Friends of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (FoASF) was started in October 1999 by concerned individuals and institutions to link people interested in the conservation of the Forest with the present Forest Managers. The forest supports several near-endemic species. The favorite animal, the Golden-Rumped Elephant-Shrew continues to be a feature.

There are a series of Income-generating projects around the Forest through which the community benefits from the forest. Coastal dry forest near the East coast of Africa once extended from northern Mozambique to southern Somalia. Now, apart from a few small kaya forests, which were conserved because they were sacred to local people, the 410 square kilometres of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is all that remains.

The Forest is situated to the west of the road between Malindi and Mombasa, and extends from Gede, south of Malindi, almost to Kilifi, approximately half way along the main road to Mombasa.

The Forest is home to six endangered bird species, two of them endemic, and three rare mammals, so its conservation is obviously important. Apart from local people's understandable need to make a living for their families from whatever resources they find to hand, elephants and baboons often leave the Forest and damage the crops of people living on its margins. The Forest is therefore in constant danger from poachers of wood for charcoal, building and carvings for tourists in the nearby coastal resorts, and of animals for food. It is also threatened by people wishing to clear it for agriculture and to rid themselves of nuisance animals.