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2 MORE LISTED AS KENYA'S WORLD HERITAGE SITES
The Mount Kenya World Heritage Site (WHS) was recently expanded to include two additional conservation areas, namely Lewa Downs and the Ngare Ndare Forest. Lewa Downs, once upon a time a conventional cattle ranch owned and operated by the Craig family, has over the years turned itself into a pioneer of privately-owned conservancies, setting the trend many others followed over the years.
UNESCO’s recognition, therefore, is as much a natural progression to expand the existing Mount Kenya WHS and incorporate some of the adjoining migration routes of elephant and other game, as it is a very public statement towards the massive conservation efforts undertaken by Lewa Downs over the past decades.
When the transformation of Lewa started only about 5,000 acres were set aside to introduce rhinos and give them a conducive breeding environment, but today the entire estate of more than 60,000 acres has been turned into a conservation zone. Lewa today is home to both the Eastern Black and the Southern White rhinos but also provides a habitat for at least another 70 mammals and over 440 bird species, some of them endemic.
http://www.24tanzania.com/lewa-downs-and-ngare-ndare-forest-join-mt-kenya-world-heritage-site/
