Lamu Bio-Cultural Community Protocol by Salim
Omar Noor, Kenya
Mrs Noor explained that the indigenous
communities of Lamu came together to develop
a BCP to assist them in their calls for transparency
and participation in the planning of a 16 Billion US
Dollar mega port, which is apparently to be the
second largest port on the African continent.
She went on to say that until now, the Kenyan
government has not consulted any of the
communities of Lamu that will be affected by the
port. She also indicated that an environmental
and social impact assessment has not even been
conducted.
Land reform is another critical challenge that the local communities face. Due to their colonial
history, most coastal communities are living as squatters on government land. Kenya’s new
constitution provides new laws for land ownership and will acknowledge the land rights of some of
the coastal communities. However, the land reform still needs to be implemented. Currently, land is
being irregularly allocated. The situation is exacerbated by land speculation caused by the port
development project.
Mrs Noor highlighted that developing a BCP for Lamu has rallied individuals from many civil society
groups and communities to work as one and speak with one voice. Their common and main
objective is to preserve their communities’ way of life and lands. The communities of Lamu are very
diverse and include pastoralists, fisher-folk and hunter gatherers. Creating a BCP has allowed each
community to describe their relationship to the environment and voice how the port development
will affect their lives.
9