is interesting to learn that in the US, they are serious about the misuse of pesticides. On 27 May 2009, the Portland Business Journal reported that five Malheur County onion growers were fined $180,000 for pesticide misuse – specifically Furadan and Basagran. That is equivalent to KShs 13.5 million! Now that is what I call enforcement.

In Kenya’s case, even after FMC announced the withdrawal of Furadan, and instructed the local dealer Juanco to buy back all stock in the market, birds are still being killed in Bunyala, and lions in the Mara. The case in the Masai Mara has all the tale-tale signs of Furadan poisoning but it is yet to be confirmed that it is Furadan.

The fact that implementation and enforcement in Kenya is lax should however not stop lobbyists from pushing for the total ban on Furadan. The incomplete withdrawal of Furadan should indeed motivate the lobbyists to get the government to ban this lethal chemical. A ban would make it illegal hence that much expensive to buy. We should not forget that Furadan is the poison of choice for retaliatory herders targeting predators and bushmeat hunters looking for a quick buck because it is cheap. Making it more expensive should give predators, raptors, scavangers and gamebirds a break.

You can take action. The issue of banning Furadan in Kenya is coming up in Parliament on Tuesday (hopefully). Therefore, just go to nothoney’s blog, write a letter of protest and post it to the Ministers concerned so that when the discussion comes up in Kenya’s parliament, they will support the proposed ban.

Worst Drought in 26 Years Threatens Survival of Last Desert Elephants in West Africa

There is a big crisis going on in Mali. In Gourma district to the southeast of Timbuktu, the 400 or so remaining desert elephants are staring death in the face through thirst and starvation. Mali is experiencing the most severe drought in 26 years and these northernmost elephants surviving in Africa, could be wiped out if nothing is done to save them.

If these pictures as provided by the Save the Elephants conservation organization do not move your heart, then you have no heart.

Dead elephants in Mali

Trying to save a dying juvenile elephant

I, therefore, feel that I should share this press release on behalf of Save the Elephants and the desert elephants of Mali. For further information please contact Save the Elephants officers through their website. You can also donate funds to help save these elephants through their website.

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NAIROBI, Kenya – 20 May 2009. The future of a rare herd of desert elephants in Mali is under threat from one of the worst droughts in living memory, which has left a key water source at its lowest level in a quarter of a century and is breaking down the usual peaceful co-existence between the elephants and local herdsmen.

The 350 to 450 elephants of Gourma, the northernmost herds still alive in Africa, are being forced to trek ever-longer distances within the Sahel on the fringes of the Sahara to find scarce water, conservation organisation Save The Elephants warns today. Juveniles are likely to be among the worst affected, as – unlike the bigger bulls – their trunks are not long enough to reach deep into remaining wells.

Six elephants have already been found dead. Four others, including three calves, were recently extracted from a shallow well into which they had fallen when searching for water. Only the largest survived.

Save the Elephants’ scientist Jake Wall is in Mali following the situation closely. He says “Banzena has almost completely dried leaving no more than 30 cm of muddy, sediment filled water. The elephants are now in a deadly situation as they wait for the rains to begin. Six elephants have died in the last couple of months from causes related to the drought conditions.”

A group of NGO’s comprising Save the Elephants (STE) and The WILD Foundation (WILD) have been monitoring the last rare desert elephants in Mali in collaboration with the Malian Environment Ministry directorate for conservation – Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature (DNCN). This unique herd of elephants is now in a desperate situation due to a drastic shortage of water, and we are launching an emergency appeal to save them.

The desert elephants of Mali live in the Gourma district to the South East of Timbuktu. They are the northernmost elephants surviving in Africa, estimated at between 350 and 450 in number. They have adapted to survive in the harsh conditions of the Sahel by migrating long distances in search of water and food but live on the margin of what is ecologically viable.

Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants has been monitoring their range since the mid 1970s. He says “In the Gourma region of Mali are the last elephants living in the Sahel and they are northernmost in Africa. Their range has shrunk drastically since the 1970’s due to climate change and overstocking of livestock which has degraded the habitat. These elephants have the longest migration route of any in Africa and move in a counterclockwise circle of about 700km. At the height of the dry season there are only a handful of shallow lakes left to them until recharged by rains in July and August.

” This year the water levels are extremely low in the Gourma region due to uneven rainfall in 2008. The most important of these lakes, Banzena, is the lowest it has been since 1983 when it dried completely. Over the last few years a team of Save the Elephants and the WILD Foundation in collaboration with the DNCN have been closely following the movements of the elephants using 9 collars fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. The collars transmit the hourly positions of the elephants three times daily via satellite link and give real-time information about the activities of the elephant herds.

On the16th May, Jake Wall a scientist with Save the Elephants returned from the most important water source, Lake Banzena, on which the elephants rely at the height of the dry season. He found it almost dry. “The situation is equally dire for the Touareg and Pheul herdsmen who rely on Banzena for their cattle and many cows are now dying each day from lack of water and the soaring temperatures which reach 50 degrees Celsius in the shade. The stench of rotting corpses fills the air and what little water remains is putrid and undrinkable by all standards.

The normal peaceful coexistence between the elephants and herdsmen is starting to break-down and giving way to conflict over access to water.” Very few options now exist for finding water and we are witnessing erratic movements further and further afield as they desperately search for water and forage.”Small thundershowers last week left tantalizing puddles 20 km to the south of Banzena, enough to survive on for a couple days at most, but the herds are now being forced back north to the almost dry lake.”

At a dry lake bed 50 km to the east of Banzena, 6 bull elephants are surviving by getting on their knees and reaching for water with their trunks that is 3 meters beneath ground level and through a hole dug by the Touareg. Younger elephants who are not as big or as skilled cannot possibly reach these to hard to get at water points. The long distances, high temperatures and weakened condition will also take a heavy toll on the younger elephants.

Jake Wall says “I have witnessed first hand how tough the situation can be for young elephants. Last year during a radio-collaring operation, I came across 3 elephant calves trapped in a mud hole along with a half grown female. From the age structure it looked like they had lost their matriarch. Evidently, this young female had led the youngsters into a waterless area. They happened upon a shallow well dug by herdsmen for watering cattle and it appears that the elephants, desperate for water, tumbled into the well and all four were hopelessly stuck in the mud for three days. Our Save the Elephants team pulled them out one by one, but they were so weak that only the large female survived. She was radio-tagged and we watched her dash 80 km to the nearest water at Lake Banzena.”

Urgent action is now needed to secure water for the elephants until the rains commence as predicted in early June. Fortunately, two pumps already exist at Banzena for pumping water and can be used for helping the elephants. Save the Elephants, in partnership with the WILD Foundation and the Mali government, is appealing for funds for diesel necessary for their operation. It is not certain whether the water quantity will be sufficient and close monitoring of the situation is needed.

If you want to help us save these elephants please send a donation via our website:

On this Earth Day

The symbol of Earth Day is the Greek letter 'theta' in green

April 22 is Earth Day. People mark this important day in the environmental calendar in different ways. It is not as much known as, for instance, the World Environment Day that has so much been promoted by the UN.

Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is responsible for the first official Earth Day in 1970. In those days, saving the environment was synonymous with the now famous “Zero Population Growth”. He organized a lecture session in university to teach about the problems that the Earth was facing such as extinction, pollution and the like. On the first official Earth Day on 22 April 1970, many people around America organized their own similar events to discuss these issues.With time the celebrations expanded and started spreading outside the US borders.

Of course many other issues have now arisen including climate change and Earth Day is no longer an American holiday alone. It is celebrated throughout the world. Maura Judkis has a list of some 10 things you should know about Earth Day that you should probably read for a brief introduction on what this Day is all about

American president Barack Obama, who is seen as someone who cares about the environment has his own agenda for this years Earth Day. In the New York Times they say:

The Obama administration is using Earth Day for launching another all-out effort to sell the American public and key lawmakers on “green jobs” as the solution for the United States’ environmental and economic woes.

Which then begs another question, are we really concerned about the Earth for the Earth’s sake or for our own good? President Obama is pushing for ‘green’ because he believes that ‘green jobs’ will save the American economy. There are those who think that Earth Day is useless, and we should get rid of it.

Whatever your thoughts about this Day are, have a Happy Earth Day

Finally, Sir Attenborough Speaks on Human Overpopulation

One of the most respected personalities on natural world and conservation TV, Sir David Attenborough, finally spoke about a subject most consider taboo: human overpopulation. Sir Attenborough said growth in human numbers was “frightening” according to a report appearing on BBC News on Monday 13 April 2009.

The good Sir, who said this when he became the patron of the Optimum Population Trust, a UK group that has been campaigning for the voluntary reduction of human population in Britain by not less than 0.25% a year since 1991, is likely to get a lot of flak for saying this. But then again, isn’t it true that human overpopulation is threatening not only all other life but human life itself?

The overcrowded Kibera Slums in Nairobi.

Some anti-overpopulation campaigners are much more candid than the veteran presenter, perhaps even offensive to the antagonists. Dan Gainor writing on the Business and Media Institutes site – back in 2007 – quoted Paul Watson, founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and famous for militant intervention to stop whalers, saying that mankind is “acting like a virus” and is harming Mother Earth.

It is easy to see humanity as a virus considering how they are spreading into lands once only occupied by wild plant and animal life. It is also easy to see that this ‘virus’ is rapidly (as opposed to slowly) killing the planet we, and millions of other species, call home. Think accelerated global warming, deforestation, drying up of inland water bodies, the list is endless.

The question of population growth is touchy for various reasons, the most peddled being that human population control is an infringement on human rights. John Finney discussing the population issue in his essay titled Population: The elephant in the room on BBC’s Green Room, acknowledges that discussing population is indeed a taboo among conservationists saying;

Some activists insist acting to influence population growth infringes on human rights; they maintain that it is best to leave the problem alone.

Now, the solution to human population is straight forward, but not ’simple’, neither can it be considered short-term in terms of implementation period. It will take a long time to reduce human population. But we have to start now.

Population reduction should be done in a humane way. Many experts have recommended some workable approaches. The ones I support are those that centre on the education of especially women in developing coutries about the availability of choice of family size.

Given the complex nature of family set-ups and cultures in these developing nations, the men need also be educated about the importance of small families. Tell them the truth, don’t tell them what you want them to hear. Because we should all be knowing by now that there is no other way out of the current ecological and resource crisis other than fewer people on Planet Earth.

John Finney, while reminding us that we are already beyond Earth’s carrying capacity – and we are headed for imminent human population collapse – adds;

Our chance to avert such an outcome depends on our ability to address our numbers before nature reduces them for us. There’s no other way out.

Are you ready to play your part in saving the planet?

FMC’s Ban of Furadan In Kenya: Good Judgement or Just PR?

Something interesting happened last week. On Sunday 29 March 2009, CBS News aired a documentary on 60 Minutes showing how lions were dying in the Masai Mara ecosystem due to Furadan poisoning. Almost immediately after that the American manufacturer of the potent agricultural pesticide, FMC, issued a press release declaring that they had withdrawn it from Kenya and other African countries. They even called the WildlifeDirect chairman, Dr Richard Leakey to tell him of their action.

Furadan as it is sold in Kenya

WildlifeDirect has been running a campaign against the sale of Furadan in  Kenya through the Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog because of its rampant abuse by herders and farmers to poison wildlife. Kenyan authorities have largely ignored this campaign. FMC, and Juanco – the products importers in Kenya – have not been very responsive either.

A lion goes through the stages of paralysis after consuming a carcase laced with Furadan in Masai Mara, Kenya

Furadan is a highly effective agricultural pesticide but a very nasty poison for mammals and birds. It has been responsible for the death of large numbers of birds in the USA where its granular form is banned (it also comes in flowable or liquid form). In Kenya, it has been used to kill birds thought to be crop pests and for human food! It is also being used to kill lions, hyenas and other predators that are, or are percieved to be, preying on livestock.

The question is, did FMC ban exportation of this lethal poison because they are suddenly pious or they are just playing PR? My hypothesis is that FMC, having realized that Furadan has suddenly been identified as a poison of choice for herders, and this happened in popular American media, FMC took the obvious route: damage control. They don’t want to look bad. Why did they have to wait until the 60 Minutes for them to do something about this major problem in Africa? It is hard to believe that they did not know about the problem. If that is so, then they need to fire their entire PR team.

This is just an hypothesis and should not be read to mean that I dont support their action. If it works, then it will indeed have a phenomenal positive effect on lion population in Kenya and elsewhere.

I say if it works for this reason: when I updated my followers on Twitter on this turn of events, recycleme replied ‘what about the surrounding countries? Is it likely to get into Kenya from the countries still using it?’. I got worried.

We hope that FMC are serious about their pronouncement and they will follow it through. That they will also seal the loopholes spotted by recycleme and others.

The Elusive Humvee Shows Up Again – In a ‘Green’ Place

For months now, the blogosphere, represented by the likes of Sukuma Kenya, have been hunting for one elusive beast: the banana yellow fuel guzzling Humvee with UN plates in Nairobi. This polluter of choice for one UN staffer has been accused of being an insult to the UN’s attempt at being carbon neutral and it’s actions on curbing climate change.

Well, guess what? The Humvee showed up. Not in a dingy nightclub or some dimly lit back road, but in one of the primary ‘green’ places in Nairobi: the Nairobi National Park - at the parking lot. By coincidence, I was there, with a good camera. That is why I am able to present this magnificent picture of one of the rarest and most elusive species of beast in Kenya.

*Note: no attempt made to blur the registration number plates – that would be redundant.

The banana yellow Humvee shows up again

What the Humvee was doing in the one spot that makes Nairobi qualify to be called a ‘green’ city – and perhaps why the UN Environmental Programme has it’s headquarters in this city – is indeed puzzling. Did the seeming flamboyant owner suddenly realize that he cared about the environment? No doubt an oxymoron. Was it just another opportunity to show off his behemoth? Well, we’ll probably never know.

Whatever happens, the blogosphere can now feast their eyes on this beast and continue to ask themselves ‘will the UN Nairobi office ever change their ways?‘ ‘Will they ever practice what they preach?’ One thing is for sure though; the blogosphere will continue to try and bring them to their senses. Whether they’ll ever succeed or not is open for debate. Afterall, the eagles once sang:

And in the master’s chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill the beast

-The Eagles: Hotel California

The Saga of Nairobi’s UN Fuel Guzlers

The bad guys

Sukuma Kenya knows how to kick up a campaign. He’s unrelenting in his quest for an environmentally, and carbon neutral UN office in Nairobi. If you don’t already know, Nairobi is where the global headquarters of the global United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is located.

Sukuma Kenya and others in the blogosphere are totally appalled by the largess with which the UN staffers in the UN office complex at Gigiri, Nairobi move around town. Sukuma and the said others apparently get migraines whenever they see the colossal 5-liter engine fuel guzzlers that most of the UN people drive around, garnished with their red diplomatic plates, clearly separating them from the regular Kenyan motorist in his 1400cc Toyota Corolla.

These behemoths of locomotion have galled Sukuma for ages and he’s made personal the quest to make the UN people ‘Kick the Habit‘ . No wonder – or not – Sukuma’s blog is now banned at the UN complex in Gigiri. In short, inside of the sprawling complex, you cannot access the blog. And here I was thinking that the freedom of speech is one of the fundamental freedoms that the UN stands for.

He’s been alerted by a friend that his blog is no longer wanted in Gigiri. What followed that is is not particularly clear but he’s now received somewhat official communication confirming that his blog is actually banned. Now the Media Department at UN-Gigiri has informed the IT Department to unlock that blog. Someone should check on that.

This is totally unconfirmed and is not an accusation, but I have had it mentioned that the newest – and most obscene – entry into the fuel guzzlers’ stable at UN office, the banana-yellow Humvee , belongs to a staffer in the IT Department.

The good guys

Perhaps it is Sukuma’s campaign or it is just that there are genuine environmentalists in the UNEP. I saw a Toyota Hybrid Prius the other day with UNEP plates. I couldnt have been happier. Here is the picture.

A much 'greener' car

It seems that not all the people at UN want to drive around in ‘planet-killers’.

Kenya’s Bio-safety Bill vs Organic Farming

Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Atta Annan once said that Africa should embrace biotechnology in food production. He even said that GM foods would alleviate the problem of hunger in the continent. Late last year, Kenya’s parliament passed the Bio-safety Bill with a little push by the US producers of genetically modified corn (USGC).

The USGC is openly beating it’s chest declaring that the passage of the bill is a direct result of years of their work promoting the technology in the region. They proudly declare that members of Kenya and Malawi’s parliaments – who were still debating the laws that would legalize importation of GM foods – were part of a contingent of African leaders who visited its project plot in South Africa.

According to Kurt Shultz, USGC director in the Mediterranean and Africa, in May 2006, a high-level delegation from Kenya, Malawi and South Africa consisting of Members of Parliament from each country, visited Council-sponsored biotechnology test plots in South Africa. “The timing was significant in that Kenya and Malawi were debating bills to adopt the commercial cultivation of biotechnology,” he said. “The positive impact and practical benefits the Members of Parliament saw at the USGC-sponsored test plots convinced them that Kenyan and Malawian farmers could benefit immensely from the technology if its products were made available to them.  As a result, the Members of Parliament resolved to fast-track the introduction of the technology into their respective countries.”

Su Kahumbu (right) of Green Dreams at the Kibera Organic Plot

The bio-safety bill was scheduled to be ascended to by Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki before 1 January 2009, but that has not happened yet. As a result, organic farmers are stepping up their efforts to lobby the President not to ascend the Bill into law.

I was sent a link to an online petition calling on President Kibaki not to sign the bill on Facebook today from group called Green Dreams. Green Dreams is also the name of the organic marketing firm that is behind the group.  The petition is here for those of you who don’t want GM to be legalized in Kenya.  I don’t know how well that will work given that the entire media fraternity was all over him and he still ascended to the controversial so called Media Bill.

I am not sure, either, if the importation and/or production of GM foods is really going to change the food situation in Africa. As a matter of fact, it could bring more harm than good. Europe for instance will still prefer organic tomatoes over GM tomatoes – for those who want to export fresh produce to pay school fees for their children. With growing environmental and biodiversity awareness and sympathy, the chances of GM production methods remaining attractive in the long run is not a guarantee.

One can plainly see why the USGC wants the biosafety law – or in their words – “U.S. producers of genetically enhanced corn may soon see their products in the Kenyan market as Kenya recently passed a bio-safety bill permitting importation and cultivation of biotech crops and products.” They want a market for their products. Period.

One Kenyan legislator opposing the law in parliament on around 9 December 2008 pointed out in countries where GMO technology is used, such crops are solely used for animal feeds and not for human consumption. I believe he was saying that Africans are being treated like animals. I wonder if that is true.

While those MPs who supported the Bill said that Kenya is food insufficient and GM should remedy that, the opposing MPs countered that Kenya, and indeed Africa, is food insecure not for lack of GMOs but for lack of proper planning adding that low irrigation, lack of water harvesting coupled with poor infrastructure and effects of climate change is hampering countries in the region from ensuring food security of her citizens. And I agree with them.

The organic revolution is however catching up and the Kibera Story should wow you at any given time. Today I also read in the Independent online a story about a farmer in Malawi who chose to go organic for a very unusual reason. He owed his government $17 for fertilizer and government officers threatened to take away his 11 pigs if he didn’t pay up. Luckily, he borrowed the money from the local pastor, but he swore he’d never depend on fertilizer again. He’d grow his crops the way his father, and his grandfather grew their crops – the natural way.

Now, isn’t that a story? You are free to comment here and let the world know what your views are. Organic or GM?