Taita–Taveta County previously known as

Taita Taita may refer to: * Taita people, a Bantu ethnic group in Kenya * Taita language, a Bantu language *Taitā, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt City * Taita Hills, a mountain range in Kenya * Taita Cushitic languages, an extinct pair of Afro-Asi ...

Taveta District is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It lies approximately 140 km northwest of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and 380 km southeast of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. Taita Taveta County is located approximately 360 km southeast of

and 200 km northwest of

, and is a port and major gateway to the United Republic of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

through Tavet
town
The County headquarters are located in Mwatate sub county, which is one of the six counties in the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani regional economi
bloc
Major towns include Voi, Taveta,

Mwatate Mwatate is a town in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya. It is the county capital, although it is the fourth-largest town in the county. Other urban centers in Taita-Taveta County include Voi, Wundanyi and Taveta. Location Mwatate lies about south-w ...

an
Wundanyi
The population of the county was 340,671 persons according to the 2019 national census, with population densities ranging from 14 persons per km² to more than 117 persons per km². This is due to the varied rainfall and terrain with the lower zones receiving an average 440 mm of rain per annum and the highland areas receiving up to 1,900 mm of rain. The county ranges in

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

from 500 m above sea level to 2,228 m at Vuria Peak, which is the county's highest point.

Land Use

The county covers an area of 17,083.9 km², of which 62% or 11,100 km², is within Tsavo East and

Tsavo West National Park Tsavo West National Park is located in the Coast Province of Kenya. The park covers an area of 9,065 square kilometres. The A109 road Nairobi-Mombasa and a railway divides it from the adjoining Tsavo East National Park. Together with adjoining ...

s. The remaining 5,876 km² consists of small scale farms, ranches,

sisal Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal ma ...

estates, water bodies (such as Lakes

Chala The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters. The coastal desert of Peru is largely devoid of vegetation but a unique fog and mist- ...

and Jipe in Taveta and Mzima springs), and the hilltop forests. The lowland areas of the county outside the national parks are farms,

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

es, estates, and wildlife sanctuaries which receive an average of 440 mm of rain per annum whereas the highlands receive up to 190
mm
Altitudes range from 500 meters above sea level to almost 2300 m at the highest point in the county Vuri
Peak
The county has approximately 25 ranches in cattle grazing. The three operating sisal estates in the county are

Teita Sisal Estate The Teita Sisal Estate is one of the largest sisal estates in the world, and the largest in East Africa. It is located in Kenya's Taita-Taveta County, in the former Coast Province, near the town of Mwatate. The company is active in growing sisal ...

, Voi Sisal Estate and Taveta Sisal Estate. Many ranches have ventured into wildlife tourism and conservation. The Taita Hills and Saltlick Lodges sanctuary are among the well known tourism attractions in Taita Taveta. There are 48 forests which have survived on hill tops in Taita Taveta county of which 28 are gazetted and are under government protection and management. They range in size from small 500 square metre patches with a few remnant trees to modestly vast 2 square kilometer indigenous and exotic forest mountains. These forests are part of the unique

Eastern Arc The Eastern Academic Research Consortium, or "Eastern Arc", is a regional research collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex, and the University of Kent. The three partner institutions are all part of the plate ...

range of forests found mostly in eastern

with the

Taita Hills The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in t ...

forming the only Kenyan portion of that forest type. Taita Hills forest hold a unique biodiversity with 13 taxa of plants and 9 taxa of animals found only in the Taita Hills and nowhere else in the world. In addition, 22 plant species found in the Taita Hills forests are typical of the

Eastern Arc forests The Eastern Arc forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate highland areas above 800 meters in Kenya, and (mostly) Tanzania. Setting The Eastern Arc forests extend across a tot ...

. Within these beautiful indigenous forests, bubbles clean water flowing to the lowland areas catering for both human economic activities and wildlife.

Human – Wildlife Conflict

At Tsavo National Park covers approximately two-thirds of the land area of Taita Taveta County, growth in human population causes conflict with

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

. The national population census carried out in 1969 put the number of persons in Taita Taveta district at 110,742. The Kenya Population and Housing Census of August 2019 found that the number of people in Taita -Taveta county was 340,671 representing an increase of 207.6% in fifty years. The growth of the human population means that the land close to the park boundaries is converted from bush land into settlements. Consequently, people have been killed by

, as others lose crops and livestock. The national government has a mechanism for financially compensating families for wildlife-related deaths and destruction of property, but residents of Taita Taveta say the process of claiming compensation is too tedious. A television news report broadcast in September 2018 revealed that only ten out of more than 1,500 claims for compensation in the county had been paid out in the previous five years.

Tourist Attractions

Lake Jipe , Lake

, Kisigau Montai

Taita hills ,Shomoto Hill, Arub
Dam
Mudand
Rock
Yatta Plateau, Lugard Falls, Tsavo National Reserve, Shetani Lava Flow, Mzima Spring

Population

Religion

Sub-Counties

The seat of the county government of Taita Taveta is at the small town of

Wundanyi Wundanyi is a town in the Taita-Taveta County of Kenya. Other urban centres in the county include Voi, Taveta and Mwatate. Location Wundanyi is located approximately north of Mwatate, the location of the county headquarters. This is about we ...

, and the largest town being Voi county.

Constituencies

The county has four constituencies: *

Taveta Constituency Taveta Constituency is an Constituencies of Kenya, electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of four constituencies in Taita-Taveta County. The constituency has five county assembly wards, all belonging to the Taveta, Kenya, Taita-Taveta County. Th ...

Wundanyi Constituency Wundanyi Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , co ...

* Mwatate Constituency * Voi Constituency

References

External links

Taita Taveta County Government Official Site

Taita Taveta County Government Official Facebook page

Taita Taveta County Government Official Twitter Page

Taita Taveta County Assembly Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taita-Taveta County Counties of Kenya