NAIROBI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Climate change, subdivision of land and ongoing infrastructure development are threatening Kenya's biodiversity, said a report that was launched Monday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Kenya's Key Biodiversity Areas Status and Trends 2023 report compiled by Nature Kenya, a conservation lobby, assesses the country's biodiversity hotspots.

Paul Gacheru, sites and species program manager at Nature Kenya, said that key biodiversity areas in Kenya are under threat due to pressures from drought, infrastructure development, land use changes, and deforestation.

"There is a growing trend of degazetting critical biodiversity hotspots, poor management plans of forests, and lack of enforcement of policies to protect these sites," Gacheru said.

Of the 56 sites assessed in 2023, only three -- Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Mau Forest Complex, and Mrima Hill Forest -- were ranked as "favorable," a decline from the five sites ranked under a similar category in 2022.

"Of the three sites, only Lake Bogoria National Reserve retained the favorable score. Forty-seven sites had 'unfavorable' state score while six had 'very unfavorable' state score," the report notes.

It reveals that the conversion of grasslands to croplands in Kinangop highland grassland in central Kenya has resulted in the loss of habitat for an endangered bird known as Sharpe's Longclaw, which is only found in Kenya, while Lake Ol' Bolossat in central Kenya has experienced poaching of grey crowned crane chicks and eggs.

The report also raises concern about the collision and electrocution of birds by energy infrastructure, as well as continued water pollution trends at important biodiversity sites such as Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley.

Salt manufacturing factories have been identified in the report as part of the cause of the degradation of many key biodiversity areas in the coastal region. It states that these factories dispose of highly concentrated waste, which ends up affecting mangrove forests by killing trees due to an increase in water salinity.

The report warns that unregulated livestock numbers are increasing pressure on pasture and competition with wildlife, threatening the ecological health of world-famous wildlife sanctuaries including Amboseli, Masai Mara, and Samburu-Laikipia landscapes.

According to the report, there are more than 16,400 key biodiversity areas globally, with Kenya accounting for 109, which includes 68 sites identified on the basis of birds. Enditem

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