Kenya’s coastal forests are of critical importance to the country as they support communities by providing much needed ecosystems goods and services including fuelwood, herbs, air purification, water, ecotourism, sports and recreation.

These coastal forests are highly fragmented and under immense threat due to population pressure leading to unsustainable practices like charcoal burning, pollution among others.

In response to the above, Bamburi Cement continues to grow and manage forest plantations and ecosystems in both rehabilitated quarries and reserve lands (which occupy over 700 hectares) for sustainable utilization, protection and conservation in support of environmental sustainability as a critical component in addressing livelihood concerns for socio-economic development.

We continue to spearhead an urgent culture of tree growing and forest protection among Kenyan coastal communities to enable the conservation of globally threatened indigenous varieties of flora and fauna for ecosystems goods and services and sustainable livelihoods.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 calls for all to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. In line with this call, LES has established world class ecosystems through the restoration of Bamburi Cement coral limestone quarries.

From onset of rehabilitation in 1971, over 452 species of trees, shrubs and lianas have been introduced into the rehabilitated quarries. Over 195 of these species are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List including those designated as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened.

Many of the indigenous species are now reproducing in the restored ecosystems and forming populations that positively impact on ecosystems services. Food plants as well as flowering plants are introduced to attract and sustain the rich biodiversity, including butterflies and birds. More than 292 species of birds have been recorded in the emergent ecosystems.

Eleven (11) of the bird species are listed as either Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened and some are seasonal or occasional visitors to the sites. To date, 35 mammal species have been recorded, some of which are listed as Vulnerable or Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List and 14-amphibian species. In addition, over 112 species of butterflies and 18 species of dragonflies reside in the ecosystems.

Bamburi’s rehabilitation program has created a functional ecosystem over the years through wildlife integration in the rehabilitation of limestone quarries. Animals, many of them larger mammals, were introduced as orphans or rescued, while others were brought in to occupy specific niches in the ecosystem.

Animal species such as monkeys, bush-babies and antelopes, act as seed dispersers, while butterflies and other insects, bats, bush-babies and others act as pollinators. Diverse insects, millipedes and other arthropods and fungi act as decomposers in the ecosystem, turning the former quarry into a functional ecosystem.

Reptiles and other predators were introduce to regulate populations of other organisms. Bamburi’s rehabilitated quarries are a well-documented success story and act as a showcase for the Kenya and its commitment to environmental conservation and management.