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Karura Forest is an urban forest in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The forest was gazetted in 1932〔UNEP: (Kenya, Atlas of our changing environment – Chapter 5 ) Page 158〕 and is managed by the Kenya Forest Service〔Kenya Forest Service: (Securing Karura Forests )〕 in conjunction with the Friends of Karura Forest (). Due to its proximity to a growing city, there have been plans to reduce the forest in favour of housing and other development. However, these plans have been controversial with conservationists. In the late 90's there were housing projects that would have excised portions of the forest. Conservationists, led by Wangari Maathai, the leader of Green Belt Movement who later became a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, carried out a much publicised campaign for saving the forest. Karura Forest became also a symbol of controversial land grabbings in Kenya.〔BBC News, 16 August 2010: (Unprecedented move )〕 == Geography == Karura Forest has an area of 1 063.0 ha, making it largest of three main gazetted forest in Nairobi. The others are Ngong Forest and Ololua Forest. The centrally located Nairobi Arboretum is much smaller.〔 Karura Forest is located north of central Nairobi and is bordered by the suburbs of Muthaiga, Gigiri, Runda, Ridgeways, Mathare North, Highridge and Spring Valley. The western part of the forest is also known as Sigiria Forest.〔RW Moss: Nairobi AZ Map. African Books Collective, 1999. ISBN 9966-848-00-2〕 The area north of central Nairobi forms a drainage basin and was once heavily forested, but exists today only as patches like Karura Forest and City Park.〔Donald B. Freeman: (A city of farmers: informal urban agriculture in the open spaces of Nairobi, Kenya ). McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP, 1991 ISBN 0-7735-0822-8〕 The forest is cut by Thigirie, Getathuru, Rui Ruaka and Karura Rivers, all tributaries of Nairobi River.〔 Features in the forest include a waterfall, bamboo forest, marshland, Mau Mau caves and an old church.〔Daily Nation, Lifestyle Magazine, 23 May 2009: (Family trail opens at Karura )〕 The United Nations Office at Nairobi and UNEP headquarters are located adjacent to the forest.〔 The Karura Forest Product Research Centre is also located there.〔Kenya Forestry Research Institute: (KARURA REGIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Karura Forest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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