The next stop was at Mlolongo, a suburban village characterized by a dense urban population with a semi-arid ecology. This site presented an interesting example of a typical growing suburb where anthropogenic activities put pressure on land to produce vegetables to feed the urban population. It was a special site for COHESA partners to observe and interrogate any health risks presented by suburban ecologies that depend on polluted rivers and tributaries for irrigation of crops that get back into the city’s food systems.
“Anthropogenic pressures, including activities at a camel abattoir located not far from here, have created interfaces for concentration of wild animals and roaming dogs within this environment. This situation presents a risk for emergence of zoonotic diseases and thus a serious OH response is required,” observed Dr. James Hassell, an epidemiologist and wildlife veterinarian at the Smithsonian Institute of Conservation Biology.
The partners concluded the tour at ILRI’s Kapiti Research Station and Wildlife Conservancy located approximately 43km south of Nairobi. This is a 13,000-hectare facility for conducting research, promoting conservation and practicing commercial livestock ranching. The facility is a model for effective habitat conservation allowing coexistence between livestock and wildlife in the face of land fragmentation and other human activities that continue to threaten wildlife habitat. “At Kapiti, we want to show there is a sustainable way of managing wildlife and livestock together,” said Dr. Sonja Leitner, a Biogeochemist at ILRI.
Using the expansive ranch-cum-conservancy, scientists at ILRI are studying how livestock-wildlife interface can present a risk for disease transmission from wildlife to livestock. The experience at the ILRI facility was an eye-opener for COHESA partners to contemplate on human-livestock-wildlife interfaces. Overall, the tour presented a unique opportunity for partners to discuss appropriate OH interventions in the face of rapid urbanization and climate change.
The training-cum-study tour was organized by ISAAA AfriCenter and ILRI.
This article was written by Walter Langat, a communications associate at ISAAA AfriCenter
