The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites
A Case Study from Coastal Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v2i3.327Keywords:
Sacred sites, ecotourismAbstract
The sacred kaya forests of coastal Kenya are sites of biological and cultural significance currently threatened with degradation and destruction. Conservation efforts over the last fifteen years have had some positive results but the prospects for survival of these forests in areas of acute rural poverty and rapid cultural change remain doubtful. Appropriate cultural tourism and ecotourism projects can generate income for the local communities and thus enhance the forests’ chances of survival. One such project was initiated in 2001 at Kaya Kinondo, a sacred forest of the Digo sub-group of the Mijikenda people on the south Kenya coast. The context of this project is outlined, and a discussion of its history is given with particular attention to environmental, socio-cultural, and economic issues. Information drawn from the experiences of the authors and from interviews with local people and visitors is used to evaluate consequences of the project. After seven years of operation, the Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project can be seen as a qualified success, and provides some guidelines for the successful implementation of ecotourism projects to enhance the conservation of threatened, natural, sacred sites in other parts of the world.
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Coastal Forest Conservation Unit (CFCU). 1994. Funding Proposal to ODA-JFS (Nairobi: National Museums of Kenya).
———. 1997. Quarterly Report XIV for October–December (Nairobi: National Museums of Kenya).
Cohen, E. 1996. ‘Hunter-gatherer Tourism in Thailand’, in R. Butler and T. Hinch (eds.), Tourism and Indigenous Peoples (London: International Thomson Business Press): 227-54.
Dudley, N., L. Higgins-Zoib, and S. Mansourian. 2005. Beyond Belief: Linking Faiths and Protected Areas to Support Biodiversity Conservation (Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund for Nature).
Duffy, R. 2002. A Trip Too Far: Ecotourism, Politics, and Exploitation (London: Earthscan).
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Honey, M. 1999. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (Washington, DC: Island Press).
Johnston, A.M. 2006. Is the Sacred for Sale? Tourism and Indigenous Peoples (London: Earthscan).
Kibet, S., and C.K. Nyamweru. In press. ‘Conserving “Makaya” Forests in Kenya’, Journal of Human Ecology 24(3).
Kimaru, E. 2000a. Kaya Kinondo Pilot Ecotourism Project (Nairobi: WWF for Nature, Eastern Africa Regional Programme Office).
———. 2000b. ‘Community Eco-tourism: A Feasibility Study and General Guidelines for Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest in Kwale District’ (Nairobi: CFCU Internal Report).
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Nyamweru, C.K. 1996. ‘Sacred Groves Threatened by Tourist Development’, Cultural Survival Quarterly 20.3: 19-21.
———. 1997. Report on Socio-cultural Research Carried Out in Kwale and Kilifi Districts of Kenya, March to May 1997 (Nairobi: Report submitted to the Coastal Forest Conservation Unit).
———. 1998. ‘Environment and Civil Society in Kenya’, Africa Notes, Institute for African Development, Cornell University (March 1998): 8-10.
———. 2001a. ‘The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites: A Case Study from Coastal Kenya’. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Houston, TX.
———. 2001b. Interviews with Kaya Elders of Kilifi and Kwale Districts, Kenya, Held in August 1998. Unpublished transcripts.
———. 2003. ‘Women and Sacred Groves in Coastal Kenya: A Contribution to the Ecofeminist Debate’, in H. Eaton and L.A. Lorentzen (eds.), Ecofeminism and Globalization (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield).
———. 2005. ‘Women’s Involvement in Grass Roots Environmental Conservation Groups: A Case Study from Coastal Kenya’, in N. Tanzarn (ed.), Gender in Agriculture and Technology (Kampala: Makerere University Department of Women and Gender Studies).
Nyamweru, C.K., S. Kibet, M. Pakia, and J. Cooke. 2008. ‘The Kaya Forests of Coastal Kenya: “Remnant Patches” or Dynamic Entities?’, in M.J. Sheridan and C.K. Nyamweru (eds.), African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics and Social Change (Oxford: James Currey; Athens, OH: Ohio University Press): 62-86.
Parkin, D. 1991. Sacred Void: Spatial Images of Work and Ritual among the Giriama of Kenya (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Robertson, S.A. 1993. ‘The Sacred Kaya Forests of the Kenya Coast’ (unpublished ms).
Robinson, M. 1999. ‘Cultural Conflicts in Tourism: Inevitability and Inequality’, in M. Robinson and P. Boniface (eds.), Tourism and Cultural Conflicts (Oxon, NY: CABI Publications): 1-32.
Ryan, C., and J. Huyton. 2002. ‘Tourists and Aboriginal People’, Annals of Tourism Research 29.3: 631-47. doi:10.1016/S0160-7383(01)00073-1.
Shackley, M. 1999. ‘The Himalayas: Masked Dances and Mixed Blessings’, UNESCO Courier (July–August): 28-29. Online: http://www.unesco.org/courier/1999_08/uk/dossier/intro21.htm (accessed 29 May 2008).
Smith, V. 1996. ‘Indigenous Tourism: The Four Hs’,’ in R. Butler and T. Hinch (eds.), Tourism and Indigenous Peoples (London: International Thomson Business Press): 282-307.
Spear, T.T. 1978. The Kaya Complex (Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau).
Steele-Prohaska, S. 1996. ‘Ecotourism and Cultural Heritage Tourism: Forging Stronger Links’, in J.A. Miller and E. Malek-Zadeh (eds.), The Ecotourism Equation: Measuring the Impacts (Bulletin 99, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; New Haven: Yale University Press): 278-83.
Stronza, A. 2001. ‘Anthropology of Tourism: Forging New Ground for Ecotourism and Other Alternatives’, Annual Review of Anthropology 30: 261-83. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.30.1.261.
Taylor, B., and J. Geffen. 2003. ‘Battling Religions in Parks and Forest Reserves: Facing Religion in Conflicts over Protected Places’, in D. Harmon and A. Putney (eds.), The Full Value of Parks and Protected Areas: From Economics to the Intangible (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield): 281-93.
Tunbridge, L. 1996. ‘Tourism Cuts Swathe through Kenya’s Spiritual Enclaves’, Daily Telegraph, London, 26 January.
US National Park Service. 2007. ‘June Voluntary Closure’, Devils Tower National Monument, electronic document. Online: http://www.nps.gov/deto/planyourvisit/junevoluntaryclosure.htm (accessed 29 May 2008).
Weaver, D.B. (ed.). 2001. The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism (Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing).
Published
2008-01-16
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Nyamweru, C., & Kimaru, E. (2008). The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites: A Case Study from Coastal Kenya. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2(3), 327-350. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v2i3.327
