Conservation in the Gaps: Formal and Informal Institutional Struggles in Kenya’s Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests
Yvonne Githiora (Kenyatta University, Kenya)
The governance of Kenya’s sacred Mijikenda Kaya forests reveals a persistent tension between overlapping formal and informal institutions—each weakened in distinct but interconnected ways. These coastal forests, some protected as National Monuments, others as Forest Reserves, and many without legal status, are governed through a patchwork of actors including Mijikenda elders, national and county governments, NGOs, and international bodies like UNESCO. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in March–April 2025—including household surveys and key informant interviews across seven UNESCO-designated forests—this research reveals how both formal and informal institutions struggle to protect these sacred sites. While state agencies such as the Kenya Forest Service and National Museums of Kenya face legal and resource limitations, customary authorities grounded in spiritual traditions are being eroded by religious conversion, generational divides, and socio-economic pressures. Some elders enforcing taboos have faced stigma or threats, yet many community members—elders and youth alike—express a desire to sustain forest-based initiatives like beekeeping, tree nurseries, and cultural tourism. These aspirations often fall into the cracks of existing institutional frameworks, where mandates are unclear and capacities are stretched. By examining how authority is shared, redefined, and contested in these forests, this presentation reflects on broader questions of governance futures in conservation across Africa and other indigenous territories. It argues that effective and equitable conservation requires not only recognition of plural institutions, but also attention to the evolving relationships between them—including how legitimacy is negotiated, how responsibilities are shared, and how local visions for conservation might be supported within or beyond formal governance systems.
Yvonne Githiora is a Conservation biologist working as a research scientist in the Biodiversity Department at Wildlife Works and affiliated with Kenyatta University in Kenya. Her research focuses on the connections between ecosystem services, human societies, and climate change within African ecosystems. She recently earned her PhD in Climate Change and Adaptation from the University of Nairobi, where her research was focused on participatory approaches to assess ecosystems change and where she was a PhD fellow in the African Climate and Environment Centre Future African Savannas (AFAS) programme exploring nature-based solutions in Africa. Her professional experience spans public policy, climate change mainstreaming, and research on water and ecosystems. Her work in participatory research has enriched her with experience on how the dual challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss can be addressed by collaborating with the most impacted local communities.
Date:
18 June 2025
17.45-19.15
Venue:
Seminar Room S252
Classen-Kappelmannstr. 24, 50931 Köln