Shirley: Hi, David. How are you?

David: I'm fine, thank you, Shirley.

 

Shirley: So, environmental issues ... we were talking about them earlier throughout the world, and you're from Kenya.

 

David: Yes, I'm from Kenya.

 

Shirley: So, what's happening over there?

 

David: One of the environmental issues we are having is deforestation, which is really affecting both the wild animals and people living around the forest and, you know, the environment in general.

 

Shirley: So, what's actually happening to the people that ... for example the people who actually live around the forest area?

 

David: Cause you know, when you tend to interfere and come in between the wild animal's habitat and things like that, you somehow create like an imbalance in between the people and the animals and sometimes it's not a really nice thing cause animals tend to come close to where people live instead of living in their own habitat, which is a really bad thing.

 

Shirley: So, are they like attacking people .... or?

 

David: They really don't attack but it's not a really nice picture or scene to know that you're vulnerable at anytime.

 

Shirley: What about livestock of the people that are close to forest areas?

 

David: You know, that's one of the things that are in danger cause, you know, if wild animals come to where people live, and they have livestock, probably they'll want to be eaten.

 

Shirley: So, what's actually causing the deforestation?

 

David: People are trying to burn charcoal, so that they can get, they're trying to burn the trees so that they can get charcoal and sell cause as you know everyone is not living to the living standard that they're supposed to be living, and they're trying in every way to earn an extra dime to support their families, so they turn to deforestation and the cutting down of trees, and this has been one of major causes of deforestation cause when you're trying to get charcoal and sell, you have to cut a tree and that results to deforestation and other causes that come along with deforestation and like soil erosion: things like that.

 

Shirley: So what's being done to try and remedy this, or to try and counterbalance the effect?

 

David: The activist groups that are coming together like ... you all know the Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

 

Shirley: Yes.

 

David: She has her own green belt movement in Kenya. She's been for so long trying to discourage people and educate people in what deforestation does to the country and how it effects people and the environment in general.