Kenya’s ecosystems are on the edge – unable to continue providing water, plant materials and other basic human needs to its burgeoning population. Forests remain on less than two percent of Kenya’s land, under protected status as a national resource. In a country plagued by drought, the forests are critical for water conservation. They are also home to indigenous peoples that live by hunting game and gathering food plants, herbs, and honey within the forests.

Britain is concerned by the wanton destruction of forests worldwide. British High Commissioner to Kenya, Mr Edward Clay, said the consequences of the destruction was a "global issue". "We have an interest in the way other countries look at the environment. Its protection is very important," Mr Clay told Environment Minister Joseph Kamotho at Maji House, Nairobi.

An astonishing development is changing one of Africa's most remarkable land marks beyond recognition. The ice cap on Mt Kilimanjaro, one of the few places in the world where ice and snow can be seen on the Equator, is expected to disappear in the next 12 years. Staff writer Mildred Ngesa and photographer Blasto Ogindo recently visited the mountain on a fact finding mission.

The main reaction of the majority of Kenyans to the shocking report by Transparency International exposing the most corrupt public institutions was one of pleasure. It meant Kenyans were ready to take the devilish problem of corruption by its horns.

Corrupt United Nations staff in Nairobi extorted millions of pounds from refugees desperate for a fresh start in western countries including Britain, UN investigators have said. Three Kenyan employees of the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, are also charged with conspiring to send a death threat from Osama bin Laden to the US ambassador to Kenya.