An American oil and gas company has cancelled plans to hack through east Africa’s largest coastal forest amid fears that it would make rare wildlife extinct and devastate local people’s livelihoods.
Camac Energy had hired a Chinese company to carry out a seismic survey through the Arabuko Sokoke forest, home to at least ten endangered species. It would have involved laying hundreds of explosive charges every 60m (200ft) to send shockwaves up to 4km underground.
Conservationists warned that the blasts could spell the end of Kenya’s forest elephants, which are already under threat from ivory poachers. More than 100 elephants live inside the 420 sq km reserve and they communicate by sending subsonic vibrations through the ground.
The ancient forest is also home to three