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The National Environment Management Authority has revoked the controversial license it had issued for avocado farming in the fragile Amboseli National Park.
NEMA Director-General Mamo Mamo revoked the license in a letter dated April 27.
The authority in September last year had ordered KiliAvo Fresh Ltd to stop all its activities, a move that irked the investors.
They moved to the National Environment Tribunal to fight the order.
However, the Tribunal dismissed the case by avocado farm, after seven months of hearings.
“You are further referred to the National EnvironmentTribunal ruling on 26th April 2021 on your appeal NET No. 38 of 2021 where the honourable tribunal dismissed in entirety your appeal objecting to Authority’s stop order,” Mamo said.
The DG said based on the tribunal’s dismissal of the case, the order from the authority of 18 September was being reiterated.
Mamo said the farm will have to submit a fresh Environmental Impact Assessment study as stipulated by section 67 of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act 1999.
The DG warned that failure to which, the investors risk being imprisoned for a term not less than one year and not more than four years or fine not less than Sh 2 million and not more than Sh 4 million or to both such fine and imprisonment.
The Amboseli Land Owners and Conservation Association and conservation bodies including WildlifeDirect, Big Life Foundation, and The Conservation Alliance of Kenya welcomed Tribunal’s move.
Tribunal Chairman Mohammed Balala on Monday said KiliAvo had failed to provide reports and ready witnesses to help make its case. Despite earlier calling for urgency was now delaying the fair hearing of this matter.
KiliAvo intended to put an avocado farm on 180 acres of land within an important elephant corridor in Amboseli, raising objections from conservationists.
In September last year, Nema ordered the farm to stop work on the proposed 180-acre fenced farm in the fragile ecosystem.
The investor was at the time given 10 days to show cause why a licence issued by Nema should not be revoked.
The investor planned to grow avocados, tomatoes, onions, garlic and other vegetables.
Initially, Nema had issued a license to Harji Mavji and Suresh Kurji Kerai, representing KiliAvo Fresh Ltd, to put up a farm.
Nema had warned KiliAvo in September that it intended to cancel its licence after the Amboseli Land Owners Conservancies Association and other key stakeholders raised questions about how the developer assessed the environmental impact its farm would cause to the local ecosystem.
According to Nema, the proposed farm was in a wildlife corridor; it violated land use plans and the Amboseli Ecosystem Management Plan that zone this area for livestock and wildlife; and that the developers failed to consult widely enough on their plans.
Following the revocation of the license, Big Life Limited welcomed the decision.
Benson Leiyan, Chief Operating Officer for Big Life, said: “Big Life commends NEMA and the National Environment Tribunal for showing that the systems and institutions regulating how Kenya balances development with environmental protection are strong.
“Both bodies’ decisions to reject KiliAvo’s insistence that it be allowed to continue operations send a very clear message that only sustainable enterprises that fit with local land use plans and that conserve the environment for people and wildlife are welcome in the Amboseli ecosystem. It is also a win for communities whose interests are too often not considered in decisions like these.”
Big Life joined the local community Amboseli Land Owners Conservancies Association (ALOCA), and fellow conservation organisations including Kenya Wildlife Service, the Conservation Alliance of Kenya, the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Wildlife Direct, and tourism investors, in opposing KiliAvo’s plans for the farm.
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