The Killifi County administration has announced measures to prohibit the shipment of Baobab trees overseas.
According to the county, booming business is a danger to the ecology and history.
This comes after allegations of a new trade in which mature baobab trees are sold for between Sh100,000 and Sh300,000 and then exported out of the country.
Conservationists have also expressed alarm about the trade, calling it unjustified since it was harming the ecosystem.
It is unclear why the trade is developing and why customers are solely interested in mature trees rather than seeds to plant.
Kilifi County CEC member for Water and Environment Omar Said told journalists that as a department they came to learn about the trade recently.
In an interview he said they are foreseeing a scenario where the Coast risks losing all baobab trees.
“The action of exporting the baobab doesn’t mean that we don’t need those baobabs which are very important for the locals , it’s a source of income, it’s a business activity or idea,” he said.
Said disclosed that there was no need for exporting the baobab trees and called on the residents to plant more because they take a long to grow and mature to produce the fruits.
He said as a department they will see how to go about it with the department of Agriculture to see how they shall come up with a plan to plant more trees and reduce the exportation of the trees.
The CEC members urged those importers to take seeds and plant in their countries instead of buying mature baobab trees .
“We are telling them go plant yours, leave Kilifi green, and leave Kilifi people to enjoy the fruits of the baobab which is an income generating activity , its a business as well as our heritage,” he said.
Abbas Mohamed the Chairman of Baobab Community Development Initiative (BACODI) in Malindi said baobab trees have a lot of benefits for the community as the fruits are medicinal and help treat diabetes, high blood pressure and other types of ailments.
“Its important for us to protect the baobab trees, they are our cultural heritage that’s why we are in the forefront in conserving the environment and trees,”he said..
Mohamed warned those people who are behind the plan of selling baobab trees for export as it had negative repercussions to the Community.
Mohamed Bwana a member of BACODI said it was sad that Baobab trees are now being sold and exported yet they are trees which have been protected for many years .
he said Coast is known to be the home where Baobab trees are growing for many years and called on the authorities to intervene and stop that trade.
“Baoab is our face many people are aware of that its fruits are medicinal so if there is something of benefit it has to benefit us first because of protecting the trees for many years,”he said.
Research from the internet shows that Baobab trees, commonly called the iconic trees of life, grow in 32 countries in Africa and can live for 5000 years.
Further the wonder tree can reach 30 metres high with a circumference of 50 metres
The Baobab tree is a succulent and absorbs water during the rainy season which is stored in its vast trunk that enables it to produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season .
