Why the new Nairobi National Park will be a game-changer

You will soon enjoy five-star catering at the Nairobi National Park, according to a master plan in our possession.

And, after an evening game drive, there will be nothing to regret - wine, whisky and beer aplenty served at an ecolodge right inside the park.

The ambiance of the high-end ecolodge will for a long time be the talk of the visitors to Nairobi, the only city in the world with a national park hardly 10 kilometres from the central business district.

These and a conference hall with a gym are but a few highlights of the facilities to be erected in the 117 square kilometre park.

The Kenya Wildlife Service justifies the planned developments, citing poor infrastructure and lack of recreational facilities "unworthy of the stature" of visitors thronging the park annually.

But not everybody, in particular conservationists and nature lovers,  is as excited by all the proposed developments.

Friends of Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP) says many of infrastructure proposals will be aesthetically unappealing.

While FoNNaP has no objection to 90 of the 122 objectives of the draft master plan, it warns against special-use zones in the park.

The East Africa Wildlife Society maintains that the plan must be subjected to public scrutiny as the park's management is a concern of everybody.

The park has had no management plan in the past 10 years, the previous one having expired in 2010.

There are more than 100 mammal species and over a dozen different reptiles in the facility. Among the carnivores (leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, etc) are more than 45 lions.

Herbivores like deer, gazelles and giraffes roam the park. Mbagathi River and dams are the habitats of hippopotamuses and crocodiles.

The Nairobi National Park experience master plan says there will be an amphitheatre, museum, ivory tower and restrooms when the reorganisation of the facility is completed.

Also highlighted are the development of a clubhouse, high-end restaurant (Orpul Place), the establishment of adventure activity concessions and facilitation of alternative activities to traditional game-viewing.

The parastatal is considering improving park habitat, coupled with progressively fencing willing landowners in the wildlife facility’s buffer zone.

It proposes integrated land use management in the buffer zone and wildlife dispersal areas to achieve the park’s management objectives.

The plan is purposed to maintain ecological integrity, amplify visitor experience, enhance community benefits from wildlife, minimise human-wildlife conflicts and improve wildlife security. 

The master plan proposes viewing and photography platforms, more recreational sites, running and cycling track along green line, improvement of nature trails along hippo pools, special events sites and wildlife viewing boardwalks.

The plan proposes eating spot kitchenette, improvement of the roads inside the park and sprucing up of roundabouts at JKIA, Nyayo, T-Mall and Lang'ata.

The master plan is explicit about the park's strengths - uniqueness and diversity of wildlife and accessibility.

It cites soon to be available opportunities like more visitation resultant from meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), wildlife product and scenic sites, stronger partnerships, job creation  and modernized revenue collection.

It cites low visitor numbers, lack of recreational activities, programs, poor infrastructure, slow ticketing service, untapped digital potential as weaknesses to the park.

The master plan also cites human-wildlife conflict, isolation of the park, pollution, invasive species and national infrastructure as threats that it seeks to cure.