A/HRC/4/32/Add.3 page 14 46. According to the information received by the Special Rapporteur in the early 1980s in a joint initiative by the Government and FAO to reduce desertification the prosopis plant (Prosopis juliflora) was introduced in the Marigat area, homeland of the Il Chamus. A thorny vegetation, the invasive plant rapidly colonized the area and destroyed native flora, causing harm to humans, as well as emaciation and death of livestock. The community, which was visited by the Special Rapporteur, claims to have found no support in addressing the devastating consequences of the wrong policy and filed a lawsuit in 2006 demanding reparation. 47. Pastoralists’ lives have also been affected by the consequences of the establishment in the past and at present of military bases and training camps in pastoralist areas like Isiolo, Garissa, Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana and Wajir. Unexploded ordnance left behind after military exercises in pastoralist areas have produced numerous victims among local communities, who complain that they have not received any compensation for their losses and that nobody has assumed responsibility for cleaning up the contaminated lands. E. Conservation versus livelihood 48. Kenya is widely admired in the world for its national parks and game reserves, which have become a major tourist attraction and therefore important for the national economy. It is estimated that direct and indirect revenues from wildlife conservationist policies amount to 10 per cent of GDP. Protected areas cover over 3.5 million hectares, or 6 per cent of Kenya’s total land area. The conservation of wildlife and the preservation of natural parks are considered high priority for the country, and this has involved separating indigenous people from the wildlife and the forests. Many families were evicted by the creation of protected areas, most of which were originally inhabited by pastoralists and hunter-gatherers. 49. The Endorois community has lived for centuries in their traditional territory around Lake Bogoria, which was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1973. Since then, the community has been pushed to live in the higher lands, a rocky terrain providing insufficient pasture for their animals. The community brought suit against the Government, seeking return to their lands and participation in the benefits derived from the reserve. Failing to obtain redress at the national level, they brought the case before ACHPR in 2003. 50. On the mistaken assumption, held since colonial times, that subsistence hunting by indigenous communities was decimating wildlife, the Wildlife Conservation Act interdicts game hunting inside and outside the protected areas. Those who persist are often arrested and prosecuted as poachers, and in some areas “eco-guards” were armed and actually killed poachers to prevent illegal hunting. Despite centuries of coexistence with wildlife, nomadic pastoralists are not allowed to herd their cattle in the reserves even in game reserves which are managed by the local authorities on behalf of the local communities. In the context of rising human population and escalating poverty, the restrictions imposed on the utilization of national parks and game reserves by pastoralists have severely affected their livelihoods and their chances for survival. 51. Wildlife conservation also has had direct negative impacts on neighbouring communities. The Maasai living close to Amboseli and Maasai Mara denounce the killing and injury of many