ABSTRACT
Travel north by boat from the island city of Lamu on Kenya’s coast toward the Kiunga National Marine Reserve and a scene of intense beauty unfolds. Stands of slender mangroves form leafy barrier islands in the Indian Ocean, vibrant swaths of green in the blue-gray waters. Pelicans and terns nest on beaches exposed by retreating tides. Just south of the Somali border, the Lamu Archipelago, with the Kiunga Reserve at its top, is part of a rich marine ecosystem that stretches thousands of kilometers along the East African coast from Somalia to Mozambique. Coral reefs and sea grasses provide homes for many species of fish and crustaceans, and Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, and Green turtles lay their eggs on Kiunga’s beaches. The dugong—a rarely seen sea cow, cousin to the manatee—forages among the sea grass in these waters. A few small villages, with homes constructed of mangrove and palm, also hug the coastline, quiet but for the sounds of children playing and donkeys braying and drinking at the water’s edge. 1
