Congress Venue & Local Logistics
IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress & ITTO / AFF Forest Policy Day
1. Congress Venue
World Agroforestry Centre
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri
PO Box 30677
Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
Telephone: +254 20 7224000
Via USA +1 650833 6645
Fax: +254 20 7224001
Via USA +1 650833 6646
Email: worldagroforestry@cgiar.org
www.worldagroforestry.org
2. Local Logistics
Upon arrival
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is located about 20 km south-east of Nairobi. Transport of the participants from the airport to the hotel and back to the airport will be arranged by the local organizers group-wise according to the range of arrival times and accommodation. Please look out for the IUFRO sign.
In order to guarantee your transport from and to the airport, please do not forget to inform the organisers of your time and flight number of your arrival and departure in Nairobi. (contact person: Ms Mahmouda Hamoud : m.hamoud@cgiar.org)
Registration
The venue for the IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress & ITTO/AFF Forest Policy Day will be:
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri
PO Box 30677 - 00100 Nairobi
In order to allow swift entrance to the Congress venue, and for security reasons, the registration for the Congress will take place at the hotel. There will be an IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress registration desk at each of the Congress hotels where participants will receive their name badge, Congress material, and information about the daily group transfers by bus to the Congress venue and back. Please use this bus service which is the only way to guarantee quick access to the Congress venue. A group leader will be assigned to each hotel assisting you in the registration and transfers.
Every day
From 26 to 29 June the IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress will take place at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Transportation will be organised from and to your hotel. Participants will spend the whole day at the Congress venue at ICRAF, including coffee breaks and lunches. The welcome reception and farewell dinner will also be organised at ICRAF. Every evening, the daily group transfer buses (featuring the name of the hotels) will bring back the participants to their hotels.
3. In Congress Tour
On Wednesday, 27 June, after lunch, the in-Congress tour will depart from the Congress venue at ICRAF to the Karura Forest Reserve, an urban upland forest on the outskirts of Nairobi. This remarkable geographical location and natural resource is one of the largest gazetted urban forests in the world. Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon walk and experience the serenity of nature in all its diversity. In the evening, the buses will bring back participants to their hotels.
Information about the KARURA FOREST, KENYA
Karura Forest Reserve is located in the northern part of Nairobi city. At 1,041 hectares, it is one of the largest gazetted urban forests in the world. The forest contains nearly all the 605 species of wildlife found in Nairobi including three types of antelope. It is managed by Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in collaboration with Friends of Karura.
Wildlife in Karura Forest
Mammals: Include Harvey’s Duiker, Grimm’s Duiker, Bushbucks, Bush pigs, Genet Cats, Civets, Bush babies, Porcupines, Syke’s Monkeys, Ground Squirrel, Hares and the Epauletted-bat.
Reptiles: Include pythons, green snakes and monitor lizards.
Birds: The forest hosts around 200 species of birds including Ayres Hawk-eagle, the African Crowned Eagle, the Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, the Hartlaub’s Turaco, the Narina Trogon, Owls, Crested Cranes, Sparrows, Doves, Weavers and Vultures.
Butterflies: Include the African Queen and Desmond’s Green Banded Swallowtail.
Plants in Karura Forest
Plantations: Cover 632 hectares. Species found include Araucaria cunninghamii, Eucalyptus saligna, E. globula, Grevillea robusta, Cupressus torulosa and Cupressus lusitanica.
Indigenous trees: Cover 260 hectares. Species include Olea europeae subsp. auspidata, Croton megalocarpus, Warburgia ugandensis (Muthiga), Brachyleana huillensis (Muhugu), Uvaridendron anisatum, Markhamia lutea, Vepris nobilis, Juniperus procera (Cedar), Craebean brownii, Newtonia buchananii, Salvadora persica, Ficus thonningii, Trichilia emetica, Calondendrum capense and Dombeya goetzenii.
Shrubs:Include Strychnos henningsii (Muteta), Erythrococca bongensis (Muharangware), Vangueria madagascariensis (Mubiro), Rhamnus prinoides (Mukarakinga), Caesalpinia volkensii (Mubuthi), Solanum incanum (Mutongu), Elaeodendron buchananii (Mutanga) and Rhus natalensis (Muthigio).
Other plants: There are groves of Arudinaria alpina, Kenya’s native bamboo species along the riparian belts of Gitathuro and Ruaka rivers; exotic giant bamboo Dendrocalamus giganteus along Karura river near the tree nursery, and; small wetlands that are important habitats for birds.
Other areas of special interest in the Karura Forest
Other important attractions that visitors to Karura Forest enjoy are:
- Mau Mau caves
- Scenic waterfalls and rivers
- Picnic sites
- Marked walking trails
- Small wetlands that are habitats for birds
- The incinerator formerly used by Central Bank of Kenya to burn old currency notes
- The area about which the late Professor Wangari Maathai carried out a campaign against illegal acquisition of forest land.
Activities available
In Karura Forest, one can undertake the following activities:
- Forest walks
- Forest drives
- Bird watching
- Butterfly watching
- Cycling
- Running
- Picnicking
What to wear and carry
Comfortable walking shoes or trainers, drinking water, binoculars, camera and wildlife books especially for birds and butterflies.
Climate
There are two wet seasons: April-June (long rains) and October-December (short rains). In between, days are sunny and dry except for July and August which is usually cool and cloudy. The average annual rainfall in Karura is 930 mm.
Important things to remember when visiting Karura forest
- Enjoy yourself; in addition to seeing, pause and listen regularly.
- Stop to allow wildlife to move off the tracks before you pass.
- Do not feed wild animals.
- Do not start fires in the forest.
- Do not take away animals, animal products, plants or plant parts.
- Do not mark or deface tree stems, stones and other features.
- Avoid unnecessary noise as it disturbs both wildlife and other visitors. Do not exceed 40kph when driving in the forest.
- Take all the litter that you brought away with you.
- Keep to the designated tracks and paths when walking and always be sure of where you are headed to or coming from as orientation in forests can be difficult.
Website: www.kenyaforestservice.org