THE WATER WORLD

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Somali Ostrich, rules the Northern deserts Page 7 Bamboo mints money for former detective Page 7

KENYA’S CHAMPION FOR WATER, ENVIRONMENT & SANITATION ISSUES

MAY, 2021

NO. 005

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Where human waste is fueling homes

STORY ON PAGE 12

Tilapia in Lake Jipe faces extinction Page 27

Water providers go digital to boost capacity Page 2

Rare breed of cranes now under Page 4 threat 1

Human poop converted into charcoal has now become popular in Kenya to reduce dependence on the distruction of trees for charcoal burning. Photo/ charcoalbriquettemacine.com DECEMBER, 2019 COUNTY PRESS

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KFS unleashes dogs on illegal loggers The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) will soon use trained dogs to increase its capacity of forest protection and conservation.

The process of integrating canine security into pre-existing human and technological security systems will help KFS to provide greater security capabilities.

New protection measures were informed by the need for KFS to remain responsive to the ever-changing dynamics of security risks and threats facing the vast forest ecosystems in the country.

Two forest rangers; George Adero and Joel Omondi who have undergone four months training on dog handling, recently conducted a demonstration to the Chief Conservator of Forests (CFC), Mr. Julius Kamau at Karura forest station.

Page 26

2 NEWS

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

Water providers go digital to boost capacity

By Ngugi Njoroge Many water companies in the country have adopted digital technology to make distribution, metering and payment of bills more effective.

Borrowing from electricity distributor Kenya Power’s experience since adopting pre-paid smart metres in 2014, the water providers have also embraced the same technology as it has the potential of boosting service delivery.

According to Water Resources Authority (WRA) chairman, Capt. Joe Mutambu, the smart technology helps to accurately determine water abstractions by all water users thus avoiding faulty readings.

“They will be capable of measuring water abstracted and transmitting data in real-time,” said Mutambu at a past function.

Maji Milele, for example, distributes pre-paid metres, devices that are linked to mobile payment and which come with an online monitoring system for tracking daily payments and water consumption enhancing convenience for utilities.

Online monitoring also helps to detect leakages and illegal connections and greatly reduces Non-Revenue Water (NRW).

“Users top up by mobile money and receive a 20-digit code on phone, which can then be input to the meter. When the user is almost out of water, he will get two alerts, but if he doesn’t top up in time, the valve will automatically close,” the company says.

“For water service providers this means: no need for water meter reading; no need for sending bills and no need to disconnect people/institutions that don’t pay. They actually disconnect themselves and can reconnect again by paying via M-Pesa,” it adds.

Some companies such as Kisumu Water and Sanitation Company have already installed the smart metres in areas such as Nyalenda slums to curb illegal connections.

But it is not just the company that is happy. Residents say the devices are a welcome relief as supply of the essential commodity has become reliable.

According to the Water Service Providers Association (WASPA), the smart metres are central to achieving their goal of reducing non-revenue water to the sector benchmark of 20 percent, which can only be achieved by decreasing drinking water wastage, increasing revenue, extending coverage, and ultimately ensuring a more

efficient provision of water to consumers.

According to available statistics, non-revenue water accounts for losses of Sh8.5 billion incurred by water service providers annually and if saved can serve over one million people daily.

WASPA chairman Daniel Ng’ang’a told a past gathering that its members are keen to embrace new technology to curb water wastage.

“About 42 percent of the water provided is non-revenue since it’s wasted through piping and faulty metres and we are seeking help from our stakeholders including national and county governments to get best equipment and install digital water meters,” he said.

In 2014, Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company embarked on plans to install smart meters in a bid to cut fraud in its billing system and enable it to tap the revenue needed to improve supply.

The Sh1 billion plan initially targeted the top 10,000 water users.

The meters record the amount of water consumed and remotely — through mobile and radio networks — convey the information back to centralized servers.

The beneficiaries included beer maker, Kenya Breweries Limited, the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta National Hospital and soft drinks maker, CocaCola.

The company which loses over Sh2 billion annually as a result of non-revenue water aimed to connect 90,000 of its quarter of a million customers to the smart metres by last year.

Michael Thuita, Chief Executive Officer, Athi Water Services Board, told the World Water Tech Innovation Summit in London last year that the volume of non-revenue water in Kenya stood at 42 percent, which is way above the threshold imposed by the National Water Services Strategy of below 25 percent and ultimately 20 percent.

Non-revenue water refers to the difference between water volume entering distribution and volume of water invoiced.

“NRW adversely affect the operational efficiency of utilities and most importantly negate anticipated paybacks from water supply infrastructure developments (both bulk water and distribution),” said Thuita.

Apart from smart water metres, other digital devices available in the Kenyan market include Maji Voice, a web-based platform that remotely reads

Mr. Mohamed Moulid Shurie, Water Resources Authority CEO.

-Ng’ang’a

Snakes kill 15 as they slither into homes

By Amoto Dennis Snakes recently caused sleepless nights in Symbo, Mororo and Madogo villages of Tana River County, killing atleast 15 people.

The dangerous snakes attacked people in the just ended hot season when they moved into homes in search of shade, food and water.

Villagers appealed for help to deal with the poisonous snakes after many were bitten mostly at night because hospitals in the area did not have antivenom drugs.

Adding insult to injury hundreds of scared residents lament that local dispensaries and health centers lack anti-venom.

An elder in Madogo area, Dadosa Kantona said at least 15 people died from snake bites in three months.

“Many deaths could have been prevented if the hospitals had enough medicine. We don’t even rush victims to the hospital because they will not be assisted,’’ said Dadosa.

Environmentalists said hot tem-

metres, monitors water quantity as well as consumption and storage patterns.

It also enables consumers to file complaints with service providers without having to physically visit their offices by leveraging on USSD (unstructured supplementary service date) short text messages service (SMS).

There is also Banki ya Maji, an applica-

About 42 percent of the water provided is non-revenue since it’s wasted through piping and faulty metres and we are seeking help from our stakeholders including national and county governments to get best equipment and install digital water meters

THE WATER WORLD, May 2021

tion that provides consumers with monthly details of their water consumption and billing.

It is called Banki ya Maji because consumers are rewarded if their consumption levels reduce. It leverages either on USSD or Android technology.

Last year, a group of university students won a challenge spearheaded by IBM for their digital solution that uses IoT sensors for preventative maintenance of possible water pipe bursts. The solution also aims to use solar power to desalinate water from the two aquifers discovered in Turkana.

Over 200 student developers registered for the IBM Digital - Nation Africa: Smart Water Challenge.

The winning team, Greatest of All Time (GOAT), comprised of five students from Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi and Strathmore University.

They posited that their project can help sustain tens of thousands of barrels of water per day for the largely dry region by both keeping the piping system fully functional and desalinating water that was previously undrinkable for human consumption. If escalated, the solution can be a major boost to alleviating Kenya’s water challenges by eliminating pipe leakages.

Many deaths could have been prevented if the hospitals had enough medicine.

We don’t even rush victims to the hospital.

-Dadosa peratures that reached 34 degrees Celsius forced the snakes to flee from their natural habitats to the homesteads.

Residents lived in fear of venturing out at night in an area where open defecation is the norm to answering the call of nature due to lack of toilets.

Furthermore tending to their farms became a challenge, as residents feared meeting the reptiles lurking everywhere.

The residents believe that the prolonged dry season forced the agile reptiles to flee their rocky natural homes.

Those areas have largely been cleared of forest cover to give way to farms due to deforestation and charcoal burning.

“Affected people are seeking compensation from the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife because the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) office failed in its duties despite receiving reports of the snake invasion,” said Noya Abuli.

He described a situation where people walked to their houses and found the slithering visitors ready to bite, while others were woken up by snake bites while sleeping,’’ lamented Abuli.

A senior KWS warden in Tana County warned residents to brace themselves for more snakebites as the drought persists because of continuing habitat loss.

NEWS 3

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Conserve indigenous forests, urge herbalists

By Kamundia Muriithi Herbalists have called for an intensive preservation of indigenous forests and plants in the country for the natural products industry to thrive.

The traditional medicine practitioners also decried the destruction of indigenous forests in various parts of the country.

They complained that many trees were felled for commercial use or to pave way for agricultural lands over the last few decades.

The herbalists drawn from eight counties in the Mt Kenya region spoke during a consultative forum on the natural products industry at the Izaak Walton Hotel in Embu County.

The forum was part of ongoing meetings in various parts of the country organized by the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) to tap from that largely raw industry.

According to NMK Director General Mzalendo Kibunjia, the multi-billion natural products

industry has immense potential which when harnessed will create jobs for many Kenyans.

Studies will also be done to gauge the products efficacy in boosting immunity of Kenyans as well as coming up with remedies for various ailments.

Kibunjia added that the industry is worth Sh27 trillion in the US and is also well developed in China, India, Japan and Brazil Herbalists who spoke during the forum appreciated the government for embracing their work and assured Kenyans that when supported they will play an integral part towards a healthy nation.

Charles Manyeki, a herbalist in Embu County for the last 18 years said the challenges facing them for many years include skepticism from Kenyans.

“Many people believe herbal products are just traditions or witchcraft, a misconception created by the white man,” said Manyeki.

He said the government

should facilitate access of their herbs to research labs to help them package and market the products nationally and globally.

He also lamented that they have experienced interference from state agencies who impound their products even when the herbalists are already licensed by the Department of Culture.

Manyeki claimed he has products that cure arthritis, respiratory diseases and h-pylori among others.

Another herbalist Rosemary Njiri said they face difficulties searching for herbal products because indigenous trees, herbs and shrubs have been uprooted to give way to food crops in many parts of Mt National Museums of Kenya Kenya Director General Dr Mzalendo She said natural products Kibunjia during a forum on are effective when handled by a Natural Products Industry in skilled and registered herbalist Embu town. Photo/Kamundia because they cure diseases as Muriithi.jpg well as boost immunity.

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Tale of bearded snake that claimed many lives

A woman fetching water at Namasanda dam

By Tony Wafula The myth of a man eating bearded snake in Bungoma County is a startling tale that creats a lot of fear at Namasanda dam, Musikoma ward in Kanduyi constituency.

The supernatural creature is said to be a very big snake with beards which residents say it has claimed many lives.

Patrick Kachenja 65, a resident of Namasanda told WaterWorld that the slithering beast is alleged to have claimed 24 lives

at the dam since its construction in1973.

The dam was funded and constructed by foreign engineers to provide water for domestic use by residents.

The dam has served area

‘

The government should fence this dam because we lost a bright student who drowned there.

-Kachenja

Patrick Kachenja while addressing the press

Joseph Karuri from Kirinyaga County who is registered by the National Traditional Medical Practitioners Association applauded the government’s initiative to support herbalists.

Karuri said he has used herbs for many years to treat mental conditions, chronic bronchitis, among other conditions.

National Products Industry National Coordinator Evans Taracha said they are working closely with Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service among others to enhance conservation of forests and wetlands which are crucial for preservation of medicinal trees and herbs.

The herbalists called on the government to help them patent and protect their products so that their knowledge is not exploited by others.

Kibunjia assured the herbalists that the constitution and Nagoya protocols have provisions to protect the intellectual property of person or a community.

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residents well despite the fact that some residents slipped into the still waters and drowned.

Local people believe the mysterious beast lives in a dam and claim that its latest victim was a high school student who drowned two years ago.

“The government should fence this dam because we lost a bright student who drowned there,” said Kachenja.

Stories are also told about the excavator that slipped into the deep dam upon completion in 1973 whose operators also drowned.

Villagers believe in superstitions that the white engineers who fell into the dam turned into daemons.

They claim one of the dam constructors may have assumed the form of a snake that has been claiming the lives of people in the dam for year after year.

“It is dangerous to send young people to fetch water in the dam for fear that they will drown,” said Kachenja.

Another resident Saidi Mohammed said urged the government to improve the environment around the dam and its environs.

“Few people have been able to spot the beast inside the dam that is believed to have claimed many lives. It is a tourist attraction and our government should do something about it,” he said.

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4 ENVIRONMENT

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

The Endangered Grey Crested Cranes.

Rare endangered tree roosting crested crane

By Jeremiah Chamakany Among the 15 crane species in the world today, the Grey Crested crown is the only one that roosts on trees.

In Baringo County, they have found a home at a private farm within Mogotio Sub– county.

The Balearica Regulorum make every sunset in Mogotio unique for visitors who are likely to see a cloud that keeps growing bigger and bigger in the sky.

That after they realize to their amazement their field of vision will be the countless birds flying in a formation coming home to roost.

They are more like B52 bombers returning home after a successful mission.

The big birds leave Lomanira village each dawn to look for food in as far away as Lake Solai but no Lomanira local knows where the birds breed or lay their eggs.

This is the endangered Grey Crested Crane, which

the International Union for During Sunset in Mogo- viding a safe roosting home Conservation of Nature tio, they gracefully lower their for the endangered bird.

[IUCN] says has a population “landing gear’ as they circle Some of his Acacia trees of only 77,000 remaining in the skies around Lomanira have already developed into the whole world.

Village, before finally touch- flat tops having hosted the A study conducted in the ing down at the home of an birds for not less than ten year 2012 by the same author- old man Mzee Kibusia. years. ity said their numbers are fallHe takes pride in his Aca“I feel very proud that ing at a fast rate mainly due cia tree conservation efforts nature itself has appreciated to destruction of their habitat, that has finally paid off, pro- my efforts, nature is smiling wetland drainage for agriculture and pesticide pollution among others causes.

In the year 1987, Kenya boasted a total number of about 35,000 Grey Crested Cranes but census carried out by the National Museums of Kenya in partnership with Germany’s Nature and Bio Diversity Conservation in the 2019, showed there were only about 10,000 Grey Crested cranes.

Very soon, even during our lifetime the Grey Crested Crane can disappear from the face of the earth forever.

Baringo County is at least giving the bird a place to sleep but which County will pro- Mzee Philemon Kibusia, showing trees hosting the vide the bird with her food and cranes each night. nesting grounds?

back at me,” says the proud old man.

Acacia trees species in his 10 acre piece of land are well protected since the year 1985 when he fenced off the land because it was swampy during rainy season and as a result, the tall acacia tree species thrived.

“I am proud that the Crane, a sacred bird in my Kalenjin tribe has chosen my trees because no one disturbs them. This gives me a lot of joy and reason to enjoy life on earth ’’ says Kibusia.

He was however not aware that his land is hosting an endangered bird until he was told World Water.

He is now considering the possibility of turning part the land into a conservation area for the Grey Crested Crane, and other wildlife that thrive their due to the serenity provided by the tall trees.

Nothing really adds more spice to life than a distant honk of a Crane during the quiete nights in Mogotio.

Life is just good with the

birds around and many local residents around Lomanira village love the omnivorous birds.

The birds do occasionally appear at their door steps, stamping their feet on the ground on their in forward march searching for delicacies; but immediately fly away at the sight of an approaching human or dog.

Local administrator Lawrence Cheburet lauded the locals for appreciating the birds and he never fails to address the importance of taking care of the trees and even planting more. ‘’National Parks and reserves are not the only places that can conserve wild life, private farms can also do very well in conservation and more awareness is needed to ensure that every citizen contributes to this endeavour’’ said the administrator.

He said over the last ten years or more, the birds have been coming to his sub location to sleep but leave every morning to look for food. ‘’I don’t know where they go and find food but I guess it could be the nearby Lake Solai, about 90km from Mogotio.

That can be only an half hour or less flight for the big energetic bird’’ said the administrator adding that the presence of the Grey Crested Crane in his area of jurisdiction is great pride. ‘’Young children have the opportunity to marvel at the birds that sometimes ‘graze’ among livestock in the open farms and even the nearby school playing ground’’ said the administrator; He expounded that the bird is harmless since there has never been a conflict between the farmers and the Grey Crested Crane.

All around the world the Crane is celebrated as a bird of beauty. Her elaborate dances and courtship rituals can never be challenged even by humans.

In the neighboring Uganda, the Grey Crested Crane is a symbol of National Pride; even as it is in Tanzania and in Asian Countries where it is embraced as a symbol of eternal youthfulness.

Without showing any signs of old age like humans do, the bird which can live up to 30 years in the wild always looks beautiful, can dance gracefully upto her last day on earth.

That is only if man can make a choice to conserve and protect her habitat.

KFS asks residents to obey forest management laws

By John Majau Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has urged Meru communities living around the Mt. Kenya forest to obey the forest laws.

The residents were urged to organize themselves through the Community Forest Associations (CFA) so that they can benefit from

the immense forest resources available.

The KFS officials were speaking at Marania Forest Station in Buuri Sub-County, Meru where they trained residents on forest laws.

According to the KFS, the residents have to register as Members of the Community Forest Association (CFA) for them to participate in forest activities and access funding and related

support.

Marania Forest station has 1000 residents who benefit through the Community forest Association.

Meru has nine forest stations that is, Marania, Ontulili, Lower Imenti, Mucheene, Meru (upper Imenti) forest station, Ruthumbi, Ngare-ndare, Nyambene and Ngaya forest sta-

tions Speaking Meru County ecosystem conservator John Njoroge said Meru County is covered by 97,169 hectares of forest.

According to the ecosystem conservator, to be a member of the association one has to be living 5kms to the forest.

THE WATER WORLD, May 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

NEWS 5

“A Kaya hut has no window but has a cooking and a sleeping section. To light fire using kerosene is prohibited as it can set the grass on fire, which can spread and burn the forest -Kalama

How the Mijikenda have protected and defended Kaya forests

By Kamundia Muriithi “Kaya Kaya Kaya” an elderly man’s powerful and firm voice pierces into the still thick forest teeming with flora and fauna in Kilifi County.

His colleagues respond “kaya” in unison followed by a choreographed chant that reverberates through the forest whose huge, old trees have for centuries witnessed the elder’s cultural rituals.

Afterwards, the barefooted elders who wrap cloth around their waists walk in a single file down the narrow path leading to their sacred grove inside a Kaya forest.

Walking behind them in measured and anxious steps are about a dozen visitors from several countries who before Covid-19 pandemic had toured to savour the allure and the magic of the sacred Kaya forests and the Mijikenda culture.

Mzee Mwatsuma Kalama, the chairman of Kaya Kauma sacred grove, suddenly stops in his tracks and plucks a leaf that he holds before the bewildered visitors and proclaims: “Pluck a leaf and drop it on the ground. You are now entering the Kaya settlement (a cleared compound inside a Kaya forest),” The elders will converge at a courtthe burial place of senior Kaya elders marked by wooden totems (vigango)where they will pray to thank their creator and seek healing from diseases or calamities, among others.

Important community decisions are also made at the Kaya court.

These meticulous rituals define the culture the Mijikenda community of coastal Kenya has kept to date.

The Mijikenda has nine clans which include the Chonyi, Kambe, Duruma, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, Giriama and Digo.

They have kept their cultural practices and heritage intact and in the process they have conserved forests.

Kaya refers to their traditional fortified homesteads originating from as early as the 16th century when their ancestors are believed to have migrated from coastal Somalia to their current location.

There are 11 Kaya forests

Mijikenda elders at Kaya Kauma totems which are located inside an indigenous forest in Kilifi County. Photo/Kamundia Muriithi. measuring between 30 and 300 hectares each and scattered over a stretch of 200 kilometres in Mombasa and Kilifi Counties.

The forests are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and labeled together as Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.

While visiting a Kaya, one is required to remove their shoes and any headgear. Elders provide a wrapper that one should tie around the waist.

Elders warn that you will you go mad if you step on the hallowed grounds of Kaya with yours shoes on and while wearing a hat or cap.

The hat or cap will fall and only a ritual involving the slaughter of a chicken can rescue you.

Elders also require one to be vigilant not to stumble on stones that act as burial markers.

At the entrance to a Kaya, one finds a Kazumba Mulungu (God’s house) a structure made of tree poles and roofed with grass where the elders make offerings.

Inside Kaya Kauma there are three huts made of dry grass.

An elderly man lives in one of the huts and has planted maize around it.

Kalama explains that the community including himself used to live inside the Kaya forest but they gradually moved out as modernity took over.

Apart from the elderly man and his helper, the Kaya has sentry to guard over it.

“AKaya hut has no window. Inside it has a cooking and a sleeping section.

To light fire using kerosene is prohibited as it can set the grass on fire, which can spread and burn the forest,” says Kalama.

Cutting trees or hunting in a Kaya forest was and still is prohibited with dire consequences meted out to transgressors.

“We believe trees are part of our lives. For any tree that falls, another is replanted to replace it. A person who cuts a tree in a Kaya forest pays a fine with a goat, a sheep or a chicken,” explains Kalama as fellow elders nod in agreement.

Women are barred from cutting

“A Kaya forest hosts more wild animals than other forests because we do not allow hunting here.

Even when hunters chase an animal and it enters inside the Kaya, the chase ends there -Kalama trees for firewood but can only gather the fallen wood.

The Kaya tradition has enabled the community to cheaply conserve the forests and its rich biodiversity for decades, at time when other forests in the country are facing wanton destruction due to encroachment and illegal logging.

“A Kaya forest hosts more wild animals than other forests because we do not allow hunting here. Even when hunters chase an animal and it enters inside the Kaya, the chase ends there,” he says.

The totems at Kaya Kauma represent the spirits of dead senior elders and they are perceived as a link between the spirit of the dead and the living.

Botanical garden for herbs and medicinal plants

By Cally Imbayi Shinyalu Botanical Gardens has become one of the loudest proponents of forest conservation, safeguarding the environment and mitigating effects of climate change.

The owners have set their goals in making conservation of medicinal plants a priority because they are fast becoming extinct.

In so doing, they also want to reduce pressure on the endangered Kakamega forest that has been the source of herbs to the local community.

The garden occupies a two-acre piece of land situated in Shiagungu location, Isukha Central Ward, Shinyalu constituency in Kakamega County.

According to the Secretary-

about 18 years ago under Isukha Heritage Organization and has over 2000 medicinal and aromatic plant species.

“We discovered that most of the medicinal plants were becoming scarce and decided to set up a garden where people can easily get medicine without necessarily going to Kakamega forest which is in the neighborhood,” said Muchesia.

The group has over 3 million seedlings in their nurseries situated around Secretary-General of the group, Mr. Kakamega forest and has Daniel Muchesia showing some of the donated over 1 million medicinal plants in the garden. to schools in Shinyalu constituency free of charge.

“Some of the medicinal General of the group Mr. Daniel Muchesia the garden was established plants we have managed to conserve

here include Trachilia Emetica commonly known in local language as Munyama, and Rosemary which is botanically known as Rosemanirus Ofisinali.

They also have Modia Waitei (Mukombera) and different species of palm trees for palm oil and ginger.

The group’s Organizing Secretary Martin Muliolo said among the group’s objectives are to prevent further degradation of the medicinal plants in the forest as a whole and protect the community’s traditional heritage.

“We are set to ensure sustainable use of our plants for present and future generations and to create awareness of the value of plants diversity.” Muliolo stated Shinyalu botanical garden runs several programs including establishing tree nurseries with over 100 species

Kalama explains that when a person of high status in the community dies, an elder stands before a trees and addresses it like a human being.

“You are no longer a tree but you are now a human being (name of the dead person),” he says, adding that afterwards a goho, the community’s carver carves a totem from mpingo tree (Dalbergia melanoxylon).

In the 1970s and 80s, thousands of totems were stolen from the community and sold to tourists who took them to their home countries, mainly the USA. Lawrence Chiro, a conservation officer in charge of the coastal region at the National Museum of Kenya, says 30 mijikenda artefacts held at Denver Museum of National History in Colorado were returned to Kenya in 2014 after campaigns by researchers.

They were handed over to the county government and the Kaya Elders and taken to Fort Jesus.

“The Americans thought they carted away carvings, but unknown to them they took to their land human spirits which troubled them until they returned them,” says Kalama.

He says a cleansing ceremony will be done before they receive them.

“We will petition the government to set up an art gallery where they will be displayed. The gallery will act as tourist attraction and create jobs,” adds Kalama.

Apart from witnessing a community living at peace with nature doing what their ancestors did centuries ago and enjoying the scenic variety of trees covered by beautiful vegetation beaming with an abundance of birds and wild animals, a visit to a Kaya also exemplifies how communities can preserve their environment.

“We instill in our people the virtues of protecting our heritage, resources and origins. Trees have strong cultural significance to the Mijikenda people.

They hold a special place in our lives and one should not cut a tree in a Kaya,” he says.

Kalama says elders perpetuate their culture by teaching their grandchildren the importance of self-respect and the preserving trees and wildlife. of indigenous and exotic trees, herbs, flowers, lianas, orchids and bamboo seedlings.

They also run a library with conservation materials and carry out environmental education and training for schools, groups and individuals on conservation, nursery establishment, seed technology, and clean environment.

“Other areas we specialize in are sustainable agriculture, research, development and we also have an attractive nature walk in our garden,” said Muchesia.

The challenges they face include poaching of medicinal plants and seedlings due to lack of a fence around the garden.

They want assistance to run the conservancy in the very best way and also build a good administration block with enough staff and experts in various conservation fields.

6 WATER PROJECTS

Agency donates water tanks to fight covid-19 The Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency (LVSWWDA) has issued water tanks to fight Covid 19 to Kericho County.

They issued a total of ten 10,000 litres capacity water storage tanks and eight 230 litre capacity hand washing stations of to the County Government of Kericho to help in the fight against the pandemic.

The LVSWWDA board Chairman, Dan Omino said they recognized how critical water storage and hand washing facilities are to the fight against COVID-19.

“Since the emergence of the novel Corona virus, the Agency has remained steadfast in supporting Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Bomet, Kericho, Homa Bay, Kisumu and Siaya counties that are under its jurisdiction.

Lake Victoria South Development Agency Board of Directors led by the Chair, Mrs. Roselyn Ngeny.

Photo/Benedict Ng’etich.

Omino said LVSWWDA was currently implementing the Water Sector Development Program, whose objective is to improve water supply and sanitation and to reduce NonRevenue Water loss.

They are also building capacity of water utilities for Kericho, Kisii, Litein and Nyamira towns with financial support from KfW of Germany at a total cost of Kshs 4.1 Billion.

The works include expansion of water supply systems for Kericho to be implemented within 24 months.

The project includes construction of Intake works on River Kimugu, new Kimugu Water Treatment Works with a capacity 13,000 m3/day, transmission and distribution lines of approximately 54 km and 6,000m3 capacity storage tanks .

When completed, the project will increase the production capacity of water treatment plants in Kericho town from the current 13000m3/day to 26000m3/day.

In total 210,000 people in Kericho town and environs will benefit from clean reliable water.

- Benedict Ng’etich

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

University constructs dam for irrigation

By Tindi Kuchio Chuka University has completed the construction of a 15 million cubic metre irrigation dam project on its 500-acre Kairini farm located in the dry parts of Tharaka-Nithi County.

Speaking to WaterWorld from his office at Ndagani, the ViceChancellor Prof. Erastus Njoka said the dam was constructed at a cost of Sh35 million.

The project was undertaken in partnership with Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) and the Israeli government to develop an agriculture research centre and teaching demonstration units at Kairini.

“We initially constructed a one million- litre water tank for drip irrigation but experts from Israel advised us that the water was not enough for the kind of agricultural work,” said Njoka.

They then constructed the dam that was to be filled with water harvested from River Ruguti by the end of December last year.

The university and the Israeli experts were thereafter to embark on a Sh23 million project of irrigating between 50 and 100 acres at Kairini farm.

The university don added that 15 million litres of water was to be distributed to the local community.

The dam has the capacity of serving 75, 000 households, translating to 200 litres or 10 twenty litre- jerricans of water per household on daily basis.

The main objective of the irrigation project was to transform the semi- arid area into a bread basket and also train farmers in Eastern Africa on dry land farming.

Prof. Njoka further noted that crops to be planted on large scale include tomatoes, onions, cabbages, bananas, oranges, avocados and New Rice for Africa (Nerica).

He added that water from the dam will form five lagoons which will also be used for fish farming:

Vice-Chancellor Prof.

Erastus Njoka.

“We expect tilapia and mudfish to propagate very fast because of the high heat levels in this area.”

They will also practice bee keeping because of the high number of trees in the Kairini farm, while 200 acres on the farm will be used for wildlife conservancy to keep crocodiles, ostriches, giraffes, antelopes, zebras and Llamas.

The institution was rearing over 300 goats and more than 75 zebu cattle on Kairini farm.

To ease access to the area, the Government was tarmacking the 23-kilometre road to Kairini farm at a cost of Sh1.2 billion.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the university

The main objective of the irrigation project was to transform the semi- arid area into a bread basket and also train farmers in Eastern Africa on dry land farming.

had put up a dispensary for local residents in Kairini.

Chuka was the first public university to be established in the eastern region of the country in August 2005 and has over the years accelerated its infrastructural growth.

The university is erecting a Sh3 billion Science and Technology Park with equipment that will be availed to scientists and innovators from around the world.

The 13- storeyed park will be the first of its kind in the whole of Africa and already ultra- modern equipment for the park worth millions of shillings have been bought.

The Science Park will help scholars, researchers and individuals who wish to do innovations, experiments and discoveries that will link academia with the industry.

The institution is also building a model Food Science Technology Complex at a cost of Sh300 million and the second phase of a male hostel at a cost of Sh600 million.

The university is equipped with sophisticated and high precision machines for practical training and for carrying out experiments in all fields of training.

The machines include; Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer which can analyze all the minerals in the periodic table at once.

The Elemental Analyzer analyses nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur among many others.

Apart from Chuka University, the machine is only found in South Africa.

Another notable machine at the university is Kelvin Probe which is used for studies in Physics.

Apart from the Chuka, the facility is only found in Egypt and South Africa in the whole of African continent.

It has also acquired a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer for testing drugs and pesticides. Others are the Protein Analyzer and the Bomb Calorimeter.

ITWASCO receives Sh13 million for post Covid-19 recovery

By Dennis Bett Iten Water Services Company has received a Sh 13 million grant to enhance management operations from the Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF) and Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB).

The donation was made when WASREB officials paid a courtesy call to the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Water, Environment and Climate Change, Abraham Barsosio office Hon Abraham Barsosio hosting ITWASCO MD Mr Paul in Iten recently.

The officials led by Board Yator and visitors from WASREB members; Mathew Tuitoek, Yator (Finance) called for proper assortment of water treatment (Monitoring and Investments), chemicals worth Sh400,000.

Thomas Nyang’au (Urban utilization of the funds.

The agency also donated an Mr Barsosio appreciated the aid Investments Manager) and Vincent

saying it would be used to finance operations for quality service to be maintained.

All Water Agencies are eligible for a performance-based conditional grant of Sh1billion from the government through the WSTF. The CECM asked the Agencies to consider their proposal for a water project in Kararia, Marakwet East whose implementation will provide piped water to the entire Kapyego Ward.

ITWASCO Managing Director Mr Paul Yator said they are committed towards providing sufficient water to Iten, Tambach and other areas as they target to reach 64,000 more people up from the current 28,000.

“We have received a financial

boost that can help us deal with problems like siltation and soil erosion caused by farming activities,” the MD said.

Yator said the Sabor Water Project that is complete and fully operational has greatly solved water scarcity problems in Iten, Tambach and its environs.

The MD said that there is a growing demand for water since Iten was elevated to municipality status but they are up to the task to ensure residents are served well as they also create revenue for the water company.

He called on other partners to support projects which will benefit the county at large.

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

SPECIAL FEATURE

NEWS 7

Bamboo mints money for former detective

By Kamundia Muriithi A lush forest of mature bamboo trees stands tall on Taratisio Kawe’s farm as their leaves obey the gentle breeze, yielding a tranquil atmosphere.

Vi s i t o r s t o t h e r e t i r e d policeman’s farm enjoy a breath of fresh air as they contribute to Kawe’s financial fortune that keeps on improving.

Apart from selling mature bamboo stems that has a horde of uses or their leaves for animal fodder, Kawe has also turned his plantation into another unique utility.

The home is a picnic and retreat site where visitors enjoy the serene, cool and picturesque environment.

The happy man bursts into laughter as he happily explains that bamboo is one of the best paying crops.

“If properly marketed, a farmer can rake in lucrative returns after the initial investment,” said Kawe.

The former police officer turned to Bamboo, after downscaling mango and maize farming that is the pre-occupation of his neighbours at Kavuru area, Embu East Sub County.

“Mango farming suffered from supply gluts and its marketing was infiltrated by brokers who offered low prices and were unreliable.

Bamboo farming is however a different ball game altogether,” he avers.

A former detective, Kawe researched extensively on the intricacies of bamboo cultivation and was confident he was making the right move when he cut his mango trees.

“In my research, I found the different types of bamboos have many uses. I settled on solid bamboo which is not hollow and is categorised as hardwood.

It is used in construction to make aesthetic tiles, firewood among other uses,” says the farmer who planted his bamboo plantation six years ago.

A bamboo plantation at Taratisio Kawe’s farm. Photo/ Kamundia Muriithi.

Bamboo is also used to make tooth-pick, medicine, building rafts, floors, wine, clothes, furniture etc.

He had also found out that a province in China relies on Bamboo as the bedrock of its economy.

In many parts of China and Taiwan, bamboo shoots are widely used as vegetables in several Asian

dishes and broths besides being eaten.

To reap fully from his farming, Kawe planned his five acres of bamboo in a way that he created an outdoor garden surrounded by bamboo where people go to unwind.

Entry fee ranges from Sh500 to Sh5,000. He has branded it Doka Paradise Bamboo Centre for team building and recreation centre.

He has planted 500 stems but the beginning was stormy, because he started with stems borrowed from a friend’s farm, but their growth was dismal.

His next step was Kitil farm in Kajiado County where he bought seedlings worth Sh20,000.

They sprouted well with only three drying up and the next season he obtained another consignment of Sh20,000 which also flourished, as neighbours puzzled.

He dug four feet deep holes and observed a spacing of 12ft by 12ft and planted his seedlings.

“To avoid conflicts with neighbours, you should avoid planting too close to the boundary as bamboo expands a lot,” he advises.

Kawe advises farrmers to water newly planted crops until they firm up in the ground when they can rely only on seasonal rains.

The crop then takes three to four years to fully maturity, when the stems can be harvested.

“Bamboo is water friendly and can be planted near rivers. It also helps in checking soil erosion,” he

says.

In addition, Kawe has a nursery from where he supplies the crop to other farmers.

He feels that farmers can earn more from their bamboo plantations i f t h e Taratisio Kawe. government or investors set up factories to add value to gazetted Bamboo as a cash crop but Kawe wants its farming and the crop.

A food technology graduate marketing streamlined to the benefit from Embu has also taken to of farmers.

The parliamentary committee manufacturing yogurt and cakes on Agriculture and Livestock had enriched with bamboo shoots that recommended that the Ministry of Kawe says are full of nutrients.

Ms. Rona Kiura manufacturers Environment and Forestry to gazette her products at Terveys Foods bamboo as a scheduled crop under located in Doka building, Runyenjes section 7 of the Crops Act of 2013.

“A farmer can earn huge from town of Embu County. bamboo in just five years. The The Food, Science and Technology graduate from Dedan national government should take Kimathi University of Science and bamboo as Kenya’s gold and support Technology was inspired to work in farmers to plant it and investors to the food industry from the research add value to bamboo,” he says.

Experts say Bamboo does well she did in her course work. in average annual temperatures of “The edible bamboo varieties contain antioxidants and anti- about 20 to 27°C. He grows solid bamboo, which inflammatory qualities that reduce the risk of numerous long-term is a drought-resistant shrub and can illnesses such as heart disease and thrive with minimal annual rainfall.

Farmers sells bamboo poles at cancer.

Sh400, bamboo plantlets at Sh50 The government recently and bamboo sticks at Sh35.

Somali Ostrich, the desert king

By Amoto Dennis On a game drive, you have probably encountered the largest flightless bird that is the ostrich.

It walks elegantly across grassy savannah with it hairy beaked head towering high, only curling its long neck to peck something on the ground.

It is a native of Africa, where it lives with its cousin the Maasai that also straddles across wide savannah lands in the Rift Valley region.

The bird naturally roams the plains, looking for seasonal habitation mostly feeding on plant matter but coming across small vertebrates provides a delicacy for the ostrich.

A mature bird weighs up to 156 kg and is also capable of sprinting a maximum of 70km/h, thanks to its long pair of sturdy legs.

It relies on those legs to wheel around as it keenly watches for danger to escape from its enemies.

Former Garissa County Game Warden Polycarp Okuku says the birds’ spooky look may suggest shyness but when cornered the strong legs characterized by two pointed

toes provide sturdy and fatally scary kicks in defence. ‘’Unlike the false legend that ostriches bury the heads in the sand to avoid danger they can fight and win wars,’’ said Okuku.

A mature ostrich is about 7ft tall. Males have black and white dots on their sides accompanied by a back and a white tail, while the female are greyish brown with white

Ostrich is of great economic value; you can ride on it, eat it and wear it - Okuku.

Somali Ostrich in Galmagala in southern Garissa. patches on the wings.

The female, he says, lays eggs weighing 1.5 kg (about 24 hen eggs) on sandy or grassy ground.

“The eggs are jealously protected, in a perfect division of labour with the female brooding over the eggs during the day as greyish colour supplies super camouflage making it hard to be spotted,” says environmentalist Farhia Hajir of Pastoralist Girls Initiative.

The female hunts at night when the black coloured male takes charge brooding to provide that much needed heat in a near 24-hour vigil in communal existence.

Okuku adds that both sexes have pink bare necks and are blessed with black large eyes with tall necks which make it easy to spot a potential enemy from far.

Ostriches live in groups of five to 50 and during the mating season couples bond and walk in loving pairs to avoid being on their own.

“To help digestion ostriches swallow stone, pebbles and grass,” says Farhia and in a similar human pattern she notes the males also fight and protect their female counterparts.

Ostriches can live for 40 to 45 years and cheetahs, dogs, hyenas, lions, dogs are some of ostrich’s enemies killing them for meat in the wild.

In remote areas of the cast NEP region the ostrich also suffers from poaching.

“Apart from poaching ostrich for bush meat for export through lawless Somalia, residents not only kill the bird for bush meat but also

for belief that its oil is medicinal,’’ says Hassan sheikh Ali of Arawale Hirola Community Trust .

He called on regional and national government to seal possible the poaching loopholes.

With a Kenya Wildlife Service license ostriches can be reared on farms for their eggs and low cholesterol meat for cuisine.

Ostrich products are in high demand for eggshells (buttons) and skin supplying high quality leather for belts and handbags and feathers for the fashion industry .

Farhia notes that ostrich products are further used in the clothing industry, decoration, furniture stuffing and carnivals because the fashion industry is doing more business with those products.

She adds that the tourist industry “catches a ride on the back of an ostrich’s jolly good show.”

Okuku warns that keeping or selling of any ostrich product leave alone killing or snaring it without a KWS license is prohibited by law.

Revealing that an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain, Okuku urged Garissa youth to start lucrative ostrich farming and stop behaving like ostriches by burying their heads in the sand.

8 WATER PROJECTS

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

CS Kariuki decries slow pace of Kericho water project

By Benedict Ngetich The Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Sicily Kariuki has urged contractors of the Kimugu River Intake Works to speed up its construction.

She expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the works and directed them to develop strict timelines to be adhered to.

She also ordered them to develop a double shift work plan to finish the project on time.

“After inspection, we have sadly noticed that the project is at 20 per cent of its completion stage when 70 per cent completion time elapsed, which is unacceptable,” said Kariuki.

She asked the County Commissioner and other stakeholders to increase inspection and monitor the progress of the project to make sure it is completed on time.

The CS told the contractors to employ other strategies like doubling the labour force at the site to

Water CS, Sicily Kariuki inspecting the Kimugu Water works. She decried the slow pace of the project. Photo/Benedict Ng’etich. speed up the construction project.

She was speaking during a tour of the water intake works which included the Duka Moja treatment plant and the

Kimugu River water intake point.

The project scope comprises construction of Intake works on River Kimugu, a new Kimugu Water Treatment Works of capacity 13,000 m 3 /

day, transmission and distribution lines of approximately 54 km and storage tanks of total capacity of 6,000m3.

When completed, it will increase the production capacity of the

Kakamega County residents to get piped water

Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya when he signed the Kakamega County Water Bill. Photo/Cally Imbayi.

By Cally Imbayi Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has told residents of all sub-counties that they will soon get piped water in their homesteads.

The Governor recently signed into law the Kakamega County Water and Sanitation Services (Bill) 2021 that will be used to ensure that all sub-counties have a water project for people to get clean water.

To achieve the dream of having water supply in all villages, the governor also launched the “Amatsi khuM u k u r u ” ( Wa t e r a t e v e r y doorstep) initiative.

After signing of the Bill into law, he expects his government through the Department of Water, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change will enhance water provision operations and efficiency.

“Lack of proper legislation

had hindered the growth and effective service delivery by the county water company which also hampered my dream of having water in all homesteads,” said Governor Oparanya.

He said cash flow and Covid-19 challenges have contributed to the county’s failure to supply clean piped water to all homesteads.

Deputy Governor, Prof Philip Kutima thanked all stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure the law became operational.

“The earlier Act had several challenges that hindered service delivery but we expect to streamline operations with the new law,“ said Prof Kutima.

The County Executive Committee Members (CECM) for Water, Environment Natural Resources and Climate Change, Fanuel Kulati also assured residents his department‘s committment to ensuring water services are improved.

“We are embracing the idea of smart meter technology to improve on our services and seal corruption loopholes,” said Mr Kulati.

water treatment plants in Kericho town from the current 13000m 3 /day to 26000m3/day.

In total 210,000 people in Kericho town and environs will benefit

from clean reliable water and sanitation up to the year 2040.

The Lake Victoria S o u t h Wa t e r Wo r k s Development Agency (LVSWWDA) Chairman, Dan Omino said the agency was currently implementing the Water Sector Development Program.

Omino said the objective of the project is to improve water supply and sanitation, reduce Non-Revenue Water and build capacity of water utilities for Kericho, Kisii, Litein and Nyamira towns.

The project is co –financed by KfW of Germany at a total cost of Kshs 4.1Billion. (Eur 3.73M).

The CS was accompanied by the LVSWWDA Board CEO , Eng. George Odedeh, Director Ms. Rosemary Rop and Kericho County a c t i n g C h i e f O ff i c e r Department of Water CPA George among others.

Ngilu launches Sh73m water project T h e I m u k u y u Wa t e r Project project recently launched by Kitui County Governor, Charity Kaluki Ngilu will serve 15,506 people.

It will also cater for a total of 420 cattle, 200 donkeys and 2,300 goats and sheep in Endau Location of Mutitu

District.

The Sh73 million project is funded by the government through the Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF), a state corporation under the Kenya’s Water and Irrigation Ministry.

-Boniface Mulu

Kitui Governor, Charity Ngilu during the opening of the water project.

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

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REGIONAL news 9 BARINGO

Malindi hotels decry Farmers lobby cheers ban garbage dumping of farming in forests

By Tsozungu Kombe Malindi tourist beach hotel stakeholders have decried the high rate of illegal dumping of garbage in the tourist resort town.

They said residents dump garbage on road reserves at night instead of using plastic garbage bins provided by the county government at

and asked the county government to identify strategic places outside the town for a garbage dumpsite.

The Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Environment and Water Development Kiringi Mwachitu said they have already identified garbage dumping sites in all urban centres.

He said they have also installed

By Jeremiah Chamakany jeremiahchamakany@gmail.com The Shamba system in Kenya may be facing its end following a position taken by the giant Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF).

The lobby group has supported the eviction of farmers planting maize and other crops from government forests.

The petition was contained in a circular issued by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment through Kenya Forest Services (KFS).

It said maize farming through the famous Shamba systems was to be brought to an immediate end sparking a national outcry from farmers who say it is a blow to food security and social economic develBaringo County KENAFF Secretary General, Kibet Koech opment.

Speaking during a tree plant- Murgor who revealed that KENAFF is fully in support of ing exercise in Baringo recently, Keriako Tobiko’s move to ban maize farming in government forests. Photo/Jeremiah Chamakany.

A section of dumped garbage in the street of Malindi tourist resort town. strategic places within the town.

The stakeholders urged the county government to intervene and stop the dumping of garbage in the streets of Malindi town and its environs.

“Urgent steps should be taken to arrest the prevailing situation so as to attract tourists among other visitors to the town,” said affected stakeholders.

They fear the tourists will opt to visit other towns in the country, if the tourist resort town remains dirty

plastic bins in urban centres in the county for residents to use instead of dumping garbage in the streets.

Mwachitu however urged county residents to co-operate fully and conserve the environment so that they can stay in a conducive environment.

He warned that people found dumping garbage illegally will be arrested and prosecuted .

Maize farming is a great danger to the safety of government forests because Shamba system has been hijacked by dangerous cartels.

-Murgor.

BUNGOMA

The closed slaughterhouse. Photo/Tony Wafula. less they follow the right procedures, we will not allow the owners operate it again,” he said.

The slaughterhouse has been discharging effluent from waste and condemned organs from slaughtered animals and the area was full of flies causing bad smell that was disturbing residents.

Maniafu also pointed out that the slaughter house was also operating without requisite permits from county government and other documents from livestock and veterinary services department.

He urged all slaughterhouse owners in Bungoma county to first obtain approvals from both the national and county governments before starting to run businesses.

KILIFI

Activists call for gold mining ban

By Erick Nyayiera

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has closed Kabula slaughter house in Bumula, Bungoma County because of poor hygiene.

The authority issued a closing order for the slaughterhouse after an outcry and complains from the neighbors because it was discharging effluents that was a threat to the residents.

Bungoma County Nema Director John Maniafu said that the slaughterhouse has been in operation since 1999 but was poorly managed in terms of hygiene and effluent disposal.

“The environment around the slaughterhouse was not good and un-

10 years now just for commercial purposes and refusing to give up the land for tree replanting.

He dismissed claims that move to ban maize farming will create food shortage, pointing out that just a small percentage of maize farmers rely on forest land in maize production.

The tree planting exercise by KENAFF was held at Mogotio Primary school in line with its policy to help KFS plant a minimum of 50 billion trees by year 2030.

SIAYA

Slaughterhouse closed because of poor hygiene

By Tony Wafula

the County KENAFF Secretary General, Kibet Koech Murgor said KENAFF was in full support of Environment CS Keriako Tobiko’s move to ban maize farming in government forests.

“Maize farming is a great danger to the safety of government forests because Shamba system has been hijacked by dangerous cartels,” said Murgor.

He said faceless individuals have been cultivating large acres of maize in the forests for more than

The Kenya Consumer Organization now wants the artisanal gold mining activities in Bondo subCounty stopped due to alleged increase of water and environmental pollution in the prospecting areas.

Executive Director Francis Orago wants the government to conducts an environmental impact assessment to determine the effect of chemicals that are being used to process the gold.

He claimed that the gold mines were producing some very heavy metals which in the long run are deposited to the Lake Victoria waters thereby putting the lives of the area residents at great risk.

Orago lamented that the gold mining exercise was still going on especially in Central Sakwa

location despite a suspension order issued by the National Environmental Authority (NEMA).

He lamented that a letter that they wrote to the gold prospectors asking them to explain how they intended to dispose of the chemicals was ignored.

The gold mines were producing some very heavy metals which in the long run are deposited to the Lake Victoria waters thereby putting the lives of the area residents at great risk.

- Francis Orago

Residents urged to protect trees Tsozungu Kombe Residents in Ganze in Kilifi have been urged to protect indigenous trees to avoid desertification.

Sokoke ward MCA, Thaura Mweni said illegal felling of trees in the sub county will lead to desertification because trees attract rains.

“Report suspicious characters who are destroying the trees to the police and local administration officials so that legal action can be taken against them,” said Mweni.

A cross section of the indigenous trees which have been cut by the local residents to make charcoal in Sokoke Ward, in Ganze sub-county in Kilifi county.

10

OPINIONS & COMMENTARIES

EDITORIAL

Harvest water for domestic use and farming Farmers across the country and especially those in the agricultural belts of Western Kenya are a happy lot because the much- awaited rain season is here with us.

Many had already prepared their farms in anticipation of the rains because they heavily depend on rain-fed agriculture and therefore breathed a sigh of relief when the skies opened up a few weeks ago.

The uncertainty of the rain season has been a big challenge to farmers for many years because of the changing climate patterns in the country and the effects of deforestation.

The government has in the past proclaimed its intention of ensuring that farmers stop depending on rain-fed agriculture through the development of an advanced irrigation system in all parts of the country.

That however remains a pipe dream because nothing tangible has been done to ensure that the patterns of crop production are made more predictable as is the case in many other countries like Israel and Egypt.

Local farming experts have also argued that instead of waiting for the mega irrigation projects, farmers can be assisted to trap and store more water to battle worsening climate change-related drought.

That will also help cut the risks that are associated to floods and landslides that also continue taking many lives across the country during each rain season.

Last year, floods and landslides swept away all classrooms and other buildings at a secondary school in Elgeyo Marakwet although lucky enough no students were at the school because it had been closed after the outbreak of Covid-19.

Landslides also swept across the Sigor Hills in West Pokot again killing many people after homes and livestock were swept away by the raging waters.

So just like day comes after

night, it appears Kenyans must be ready for another catastrophe because it has become an annual occurrence since a dam burst its banks and claimed many people in Nakuru County a few years ago.

In others parts of Kenya along the Tana, Nzoia and Yala rivers, heavy rainfall has long brought inundation, landslides, and losses of homes and property.

But it is not all that gloomy because as reported by Thomson Reuters Foundation last year, heavy rains brought less destruction for an unexpected reason.

In some parts of the country, drought-hit areas further upstream improved their water storage capacity, and are now capturing more of what once rushed downstream.

“Water harvesting actually helps reduce the impacts of flooding, saving the communities from unexpected risks,” said Hussein Idhoro, drought coordinator for upstream Tharaka Nithi County.

In the catchment of the Tana River, the partially government-funded Upper Tana Natural Resources Management Project has since 2012 given financial and technical support for the construction of rainwater harvesting dams that today hold up to 100 million litres of water.

It was also reported that the project has established nearly 325 roof-top water harvesting systems at schools and farms within the catchment.

Reuters Foundation also reported that The Mukurweini Technical Training Instituteconstructed a small reservoir capable of storing 3,000 cubic metres of water for sanitary use and for irrigation of farm plots on its campus in early 2019.

Farmers in Nyeri County have also constructed small reservoirs to catch excess rain and hold it to irrigate crops through drought periods, which helped avert flooding on farms and that is the way to go.

THE TEAM Chief Executive Officer: Peter Silsil, Editor: Fred Biketi, Revise Editor: Sydney Kimiywi Business Development Manager: Stephen Makabila Graphic Designers: George Waliaula & Gabriel Sankale Distribution Team: Daniel Maganya, Gerald Labatt & Peter Suge

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Save planet earth from disastrous global warming The awe-inspiring Himalayas were recently visible hundreds of kilometers away for the first time in more than thirty years.

The mountain ranges shared

by Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and China became clear when hikers were restricted from the area because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Environment experts explain the changes were occasioned by the gradual reduction of smog due to the reduced use of motor vehicles.

The Himalayas is a tourism paradise where millions of people visit every year to climb among other peaks, the challenging Mt Everest, which is the highest spot on earth.

The heavy human traffic comes with its bad side because the mountains are heavily polluted by vehicle emissions and other human activities.

The same applies to Mt Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, which was recently destroyed by heavy fires that took several weeks to extinguish.

Another glaring example of the effects of global warming is the gradual disappearance of the glaciers crowning the peak of Kilimanjaro, Glaciers on the mountain marveled early explorers who could not understand how a mountain near the equator could have snow on its peak.

However according to a researcher from Ohio State University, Lonnie Thompson, the glaciers are wearing thin and could disappear by the year 2033.

Global warming contributes to rising sea levels when the glaciers in the North and South poles melt down which could lead to ultimate submergence of island countries a couple of decades to come.

Since the industrial revolution in Europe mechanisation has come with both positive and negative

results, among them environmental destruction, sometimes with irreversible consequences.

Rivers, waterways and forests have been degraded, affecting livelihoods of millions of people, while some rare plant and animal species face extinction.

According to a World Bank report, climate change severely threatens the existence of Maldive Islands.

“With future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters, by the year 2100 the entire country could be submerged,” says the report.

Research shows that Mombasa, the second largest city in the country and the whole island on which it sits could be no more fifty years from now.

Environmental experts have warned that the city with a population of more than 1million people faces a danger of being submerged due to rising sea levels.

However other scientists say it will take many years to happen and only “by a few centimeters”.

The effects of global warming would not only be felt in Mombasa but in other parts of the region including the North and South coast areas.

Apart from the island of Mombasa sinking, there is also the possibility of a Tsunami

Glance box

Pascal Mwandambo striking the Kenyan Coast whose effects would be felt hundreds of kilometers from the coastline.

Runway construction along the beach and destruction of coastal vegetation such as mangrove could exacerbate this potentially dangerous situation.

Already five tiny Pacific Islands have disappeared due to rising sea levels, this probably being the first scientific confirmation of the impact of climate change.

The submerged islands are part of Solomon Islands in Australia.

Six other islands had swathes of land washed into the sea and on two of these, entire villages were destroyed and people forced to relocate.

One of them is Nuatambu which was home to 25 families which lost 11 houses and half its inhabitable area since 2011.

“Enjoy life when you can. In 20 years global warming will hit the fan,” warns environmental scientist, James Lovelock.

Given the emerging evidence that global warming can have devastating effects on humanity and future generations, world leaders should come together to save the earth.

With future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters, by the year 2100 the entire country could be submerged” says The writer is a regular commentator on the report. environmental issues.

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

OPINIONS & COMMENTARIES 11

Plant trees, climate change is not fiction Environmental degradation must be viewed from a wider perspective to include the individual person’s actions that ravage their surroundings.

That includes how we manage our trees, control erosion on our farms and whether we care to plant grass or cover crops on bare land.

All too often, destruction of the environment is seen as those activities carried out by big firms like mining and construction works.

Voices of environment activists and conservationists have always been audible enough against the activities of such firms, calling for their immediate cessation.

However, there remains one culprit that is not spoken of most of the time.

That is the general citizenry in their private capacities and how they handle their environment.

I have observed over time the damages being done on the environment by individuals and the effects they have had on the ecosystem.

Trees and forests perform the miraculous, genius acts of watershed protection and carbon sequestration.

They also supply us with essential environmental, economic, recreational, scientific, spiritual, cultural benefits and also act as water catchments, biodiversity conservation reservoirs, carbon sinks and wildlife habitat.

But due to constant felling of trees, clearing of natural vegetation and poor farming prac-

Norman Ondu

The country needs to restore the degraded forest ecosystem for posterity through the indigenous and ecotype tree species protection policy work. tice, there has been a significant alteration of rain patterns hence farming seasons.

It has become impossible to predict when and how rains will fall and what crops to plant.

I feel that if we could protect our big indigenous trees by enforcing a policy, we shall have done a good service to the environment that will go ahead to mitigate against these effects of climate change.

It irritates me to find that a big indigenous tree is just felled for no justifiable cause and the culprits just get away with their felonious crime with utmost impunity.

I remember my old childhood days during the December holidays, when we would aimlessly and indiscriminately cut down trees to burn charcoal for sale to buy snacks with the proceeds for Christmas.

For that I’m a confessed criminal but there was a lack of awareness among us because there was no enforcement of pol-

icy at the detriment of the ecosystem and biodiversity.

Deforestation in Kenya is estimated at 50,000 hectares annually leading to a consequent yearly loss to the economy of up to 20million US Dollars.

Trees are supposed to yield social, economic and ecological goods and services for humanity.

Actually, 70% of Kenyans rely on wood biomass for their energy but that privilege should not compromise the rights of the future generation to use the valuable natural resources we are endowed with.

The country needs to restore the degraded forest ecosystem for posterity through the indigenous and ecotype tree species protection policy work.

Though there are existing policies aimed at protecting the environment in Kenya, these policies have neither been exhaustive nor well implemented.

For example, the Forest Act (2005) introduced participatory forest management through the

engagement of local communities among other measures.

It also led to the formation of Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Community Forest Associations.

Others laws are in the Constitution, the National Land Policy, the Land Act 2012 and the Revised National Forest Policy 2014.

Climate Change Response Strategy also underscores forestry’s unique role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Lastly, the constitution and economic blue print vision 2030 requires the country to achieve 10% forest cover.

So, through the indigenous tree species protection policy, data would be paramount.

Each clan elder or ‘nyumba kumi’ rep would have to register all the big indigenous trees, say 20years old and above in their jurisdictions.

The data complete with the photos, local names of the trees, approximate size and location will be sent to a central national database.

In case one finds a reason to cut down the tree for development or convenience purposes, permission will have to be sought from authorities and if satisfactory reasons are presented.

Permission will be granted or declined but those sanctioned to proceed will undertake a mandatory replacement of 15 new seedlings planted.

The 10% forest cover cannot be achieved only on government and gazetted forests but community and private, commercial for-

ests must also be involved.

All schools must have a compulsory minimum tree vegetation and if possible all brick and mortar organisations must do the same.

This doesn’t require the services of a benevolent dictator to enforce because as the case of the fig tree along Waiyaki Way that’s about to be felled to pave way for road construction, the public can play its role.

Let us cure the cancer not treat the symptoms by planting trees and not wait to build dykes because of floods.

We have all seen the flooding in Lake Nakuru National Park and the unfortunate comments by a game ranger who said flooding is a new opportunity for tourists.

Wrongful application of agro-chemicals on smallholder farms is also a big problem because most of the smallholder farmers are illiterate and ignorant of the environmental concerns.

Procedures are not mostly followed, resulting in excessive use of chemicals which kill our insect and bird pollinators among other members of the ecosystem.

We need grassroots policies and measures to govern how farmers apply these chemicals or we go purely organic and recall all agrochemicals from Agro-vet stores.

Ondu is a third year student at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology.

Omondinorman994@gmail.com

Stop suffering caused by floods in West Pokot Flooding has adverse effects on transport and general infrastructure which include disruption of traffic flow and interruption of economic activities.

It additionally has different negative effects that are witnessed, affecting the Flora and Fauna in those areas.

Both individuals and communities experience environmental consequences which are both negative and positive.

Such effects vary with the location and the extent of the duration, depth, speed, vulnerability and value of both the natural and man-made environments with disastrous consequences.

The most immediate effect includes loss of human life, damage of property, destruction of crops, loss of livestock and escalation of waterborne diseases like typhoid, dysentery and even cholera among others.

Associated effects include,

Hillary Muhalya

Displacement f rom one’s home, loss of property and disruption to business and social affairs can be so stressful and yet that has become the norm every year. disruption and damage of power plants, roads and bridges which may also paralyze all the economic activities and normal human life.

Floods have also led to disruption to supplies of clean water, waste water treatment, electricity, transport, communication, education and health care which are indeed the focal points of all human livelihoods and also led to reduction of purchasing power and loss

of land value.

It has also traumatized people for a long time because of loss of loved ones which has led to devastating effects on families and particularly children and the family bread winners.

For teachers, businessmen and other public servants operating in hardship areas some of which are not even designated, flooding has an adverse effect upon them and they just have

to learn to cope with it to secure their jobs.

An example of such a place is river Chebera in Sigor where public servants, students and trainee teachers have to cross very deep waters to reach their destination.

Water surges and the presence of foam on water is an indication of a sudden increase in the volume of water and special caution has to be taken at this point.

People crossing should hold each other by the hands and in such a situation, three people holding each other make a more formidable group across the water whereby if one sinks, he is held up by others.

The lifting of legs in water as one walks should not exceed two centimeters, beneath the legs is quick sand upon which a person on transit should only rest his/her legs upon it for not more than five seconds and if it exceeds a minute, one is

bound to sink.

Such waters have repeatedly swallowed people and unimaginably massive objects like lorries, cars, people and trees through flash floods caused by rain upstream.

People have died because they are not aware of the simple crossing regulations which are grossly violated.

Displacement from one’s home, loss of property and disruption to business and social affairs can be so stressful and yet that has become the norm every year.

The psychological effects can have an even greater impact, expecially because families have lost children and young people, some of them high school and university students.

Muhalya is a teacher with a passion for environmental issues

12 waste management

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

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Residents embrace human waste charcoal

By Shadrack Omuka Nakuru once ranked as the cleanest town in East and CentralAfrica by UN Habitat is now famous for its unique charcoal dubbed Makaa dot com.

The briquettes made from human waste have replaced ordinary charcoal to save the Mau forest from wanton destruction.

The compressed charcoal has gained popularity in Nakuru and its outskirts particularly in small eatery businesses.

The human waste product has also penetrated the house-hold level with many residents now using them for cooking.

Makaa dot com, a project of NakuruWater & Sewerage Company (NAWASCO) and other partners is currently producing four tons of the briquettes per month which cannot satisfy the growing demand.

They are more economical when compared to ordinary charcoal and firewood because they burn for a longer time and produce less smoke therefore addressing environmental concerns.

Many restaurants that closed businesses in Nakuru town because of the high cost of cooking energy have re-opened and are now using human waste briquettes.

According to Ann Muthoni, a business woman operating a small restaurant in Nakuru town, the makaa dot.com has saved her from regular headache she used to get while using ordinary charcoal . The briquettes also increase her profit as it burns for a long time.

“I used to suffer headaches every day due to carbon emission and other poisonous gasses emitted from burning charcoal but the problem disappeared when I started using briquettes,” said Muthoni.

She used to consume two and a half sacks of charcoal but now uses only a half a sack of makaa dot.com human waste product, hence using less money on cooking energy and increasing profitability.

Muthoni also advised people operating eateries business and households to use the briquettes as it is clean and safe.

Her husband was found dead five years ago in their single room house from carbon monoxide released from the burning stove.

Nakuru residents had earlier declined to use makaa dot.com citing

awful smell and cultural beliefs that dissociate people with their wastes.

But they started embracing the briquettes after gaining some awareness from experts and listening to people who had used them before, “It was not easy convincing people to use the briquettes because some argued that they cannot use their own waste for cooking while others cited awful smell,” said NAWASCO site manager, John Irungu.

He said others just declined due to cultural beliefs but after doing some awareness, the briquettes are now common in town and

Human waste charcoal embraced in every corner.

Joyce Wangare another restaurant operator in section 58 in the outskirts of Nakuru town said she regrets using ordinary charcoal in her restaurant.

Wangare said she used to earn little profits and sometimes she recorded loses due to high cost of cooking energy.

Wangare who is also a chicken rearing farmer said she uses the briquettes to warm her chicks over night as the cost of electricity has gone high.

“I tried to use ordinary charcoal to

warm the chicks and ended up making losses as almost all of the chicks died due to cabon monoxide,” said Wangare.

She said makaa dot com burns three times longer than charcoal and produces no smoke, unlike ordinary charcoal which is dangerous especially in a small room.

Water sanitation and hygiene advisor Reinilde Eppinga, one of the partners in the project, said the scheme is helping to reduce pollution related to dirty fuels such as petrol and conventional charcoal.

She said the initiative also leads to lower cases of diseases due to improved sanitation and reduced deforestation.

According to Emily Woods, a Chief Executive Officer of the Sanivations Company that is also manufacturing briquettes from human waste in Naivasha town, makaa dot com provides an alternative cooking-fuel source to local small businesses and restaurants.

Woods says Sanivations’ sun-treated poop fuel briquettes can burn two times longer than normal charcoal, yet release about one third of the carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions.

Each metric ton of the briquettes saves about 88 trees yet they are “comparable” in cost even with charcoal’s rapid price fluctuations.

She says Sanivation is doing particularly well with local businesses because it meets sustainability regulation.

Most of the charcoal sold in Kenya, she says, is sourced illegally, so briquette business owners don’t have to worry about the company suddenly disappearing like traditional fuel providers.

In October, Sanivation sold about eight metric tons of briquettes to about 20 small businesses and restaurants.

The company has targeted small businesses and restaurants first because as they buy between about 200 kilograms to 2 metric tons of briquettes while a household can only buy a kilogram or two.

However, the company plans on expanding to the household market because households “will pay more.”

Woods also hopes to reach out to more municipalities, both about the fuel briquettes and the custom toilets Sanivation sells to improve sanitation conditions.

National Government to fund e-waste sectors

By Sammy Munoko The National Government is committed to funding e-waste management sectors in the country according to the national strategy document.

The funding is expected to be channeled through Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Youth, Women and Persons with Disability (PWD) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) levies.

It will improve efforts toward Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management in the country and both the formal and informal sectors are to benefit from the initiative.

According to the Communications

Authority of Kenya, the high rate of e-waste accumulated in Kenya is caused by the influx of cheap shortlife products.

The Cabinet Secretary Environment and Forestry, Keriako Tobiko said the strategy is all inclusive for various e-waste sectors in the country.

“This strategy provides a framework to guide stakeholders in the concerted efforts in sustainable management of e-waste in the country and hence build synergy among the various players,” said the CS. The UNEP survey indicated that Kenya generates over 44,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, meaning that the country has at least 120 tonnes of electronic waste.

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

It is for this reason that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry developed the strategies to address such challenges “The Government will be on the forefront in charting the way forward in promoting strategies that enable broader participation in e-waste management,” it reads in part.

Consequences of poor e-waste handling include environmental, economic and social consequences.

Types of e-waste include, large and small household appliances, IT and telecommunication equipment, consumer equipment, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools and some medical devices among others.

E-waste management is a major

Trans-Nzoia County launches monthly town clean-ups

By Osborne Benn The Trans Nzoia county government has launched a massive monthly clean-up exercise for Kitale town.

Speaking during a clean-up exercise in Kitale, the County Director of Environment, Godfrey Wekesa said the cleaning exercise will be done in the last week of every month.

He said the exercise is meant to make Kitale town clean to attract investors and promote tourism in the county.

The exercise was launched

Meanwhile environmentalists have raised the alarm over the degradation of rivers in Trans Nzoia sparked by massive agricultural activities along the banks.

Trans Nzoia County Government’s Director of Environment Godfrey Wekesa says most residents who live next to rivers have defied regulations that prohibit human activities along the banks.

“Farming and the plantation of high water consumption trees like eucalyptus along the rivers is a great risk to the survival of our rivers. This has to stop,” said

Trans-Nzoia County Environment Officer, Godfrey Wekesa with workers launching a clean-up exercise in Kitale town recently.

Photo/Eunice Lanya. at Posta grounds where the team cleaned up parts of the Kenya Railways Corporation land and around the Kitale museum.

The clean-up exercise was among the build-up activities to celebrate World Environment Day. “We have cleaned parts of the town today.We are planning to plant trees on Monday at Kiminini and Saboti constituencies then proceed to plant more trees on Tuesday at Cherangany and Endebess constituency,” said Wekesa.

He noted that the exercise started will end as they celebrate the World Environment Day at Maziwa Secondary in Kwanza Sub-county.

Wekesa added that the county is in the process of acquiring land for a modern dumpsite that will include decomposing and recycling facilities. challenge in Kenya and there are huge stocks that consumers are piling in homes, offices and other storage facilities.

The government is partnering with private firms through Public-PrivatePartnerships (PPP) to build robust and sustainable infrastructure to facilitate an environmentally friendly e-waste management system and provide

Glance box E-waste is as one of the fastest growing waste stream in the world, and yet also toxic and non-biodegradable.

Countries in the world combined generated a staggering 44.7million metric tonnes of E-waste as of 2016.

Mr. Wekesa in Kitale.

He further said most residents have developed environmental destruction habits ranging from farming to illegal logging of trees.

“We have to safeguard the environment. We are no longer going to plead with anybody who is destroying our environment since they are posing a threat to current and coming generations,” he noted.

Environmentalists have in the recent past raised the red flag over the alarming degradation on Mt. Elgon and Cherang’any water towers because of human encroachment and logging of trees.

The European Union (EU) has donated Sh3.6 billion to boost government efforts of rehabilitating the two major water towers.

incentives for consumers to dispose their WEEE. It also plans to provide incentives for International companies or investors who are willing to partner in refurbishment of old WEEE and take-back programs to ease the WEEE burden in the country.

Opportunities related to e-waste are tied to recycling and refurbishment through proper management initiatives.

The government also plans to put in place mechanisms for tracking mass flow of WEEE in and out of the country by use of well-defined models so that it can identify their sources and distribution channels for effective management.

The National E-waste Management Strategy is a five-year plan covering the period 2019/20 to 2023/24.

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

CLIMATE CHANGE 13

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

Environment & climate change

African heritage under threat from climate change

Boys fishing in Upper Tana.

By Amoto Dennis From rock art in Southern Africa to the pyramids along the river Nile in North Africa, human beings have over centuries left their mark across continents.

Unfortunately, extreme weather change has led to the rise in sea and river levels leading to the destruction of some of the iconic landmarks.

The threat to those invaluable cultural landmarks is real and more research into the emerging phenomena is needed to save the heritage sites.

Efforts by Tana Delta Sub County residents to control the overflow of Kenya’s largest river recently turned tragic when they ended up killing thousands of fish species in

River Tana.

The poor residents build sandbags to prevent backflow of salty Indian Ocean water into the river which was threatening the riverine landscape and heritage.

Some towns like Lamu, a historic settlement along the Indian Ocean shores, which is apparently the oldest and best placed and preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa, according to UNESCO are also under threat.

Unlike other towns and villages along the East African coast, many of which have been abundantly abandoned for various reasons or excuses, Lamu has been continuously inhabited for about seven centuries.

Besides that Lamu remains an important center for study of Islamic and Swahili cultures .

The town has however been severely impacted by shoreline retreat, losing its natural protection when sand and vegetation served as its barrier.

Environmentalist Hassan Sheikh Ali says the problem is partly due to the change in sea levels.

He further blames it on the construction of the huge Lamu Port Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project sitting to the north of the old town.

“The construction is destroying the mangrove forest that protects the island from flooding,’’ he explained.

The LAPSSET corridor project is slated to open the marginalized and remote region of northern Kenya and ease transport in East African region.

The project includes a vast 32 berth container port, an oil terminal, road, international airports, and railway link and resort cities in Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana. Three initial berths are already complete.

During construction a deep channel was dug in the bay as the constructors used sand and rocks to reclaim land and build the first container berths, stretching some 1.6 km.

The port is poised to start receiving its first transshipment cargo for global shipping lines that will be supported by a special Economic Zone, but sadly Lamu fishermen will be the biggest losers.

“Before the work started here we could easily catch 500kg of fish from one net, but now we can put ten nets and hardly reap 50kg,’’lamented a fisherman .

Residents also complain about noise pollution construction as man-

groves are brought down in the fish breeding areas thus destroy coral reefs.

Another big issue is the proposed construction of 1, 050 –Megawatt Lamu Coal Plant which environmentalists claim has a direct negative impact on the economic sustainability of Lamu people.

Greenpeace Africa, an environmental NGO says the hazardous vomit of the coal fossil fuels combustion of Nitrogen which forms acid rain that kills fish.

Fishing, the main economic mainstay of the Lamu residents and tourism generates about Sh1.6 billion. ‘’With our heritage gone even tourism won’t sell,’’ lamented Omar Abdullah a resident in Lamu. He adds that since toxic vomit is a threat to residents too, it is wise to use renewable energy.

As climate change climate warriors point at the dangers of fossil

The threat to those invaluable cultural landmarks is real and more research into the emerging phenomena is needed to save the heritage sites.

Thousands of fish species perish in River Tana

By Amoto Dennis Ndiewo Desperate piling of sand and soil bags on Matomba Brook to prevent salty water flowing back from the Indian Ocean into River Tana’s nonsaline waters has been disastrous to fish.

More than 1,000 species of fish have died in River Tana, considered to be one of the biggest environmental disasters to have happened in the region.

Residents of Tana delta subcounty vainly attempted to prevent saline water from invading their farms leading to the disaster.

Although the 6km Matomba Brook was born years ago when River Tana changed course, her additional salinity is a recent development.

The mighty River Tana, Kenya’s longest river supports agricultural irrigation and fishing.

Due to climate change and rising sea levels the water from the Indian Ocean through the brook invaded Chara villagers’ farms.

Besides the salty water being an impediment to farming, Tana County is prone to drought and floods which also affects food security.

A recent visit to Chara village in

Tana Delta revealed tons of dead fish floating on the river after sand was heaped in the river.

“We resorted to pile heaps of sand and soil bags at the point the where the Matombo stream meets river Tana after we saw poisonous salty water streaming into our farms and destroying our crops,’’ said Chara resident Omar Buya.

Though the residents are reluc-

More than 1,000 species of fish have died in River Tana, considered to be one of the biggest environmental disasters to have happened in the region.

tant to feast on dead fish, scavenging Marabou Stock have been gifted with a meal.

Villagers say they were advised by the County government which supported them with the materials and machinery to implement the ill- fated project.

The confirmation by the WaterWorld contradicts earlier report by some local people who claimed national and county government officials visited the area but took no action.

The WaterWorld can confirm that Environment CS, Keriako Tobiko also visited the area and witnessed the suffering of the residents.

“The CS left us without an answer and we sought help elsewhere,’’ cried villager Alio Mohamed, Chara who said not only was marine life affected but human livelihood too.

Nature Kenya Tana Delta project manager, George Odera accused the government of failing to help desperate residents on dealing with the calamity affecting farms and the river .

He also confirmed that Tobiko visited but they thought no damages would be inflicted on either the environment or the marine life.

A team of experts was to be deployed to research on the period the

fish swim to the naturally salted water and when the water gets too brackish for them to swim in before closing the rivulet.

Unfortunately, this never happened and Odera’s view was that the brook should have been blocked from the point of high salinity.

fuels on the environment and people, the investors of the project claim the 1,050 Megawatts will lower the cost of power generation in Kenya.

Experts argue that destruction of the natural heritage will leave cultural heritage sites exposed and destroyed.

Offshore the East African coast sits Comoro isles, a volcanic archipelago. It has several well preserved sites, including Medina of Mutsamudu, a 14 century maritime town.

The isles is also home to many ancient palaces dating back hundreds of years.

Despite the perseveration archeological/ environmental experts say the Comoros is one of the countries most threatened by sea level rise.

In a sad note and in a plausible scenario of moderate –to –high global carbon emissions, there is fear the East African coastal zone will be flooded by 2100.

Good news is that in 2017 the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Sports and Culture spent Sh1billion to renovate the 424 year old Fort Jesus in Mombasa old town.

The Fort’s walls and coral foundation was being chipped away by waves from the Indian Ocean.

Prior to the government rescue mission UNESCO had warned that heritage sites and landmarks such as Fort Jesus , Vasco da Gama pillar, at the coastal town of Malindi on the North Coast, the old British Custom’s house in Vanga , Msambweni on the South Coast all sitting on the Indian ocean seashore face uncertain future due to rising sea levels.

The government built a seawall to hold back the water that had been eating the fort from beneath.

They also built a park for thousands of people who visit it yearly to relax and walk around.

The Portuguese built the Fort Jesus landmark covering 2.63hectares from 1593-1596 and used it to protect Mombasa town.

‘’Sadly the county government ignored our advice and acted mechanically,’’ Odera regretted.

Although the county government has a hand in the environmental disaster, Tana County Chief Officer George Kase, passed the blame to the residents who he said made a choice.

Washing his hands off the whole saga, he reiterated the residents made a choice but the county government didn’t foresee the oncoming damages.

Thousands of fish species perish in River Tana. Photo/ Dennis Amoto

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THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Call to boost food security in Wajir

By Amoto Dennis Better known for baking climate, perennial food shortage and intermittent clan fight over pasture and water Wajir Deputy Governor Ahmed Muktar has called on joint stakeholder’s efforts to boost food production and nutritional security.

The DG observed that the county has huge potential to AUGUST, 2020 through support livelihood agriculture, and trade in fresh produce.

He however, regretted that misadventures like drought , bushfires ,floods locusts assault, human/ livestock diseases attributed by global warming and her brethren climate change stand accused on the way of efforts to arrest hunger.

The DG was speaking at the county HQ when he met World Food Program delegation led by country Deputy Director, Emmanuel Bigenimania.

The DG noted that sustainable food system including extension

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support, has transformed lives in the arid Wajir county. Mukhtar further thanked WFP not only for winning Nobel Peace Prize 2020 but for long time partnership in providing a way forward in food security and safety.

“Well, as for the Nobel Peace prize in particular, the award had been long overdue given the leading role you play worldwide in fight against hunger,’’ noted the DG .

Bigenimania revealed that WFP and Wajir signed an MOU last year in March towards improving security in food and nutrition for the nomadic c o m m u n i t y. H e e x p l a i n e d the MOU came as a result of comprehensive capacity needs mapping which ensured that the activities are aligned to county priorities.

The WFP chief noted that some 28,002 beneficiaries drawn from 4,667 households have been ADVERTISEMENT

folk-jembes, sickle, water pumps and inputs such as seeds and fertilizer.

He said that given that rain water often cause havoc to the livelihoods of Wajir residents, the SFS has led to design and construction of rainwater h arv estin g str uctu r es. And to improve crop production.

WFP supports the Agricultural Mechanical Service by repairing tractors, used ploughs and open up more land for agriculture.

Along these lines, WFP supports the training of disaster and sanitation management committees from sub county levels.

“And since we also strengthen their coordination, we have launched a five-year County Nutritional Action Plan to bolster its food security efforts, thus be healthy, ’’ he said .

COUNTY PRESS

Wajir Deputy Governor, Ahmed Muktar. reached through Sustainable Food Security (SFS) program.

He revealed that through the initiative the farmers received jembes, spades, wheelbarrows,

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NEWS 15

Up to date, processors utilize only 25% of the total available coconuts, leaving the country with an excess supply of an estimated 100 million pieces - Dr. Florence

Technology to boost coconut profits

By Patrick Amunavi Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has developed low cost gender-sensitive technologies to upscale processing and production of quality coconut products.

The technology used by small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the Coastal region will also boost value addition to make the business more viable.

Among the technological innovations are the coconut de-husker, charcoal briquetting machine and a stirrer all developed and fabricated

by Manufacturing Research Chair’s Tooling and Machineries stream to strengthen the coconut value chains.

Dr. Florence Kaibi, Director of Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (NOCD), acknowledged the effort made by the JKUAT researchers for developing the new technologies.

The three machines will greatly benefit Lola Rako and Jophina women groups in Kwale and Mombasa counties respectively, as well as Cocovita Limited and Msambweni Coconut Producers SMEs in Kilifi and Kwale.

She termed the new development a key milestone that will increase value addition in coconut production when she handed over the machines late last year “Up to date, processors utilize only 25% of the total available coconuts, leaving the country with an excess supply of an estimated 100 million pieces,” she said.

The coconut sub-sector supports more than 150,000 households and has the potential of contributing slightly over Sh25 billion annually to the country’s GDP. However, due to inherent challenges, the exploited value of the sub-sector currently stands at a mere Sh13 billion, translating into about 52% of the potential value of the Sh25 billion.

Factors that have contributed to the low sub-sector GDP value

Prof. Ikua (in white shirt) assisting a member of Msambweni Coconut Producers to operate the dehusker as Dr. Kaibi (third from right) looks on. include low coconut tree population, high number of old and senile trees, pests and diseases.

Other are low productivity due to lack of improved varieties, low level of value addition, poor marketing of coconuts and coconut products and limited research on the crop.

“Although no breakthrough has been achieved so far in terms of development of improved coconut variety for successful transfer and adoption by farmers, current research initiatives by JKUAT researchers is encouraging,” said Kaibi.

She was optimistic of better prospects, pointing out that the JKUAT team led by Prof. Aggrey Nyende at the Institute of Biotechnology Research was doing a commendable job.

JKUAT is spearheading a multidisciplinary research project implementing the Second National University Research Chair programme on “Technological Innovations for Quality and Competitiveness in Manufacturing of Coconut Value Chains.”

Last year, over 2,500 Indiasourced coconut hybrid seedlings were distributed to farmers to improve the local hybrid material for seed multiplication in the future.

The JKUAT Manufacturing Research Chair and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof.

(Eng.) Bernard Ikua said the project’s emphasis is developing innovations.

Targeted areas include food and beverages, energy and biomass, textile and fibers, cosmetics and beauty products, tooling and machineries to support manufacturing of products as well as social and economics.

“The technologies will help SMEs improve productivity, efficiency and to lower production costs to help them upscale production and share feedback on performance to inform further improvement,”

said Ikua.

He said decorticating machines for fibre production are currently being fine-tuned before piloting and asked NOCD to identify the SMEs’ equipment needs.

The SMEs expressed gratitude and said the technologies will boost capacity to exploit the coconut resource and create wealth to improve livelihoods.

Lola Rako, a women group of 20 members processing natural virgin coconut oil, had, last year, cited poor equipment for coconut dehusking as their biggest challenge in upscaling virgin oil production.

Their Secretary, Lucy Nasi Keya, said the new technology is convenient for the women since it is less tedious and doesn’t require a lot of energy and expertise to operate.

“It is unlike the crude crowbarlike equipment we have been using, often causing injury and backache complications,” said Keya.

Felista Yawa of Jophina group, added that the Briquette making machine will help them enhance production of charcoal briquettes from coconut shells for the market.

The Chairman of the 25-member Msambweni Coconut Producers group Hussein Myega, decried lack of hybrid seedlings to replace the aging coconut trees that has undermined the exploitation of the coconut resource.

The group specializes in coconut seedlings, buying and selling of coconuts and mat-weaving and other trades.

JKUAT is spearheading a multidisciplinary research project implementing the Second National University Research Chair programme on “Technological Innovations for Quality and Competitiveness in Manufacturing of Coconut Value Chains.”

It is supported by the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) and the Canadian International Development Research Centre.

Poisoning of wildlife alarms environmentalist in Garissa

By Amoto Dennis The CEO of Bura East Conservancy, Dr. Abdullahi Hussein Ali is alarmed at the number of endangered wildlife dying at the hands of pastoralists’ herders in Garissa County.

Speaking to the WaterWorld on phone, the environmentalist said urgent steps must be taken to dissuade nomadic pastoralists from poisoning livestock carcasses.

They allegedly poison the carcass to target the predators, especially endangered wildlife like lions, hyenas, and vultures.

Ali painfully explained that due to the ongoing biting drought many animals of prey have migrated far and wide looking for pasture and water.

Pastoralists have also invaded the jungles that are home to the animals which make it easier the predators to target the weaker domestic livestock that are also struggling to survive the drought.

“It is understandable that the herders have resorted to get rid of the predators, but at what price?” he posed.

Herders say poisoning is one the main causes of death of wildlife predators. According to Dr Ali Kenya has about 2,000 lions out of which 700 are found in Garissa.

“Just like lions whose numbers have been plunging by the day, so is the hooded vulture whose numbers have plunged by 90 percent in the last 45 years,’’ he said.

He said the loss of wildlife was too expensive for the national heri-

‘

We are also training them how to harvest rain water and grow pasture for the domestic livestock and also ask them to build strong kraals to keep their livestock safe from prowling lions and hyenas night -Ali

tage and the multibillion tourism industry.

“And that being the case, the government must step up wildlife conservation by funding conservancies and ensure pastoralists don’t move in uncharted territory,’’ he said .

A senior warden of Bura East Conservancy, Ali Hassan told the WaterWorld that herders normally poison carcasses targeting lions and hyenas.

“They think the wildlife will return for their livestock but it is unfortunate that the vultures that arrive fast fall victim and in that respect, hundreds of vultures and marabou stocks end up being killed,’’ said Ali. Regrettably these wildlife’s numbers further dwindle due to

climate change, habitat loss and poaching.

The Bura East Conservancy is now training the pastoralist communities about the dangers of poisoning wildlife.

“We are also training them how to harvest rain water and grow pasture for the domestic livestock and also ask them to build strong kraals to keep their livestock safe from prowling lions and hyenas night,’’ said Ali He said deforestation being a problem in the arid region, the Bura East Conservancy is now importing posts from Elburgon in the Rift Valley.

“We advise the communities to dig deep and use chain link in the fencing,’’ the CEO said.

16 TOURISM & WILDLIFE

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Cultural significance of Got Ramogi Forest

By Rosemil Oduor Located about 7 kilometres from Usenge Township in Siaya county lies Got Ramogi Forest.

The place is the original home place of the Luos in Kenya where they first settled upon arrival in Kenya.

The Luos migrated in four distinct groups namely: • Joka Jok- Settled in Ramogi hills before spreading to Sakwa, Alego, Asembo and South Nyanza.

• Joka Owino- settled in Ramogi and spread to Uyoma, Kisumu, Nyakach and South Nyanza.

• Joka Omollo- settled in South Nyanza and other areas from Luo Abasuba.

• Luo Abasuba- settled in Rusinga and Mfangano highlands after moving from Ramogi hills.

The forest connects to Yala Swamp and there are cottages in the forest charging Kshs 3,000 per night.

swords.

• A big rock alleged to have turned from being a cow.

• The women in the area have a pottery project named the Umba Women Project where they make and bake pots and traditional jikos.

• It offers a wide range of activities amongst them; hiking, ecotourism, nature trails, scenary viewing, cultural shrines, bird watching and a resort.

• A few miles from the forest lies the ground where the cultural Ramogi night is held.

Rapogi Stone.

Ground where Ramogi night is held.

Yala Swamp.

The forest has myths surrounding it like; • Rapogi stone alleged to cause rain blessings. The stone was also used to sharpen items like A traditional cottage.

Cultural shrine.

Cattle hoof prints on rocks wow tourists

By Jeremiah Chamakany Residents of Koibatek Sub -county are yet to find an explanation about a bizarre phenomenon; a cattle hoof-prints appearing on top of some rocks.

The rocks are located on the bank of a stream flowing from the Mau Complex forest in Koibatek, Baringo County in the heart of the Great Rift Valley.

The Water World reporter visited the area to see what has puzzled generations and remained a mystery to residents of Sabatia, near Solian.

“It has baffled every one’’ said Mr.Julius Mosonik, our guide during our fact-finding mission.

At least seven hoof prints are clearly visible on top of the rocks that now lie within a private land.

The hoof prints resemble those of a bovine, either a cow or its nearest cousin, the Buffalo.

Since its discovery sometime during the height of Kenya’s colonial era, no one to date is able to explain how the animals ended up leaving their marks on top of a hard rock.

Some argue that they could have literally walked on top of some molten rocks or flowing magma (lava)to be

more precise.

That could date back to several millions of years ago when volcanic eruptions were the order of the day.

A critical look on top of the rocks indicates that perhaps there was a stampede and the animals were fleeing from danger.

Should have been molten lava, then it is quite likely that the animals involved never survived.

How really could they have managed when all the ‘rocks were boiling and melting’ all around them?

Hypothetically; maybe it was the Menengai crater in action, which is the nearest volcano that last erupted in 6050 BC according to available history.

Local area administrator in charge of Sabatia location Jacob Kigen narrated that for the last 45 years that he has been around there, local tourists have trooped to Solian to see the strange cattle tracks.

According to the administrator, the hoof prints on the rocks indicate that perhaps the rocks where very soft during those days. ‘’The whole of Koibatek Subcounty region was Maasai land, and they roamed this valley with their cattle in thousands.’’ said the

administrator.

According to the information he gathered from the elders of his time, the cattle tracks possibly belong to the Maasai who later moved their herds to the present day Narok ,with

Cattle tracks on top of some rocks at the banks of a stream flowing out from the Mau Complex. Photo/ Jeremiah Chamakany. some of them spilling over towards the Ngorongoro in Tanzania.

Maasai names are littered everywhere in the Koibatek landscape among them; Esageri , Ngusero, Lebolos and Eldama Ravine to name a few.

Moving down the plains of Koibatek in the regions around Mogo-

tio, stretching towards Marigat, one encounters more Maasai names such as Ol baat, Lomanira and Logiri.

Others are Oldukai Lombogishu and even Muserechi where a remnant of the Ole Tunai family, the Narok Govorner live to date .

Our team discovered that there could be some truth about Maasai cattle leaving their footprints at Koibatek.

Not far from the scene of the mysterious cattle tracks lives the Chairman of the Lembus Council of Elders, Mr.Joseph Leboo.

He is a Maasai remnant who has since been assimilated into the Lembus culture, but is still very alive and is also fondly attached to his ancestral roots.

“I don’t know much about the cattle tracks but I can tell you that the Maasai once roamed the hills of Koibatek and the plains of Mogotio,’’mzee Leboo told World Water.

Our guide made us to learn that the land belongs to an old man called Mzee Kimanyim.

Fortunately enough, one of his daughters Mrs. Leah Ng’etich was available for a word.

The teacher at nearby Mochongoi

Primary school in Eldama Ravine said the site is accessible to all because some adventurous visitors come to their home to see the strange cattle tracks.

“One male foreign tourist was so excited that he offered some Dollars in exchange of the land but our family however declined to sell the land to him,” she said.

With a stream of water bordering the site flowing quietly towards the Lake Baringo, most young people find the scenic site very intriguing and romantic.

Sitting under the shade of one the many old trees lining the stream, you are likely to bear witness to the most hidden secrets of natural young plants coiling their tendrils round and round their neighbors, and the smell of moss wafting from under the rocks.

A young man who was present during our visit had come with his girlfriend perhaps to impress her with the mysteries of mother-nature away from the noise and bustle of modern day civilization.

The cattle tracks will however remain a mystery. jeremiahchamakany@gmail.com

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

Nzowasco receives Sh4.5m for water treatment

By Tony Wafula The National Government through the Ministry of Water has given Nzoia Water and Sewerage Company (NZOWASCO) Chemicals worth Sh4.5 million.

NZOWASCO Managing Director, CPA Mathew Maruti Wakhungu stated that the chemicals will boost the company which depends on its internal sources for survival.

Addressing company employees in Bungoma town, Wakhungu lauded the national government for chipping in and helping them realize their goals.

“We are very happy that the national government helped us by providing us with chemicals to treat water in our main plants before it is released for human consumption,” he said.

The company, whose motto is ‘Customer satisfaction is our pride’ marks the service week annually to motivate workers and the firm’s customers.

Wakhungu called on area residents to report any illegal connections denying the company revenue.

“Let’s change our culture to minimize illegal water connections as the revenue channeled to the company accounts helps us to meet our financial obliga-

tions and to satisfy our customers,” said the MD. He pointed out that they were going employ the 18 casuals on permanent basis in the next two years and emphasized the need for the firm’s employees to embrace teamwork which is key to expansion.

“When we lose water, we lose our revenue which can make us close down and in the process you losing your job, so be our ambassador to ensure that we protect the company,” Wakhungu told employees.

Administration and Marketing Manager, Bernard Kikechi warned that any illegal connection is very costly and any culprit found engaging in the vice will face a tough fine.

“If found engaging in illegal connections somebody can be fined up to Sh30, 000 which can be multiplied depending on the amount of water lost, so stop the illegalities,” said Kikechi.

He called on company employees to be maintaining high standards of discipline and stop engaging in corruption cases that can ruin their future.

He asked water users to settle their bills on time to avoid disconnections which can ‘strain our relationships’.

rEGIONAL NEWS 17

Kakamega County to launch Sh600 million water projects By Andanje Wakhungu The Kakamega County in partnership with the national government will develop water projects amounting to Sh600m.

Deputy Governor, Professor Philip Kutima said the county will work with the national government in develoing the projects.

He spoke at his office when he re- A section of the water stakeholders present during ceived the Chief the meeting held recently.

Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the (Ikolomani) Sh38m, LwakhTuimur said that through the Ministry of Water, Sanitation upa (Navakholo) Sh45m, and national water harvesting and and Irrigation, Andrew Tuimur.

Musembe in Lugari Sh38m. storage authority the govern“We must synchronize our Others are industrial park ment will offer storage technolactivities and efforts in ensur- water project in Mumias West ogy to compliment the efforts of ing that there is no duplication Sh25m, Misango (Khwisero) the counties. of the projects being undertaken Sh71m and Lumino in LikuyHe later inspected the progat the grass root level,” said Prof ani Sh89 Million which will be ress of Utende water for schools Kutima. rolled out in three phases. within the Mumias West Sub More than Sh600m has been The Likuyani project in- County and also toured Bunallocated for the implementation cludes installation of a water goma, Busia, Vihiga and Nandi of water projects in Lirhanda treatment plant at a cost of counties.

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NZOWASCO Managing Director, Mathews Wakhungu (in blue T-shirt) with Administration Manager, Bernard Kikechi.

Bungoma drafts water master plan

By Mathews Achola The Bungoma County Department of Water in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), recently organised a stakeholders Consultative meeting on Bungoma County Draft Water Master Plan .

County’s Executive Committee Member CECM, Mr

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18 REGIONAL REPORTS

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Embu residents blame Muguka farmers for Sh5 million water loss

By Kamundia Muriithi Faced by recurring water scarcity, Muguka (khat) farmers in the Mbeere region of Embu County have made illegal connections on the Embu Water and Sanitation Company (EWASCO) Ltd pipeline to irrigate their crops.

The cash crop which is one of the economic mainstays of the semi-arid Mbeere region requires irrigation during the dry times for it to thrive.

Farmers earn more from muguka farming during dry EWASCO head of NRW Joseph periods when demand for the Maina. Photo/Kamundia Muriithi. stimulant outstrips supply by far.

However, those illegal headquarters in Embu town, connections are costing the company heavily with EWASCO Maina said overall NRW loss at Head of Non-Revenue Water the company stood at 40 percent (NRW) unit, Joseph Maina saying because of the illegal connections, they are losing about 60 percent destruction of pipes during road of all the water supplied to the construction and vandalism of meters.

Mbeere region.

In a bid to lower loss of NRW, Maina said the lost water amounts to about Sh5 million the company has stepped up monthly, a hefty amount that surveillance measures, arresting would have facilitated expansion over 30 water thieves monthly translating to about one every day. of supply to other areas.

Late last month, they busted a Speaking at the company

farmer in Gachoka area who had made bypass that channeled water to underground tanks that she used to irrigate her muguka trees.

“Through community policing we learnt about a farmer who has made an illegal connection and used a bypass to supply water to underground tanks for muguka irrigation,” he said.

They disconnected the supply and will now take action against the farmer as per the company policy Maina said as per Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) guidelines, the farmer will have to pay a fine of Sh300,000 for the water she has consumed illegally, failure to which, legal action will be taken against her.

The rules, WASREB directives say, for illegal water connection, a customer is penalized a minimum of Sh30,000 in addition to a charge of one and half times of the water that was illegally used.

“We issue a small token to those who report illegal connections and also extend an olive branch to the illegal connectors by fining them to pay 50 percent of the charges,” he said.

Maina also warned company staff against colluding with some

CENTRAL

Githogoro slums water woes deepen

By Felix Wanderi Residents of Githogoro slums in Westlands constituency, Nairobi County are facing an acute shortage of water.

They are also facing serious challenges from Covid-19 exposure because they have no water for hand washing and for their basic needs.

Philomena Wanjiru, a resident of Good Hope in Githogoro says water from Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company was disconnected in 2019.

“We used to buy it with tokens but it was disconnected. Youths in the area reconnected illegally when Covid-19 hit us before water company employees disconnected us again,” said Wanjiru.

In May last year a Sh300 million water project was initiated in the slum to improve hygiene standards by providing clean running water to curb the virus.

Hand washing water tanks were donated by well-wishers but they were looted because there was no clean running water reaching the residents.

At the Good Hope slum inside Githogoro, women always fight while scrambling for water at the only tap producing water in the area and sometimes spend the whole night waiting for their turn to fetch.

Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company Chief Officer Nahashon Maingi toured the slums to assess the situation of water and sanitation in the area.

He said that they have identified two

locations where they will dig boreholes to help in the slums get water.

“Water from our company pipes cannot reach the whole informal settlement as the pressure is not enough but we have identified two locations where we are going to dig boreholes,” said Maingi.

Maingi said that as the water comes from Ngethu to Gigiri the pressure goes

Water from our company pipes cannot reach the whole informal settlement as the pressure is not enough but we have identified two locations where we are going to dig boreholes - Maingi. on reducing by the way water pipes are designed.

By the time the water reaches Gigiri, the pressure is down and so boreholes are the only solution.

They expect the boreholes to be producing 20 cubic meters per hour which translates to 480,000 litres of water per day combined with the 1,000 cubic meters provided by the water company which will be enough to serve the community.

X

crooked customers to make illegal connections, although the practice has reduced because of culture change in the organization.

Residents like John Njuki are also livid about illegal connections: “Since June this year, we have been going to the river which is far to fetch water oblivious that all this suffering was caused by

our neighbor who had illegally connected water to her tanks.”

The residents urged the company to ensure supply of enough water in the area so as to solve the problem of water theft.

Muguka farming is widespread in the Mbeere region of Embu County with locals crediting it to a booming economy.

Muguka crop irrigated using Ewasco water.

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NAIROBI

Graduates told to fast-track innovations

By Sammy Munoko Water engineers graduating from middle-level colleges have been challenged to use knowledge they have acquired to boost and innovate technology.

The students were urged by Water, Irrigation and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary, Sicily Kariuki to develop the sector through their expertise.

She was presiding over the Kenya Water Institute (KEWI) virtual graduation ceremony held at the institution’s grounds recently.

“There exists a gap that needs to be filled in terms of innovations from graduates,” she said.

She reminded the students President Uhuru Kenyatta’s earlier call asking youth to boost innovations and spur social and economic development in the country.

The CS was optimistic that despite the hiatus occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, KEWI graduants had the potential to spin the wheel of strategic innovations to ensure water sustainability.

“Be the change agents, offer solutions to problems facing the water sector you have been exposed to. Give us a chance to celebrate your innovations,” stated CS Kariuki.

A total of 549 students were conferred with certificates and diplomas in various disciplines during the 32nd virtual graduation ceremony, whose theme was: Building capacity in water sanitation and hygiene to combat Covid-19.

She said the National Government is committed to availing safe clean water to households as per the Sustainable Development Goals number six that promotes access to clean safe water and sanitation

CS Water and Sanitation, Sicily Kariuki (right) appreciates the best overall student, Jonathan Mugo during KEWI graduation on Oct, 23. Left - Joseph Keter (PS representative) and CAS Dr Andrew Tuimur. by 2030.

“So far the government has invested in different infrastructural projects like irrigation and 650 projects have been undertaken,” she said.

Once all planned projects are completed, water supply will increase from 62 to 80% while sanitation will improve from the current 26 to 40%.

According to the CS, water harvesting draft regulations have been developed for forwarding to the national assembly before final assent by the President.

She said KEWI has to ensure the right quality of human capital is produced including embracing information communication technology to meet water supply needs and utilization in the county.

Principal Secretary, Joseph Keter said the Ministry was to petition

the Treasury to finance education programs to ensure that some courses are conducted online.

Mr Jonathan Muriithi Mugo was feted as the best overall student with a distinction of 77 marks in the water operator’s course. Speaking to The WaterWorld news, Mugo attributed the success to group-work and commitment to studies.

The other outstanding performing students at KEWI were: Okumu Lydia Adhiambo (Distinction Diploma in Water Engineering) and Mpoosa Fortune Stanley (Distinction,Diploma in Water Resource Technology and Management).

Others were Jerono Philicity Biwott (Distinction Diploma in Water and Wastewater Lab) and Andrew Kimtai Nyokie (Distinction Plumbing and Fitting course).

regional NEWS 19

Hefty fine for spitting on streets

By Amoto Dennis Spitting and throwing mucus on Nairobi city paths and streets could soon earn one Sh100, 000 or six-month jail term.

The proposed fines are contained in the Public Nuisance Bill 2020 already tabled in the City CountyAssembly.

The sponsor of the Bill, Riruta Member of the County Assembly (MCA), James Kiriba says the law is supposed to replace the Nairobi City Council by-laws overtaken by events following devolution.

Part of the Bill reads: “The objective of the Act is to provide for the control for public nuisance and empower the country, to take all lawful necessary and reasonably practicable measures on the abatement and prevention of public nuisance.’’

Urinating and defecating on the streets or lighting fires on a road without authority of

Part of the Bill reads:

“The objective of the Act is to provide for the control for public nuisance and empower the country, to take all lawful necessary and reasonably practicablemeasures on the abatement and prevention of public nuisance.’’

the County Secretary will also be liable for prosecution .

Reading or sleeping in a kitchen or a room in which food is prepared or stored for sale will attract a fine not exceeding Sh50,000 or a six month prison term or both .

Playing games in a manner likely to cause damage or property or cause injury will attract prosecution.

The Act further prohibits shouting or using a bell, loudspeakers, or other noisy instrument or driving a vehicle for the purpose of exhibiting advertisement.

It also bans hawking, selling, distributing or advertising an article or event on public road or street without statutory authority.

Persons who commits those offences will be convicted to a prison term not exceeding six months or fine not more than Sh.100,000 or both .

In September 2017, during his maiden speech, then Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko asked the MCAs to amend and repeal by-laws that had crippled the city’s growth but nothing much was done.

Soil pressure: Government develops redress mechanisms

By Sammy Munoko Kenyan soils are generally in poor state necessitating the need to protect the resource and the pressure through stakeholder collaboration.

The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives, Peter Munya warned that pressure on the soils needs to be taken seriously to address the current soil degradation challenge experienced in the country.

“The most significant challenge is soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and climate change. We need to prepare for these challenges and enhance the soil capacity to adopt to pressure under a changing climate,” said CS Munya.

There is uncertainty as to how exactly the future climate will impact on Kenyan soils and aggravation from

other threats like erosion, compaction, loss of diversity and nutrient leaching.

To address the challenge, the ministry has developed a draft National Agricultural Soil Management Policy (NASMP) with input from all counties aimed at sensitizing people about the services that soils provide to society and the pressure they face.

“The policy will help key stakeholders work together to achieve better soil protection. The multifunctionality of soil requires partnership and coordination with all key delivery partners,” reiterated the CS. The policy has been designed to redress issues concerning food security, sustainable soil management practices, effects of soil management on environment, fertilizer development and investment challenges.

It also focuses on an elaborate policy implementation plan and

Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Peter Munya.

framework for co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation hence improved soil management programmes.

Stakeholders have been urged to interrogate the draft policy and submit their views.

Kenya’s agricultural soils perform a larger number of economic and environmental functions.

The Agriculture sector is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy contributing about 27.3 per cent of the GDP directly and another 25 per cent indirectly through linkages with other sectors.

Many industries, including farming and food production, forestry and tourism, depend on the sustainable use of the soils.

The PS Prof. Hamadi Boga said the draft policy document is a result of rigorous process among

key stakeholders in the agricultural sector especially institutions directly involved in natural resource management.

“I appreciate all stakeholders who supported the process of development of this draft and in particular, I recognize the exceptional evidence-based support and resource input by the Germany Development Co-operation (GDC) through the Soil Protection program being implemented by GIZ,” he said.

The National Government will establish and set up a National Agricultural Soil Management Unit that will be responsible for co-sordination and implementation of the policy supported by County Governments.

20 REGIONAL news

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, may 2021

COAST MACHAKOS

Riparian area residents urged to conserve rivers

By Steve Kioko Residents living along rivers in Machakos County have been challenged to protect them from pollution in order to harness the water for agricultural production.

University of Nairobi Lecturer and Environmental Consultant, Dr John Musingi said well conserved rivers can reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.

He said the poor will not require to buy bottled water because such potable water will be readily available for free and is conserved by nature.

The don who has expressed interest in Machakos Senatorial seat said waterborne diseases which cause the poor to spend resources seeking treatment will be a thing of the past if the rivers were well conserved.

He regretted that the county government of Machakos was more interested in planting ornamental flowers on roadsides rather than orchards and trees for a better environment.

He together with Prof. Jackson Maalu and school pupils recently participated in planting 500 indigenous trees in Kivaa ward through partnership with the Japanese International Collaboration Agency (JICA).

MERU

MEWASS counts loses because of defaulters

By John Majau Meru Water and Sewerage Services (MEWASS) lost over Sh 60 million after many water users in the region defaulted to pay their bills last year.

Meru County Urban Water Corporation CEO, Joseph Mberia said the company suffered a huge loss since the Covid -19 pandemic outbreak in March last year.

He added that the defaulters greatly affected service delivery of the essential commodity in the region.

Mberia pleaded to the defaulters to be meeting their bills on time so that they can be offered quality service.

“We did not disconnect water supply to any household in those difficult times when the country was fighting the deadly disease,” said Mberia.

The defaulters were pardoned because of the hard times but MEWASS said they lost millions of shillings in the process and urged consumers to be paying bills or risk disconnection.

He called on residents to liaise with the company to enable them pay in installments to help the organization run smoothly.

“High quality is acheived through operations and maintenance of our facilities, water treatment, storage, toilet flush services and ability to maintain a constant flow of water and these services and expansion requires money which now is becoming a great chal-

lenge,” added Mberia.

He called on the Ministry of Water and Sanitation to give water utilities across the country grants to enable them run smoothly and deliver services without disconnecting residents.

The CEO said they were forced to write to other stakeholders and well-wishers for grants to aid the company provide adequate water to fight coronavirus.

Meru County Urban Water Corporation CEO, Joseph Mberia.

He also warned the road contractors destroying water lines that the company will take them to court.

“Every year we lose close to Sh6million repairing the piping system destroyed by malicious contractors,” Mberia added.

Residents want compensation before construction of Mwache dam

By Collins Akong’o Residents living around the area where the multi-billion shilling Mwache dam will be built want the issue of compensation and other demands met before the project starts in the Mazera-Kasemeni villages of Kinango Constituency.

The residents who met the Parliamentary environment, Water and Natural Resources Committee were categorical on their demands that include employment opportunities, water distribution and full involvement of the local communities in all project decisions.

The Committee led by Kareke Mbiuki assured the residents that the project will not commence until all affected persons are fully compensated.

Kinango MP, Dalu Tayari said in another meeting with ministry officials that the Parliamentary committee instructed them to exercise transparency, involvement of local leadership, factor water distribution for the local community in their design and finally ensure

Parliamentary Committee on Enviroment , Water nad Natural Resorces touring Mwachea dam site in Kinango Constituency in Kwale County. Photo/Collins Akong’o. that residents from the area cater for the largest workforce when the project commences.

Over 3,000 people will be displaced in the Sh14.5 billion World Bank funded project that is expected to pump in over 196,000 cubic meters of water to Mombasa and

Dutch NGO to boost Siaya water supply

By Erick Nyayiera

while the East Yimbo project will benefit 20,000 people who have never been connected to piped water before,” Rubik said.

The project design targets as many people as possible with West Uyoma and East Yimbo projects expected to cost Kshs. 70 million and Kshs. 50 million respectively.

Rubik who was flanked by area MCA, Mr Francis Otiato disclosed that operations will begin early next year.

Dorcas International is expected to do a sub test-run in December this year (2020).

Siaya county is also in the process of hiring five water engineers to works across the county to ensure

Kwale Counties. According to the National Lands Commission, the project will require about 1,600 acres of land and will involve the displacement of thousands of people whose livelihoods and assets will also be affected.

NYANZA that water services run effectively.

“Currently there is only one water engineer in the County and we have already advertised five engineers in anticipation that each sub county will have a water engineer to enhance service delivery,” he said Area MCA, Otiato said they have commissioned the renovation of Barkanyango water project at a cost of Sh2 million to supplement the Dorcas International project.

He said the residents of Barkanyango and Nyamonye sub-location have not had water since December last year but will smile in about six month after the repair of water pipes pumps.

Bondo Teachers’ College, Barkanyango Primary and Secondary schools alongside other schools and health centers will benefit from the project.

The County government of Siaya has signed an MoU with a Netherlands-based NGO to construct a water project.

The project to be undertaken

by Dorcas International will supply water in West Uyoma and East Asembo wards over the next five years.

The Chief Executive Committee Mamber (CECM) in charge of Water, Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. George Rubik said they will undertake maintenance of the water supply infrastructure in the two wards at a cost of Sh120 million.

The CECM disclosed that the MoU also provides for domestic consumers being issued with smart water meters for efficient billing.

“Dorcas International will improve water infrastructure from the intake to points and manage the project for the next five years to recoup back its investments. The NGO will also be providing smart meters to consumers,” Rubik said.

They identified the two wards owing to the large population in the two areas which constantly experience perennial water shortage.

“West Uyoma project was deemed viable because it targets a population of about 22,000 inhabitants Yimbo East MCA Francis Otiato (centre) giving a water pump to a farmer.

THE WATER WORLD, may 2021

NYANZA

CS Tobiko dismisses Kodera Forest squatter settlement Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Environment and Wildlife ,Keriako Tobiko has dismissed calls to settle squatters in the Nyanza’s Kodera as untenable.

The CS who appeared before the parliamentary committee on Environment and Natural Resources virtually said the proposal is only aimed at derailing the Government’s policy of ensuring 10 per cent forest cover.

Tobiko said the Government has set a target of attaining the forest cover by 2022 from the current 7.2 per cent.

Correspondent

NYANZA

NEMA stops gold mining in Rarieda

By Erick Nyayiera The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has stopped gold-mining activities at San Martins gold mining site in Rarieda Sub-County.

The order came from the NEMA Director Compliance and Enforcement and the Regional Director of Environment, North Lake region.

Siaya County Director of Environment, Mr. William Odeyo has recommended for strict enforcement of the stop order.

Mr. Odeyo said the company was carrying out illegal mining activities at the San Martins area of North Ramba location.

The abandoned colonial mine was being revived by investors; Joseph Nyaaga and Isaac Owang’ Ogweyo, who had no Environmental Impact Assessment license and no mining permit.

KITUI

Unsafe water cause of child deaths in Kitui

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

NYANZA

Obnoxious plant destroying trees and other Plants

By Erick Nyayiera Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) has begun sensitizing members of the public in Siaya County on the management of the invasive dodder plant in the region.

The golden green parasitic plant whose existence was first reported in Kenya in 2007 has mainly invaded live fences but is also threatening plants and trees in equal measure.

Speaking during a sensitization workshop at Wambasa Chief’s camp in Bondo Sub County, KEFRI lead research Officer Benard Owuor revealed that guidelines to deal with dodder have been outlined.

“After many years of research, the institute has released a guideline that will be used to manage the plant that has caused nightmares to members of the communities and environmentalists,” said Owuor.

He said the plant is a threat to food security since it destroys trees and other plants which are key to food production.

It has invaded most parts of Lake Victoria basin and it will take concerted efforts from stakeholders in the region to manage the unwanted plant.

“As indicated in the guideline, each member of the community whose farm has been invaded by the plant will be expected to gather and destroy the plant by burning it while the chiefs and local administrators have the responsibility of undertaking continuous sensitization about dodder plant in each of their Barazas” Owuor said.

He disclosed that they are also

The obnoxious dodder plant destroying planta and trees. Photo/Erick Nyayiera. working with the county governments to fight the unwanted plant and lobbying for a law to punish

Glance Box KEFRI begins sensitizing the public on new guidelines of managing the dodder plant which has threatened to destroy plants and trees in the region.

those who fail to destroy dodder plants in their farms.

Those who knowingly dispose the plant in their neighbor’s farms have also been put on notice Research about the plant is still on going to determine not only how it can be best managed but also to ascertain if it has any benefit to both the community and the environment.

“Preliminary research indicates that the plants have no known advantages although other community members say the plant is liked by goats but research is still ongoing,” Owuor said.

KEFRI assistant regional manager based in Siaya county, Mr. Dan Odhiambo who graced the occasion said he will work closely with the local administration to ensure the plant is eliminated.

KITUI

KEFRI to plant bamboo in Kitui

By Boniface Mulu

By Boniface Mulu

Researcher Francis Wadegu says unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene is a major cause of child mortality in Kitui.

The researcher from the Unicode Research and Consulting Firm carried out a detailed analysis of water sources, production and demands, taking into consideration the population projections, industrial development and urban growth.

Kitui County has drilled some 300 dams and also more than 100 are repaired by the county government every year.

“You can’t do the construction, carry out agriculture and livestock production, do washing and educate children without water which plays an important role,” said Wadegu.

The Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) has urged farmers to plant bamboo in Kitui County.

The Kitui Regional Research Centre Director, Dr. Albert M. Luvanda said bamboo is easy to grow because it is propagated through seeds or by planting cuttings.

He said that the bamboo is one of their flagship tree species in Kitui region.

Luvanda was speaking to the media in his office during this year’s World Bamboo Day celebrations.

The World Bamboo Day is celebrated to increase the awareness of the bamboo globally.

The day was officially established by the World Bamboo Organisation during the 8th World Bamboo Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand on September 18, 2009.

Luvanda said: “We as a region produce some 6,000-8,000 bamboo seedlings every year.”

He added that the KEFRI produces some 50,000 bamboo seedlings in the entire country every year.

Young children are not spared the burden of searching for water. Water issues in Endau Location, Mutitu District of Kitui County. Photo/Boniface Mulu.

rEGIONAL NEWS 21

bamboo at Kitui and Kibwezi.

Bamboo is grown to protect water catchment areas and riverbanks for rehabilitation purpose.

“The Kitui region produces two species, the Bambusa vulgaris and Oxytenthera abyssinica which grow fast in the lowland areas,” Luvanda said.

Bamboos is used has multipurpose functions mostly used in the building industry, the KEFRI official said.

The expert said the sugar content in the bamboo is high and that is why the species is attacked by some insects like the borers.

The expert said the replicability in Latin America and Africa of the success stories from South and South East Asia is yet to be assessed Dr. Albert M. Luvanda at despite the immense interest from the KEFRI Kitui Regional Research Centre’s bamboo the private sector, non- governmental organisations and government nursery within his office institutions. compound during this Luvanda further said the dearth year’s World Bamboo Day celebrations. Photo/Boniface of information on the bamboo and rattan sector has been the main Mulu. constraint to the development of the systematic and sustainable KEFRI Kitui Regional Research Centre has two centres that produce development programmes.

22 REGIONAL NEWS

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

NORTH EASTERN

Ranchers and pastoralists told to harvest water

By Amoto Dennis Kenya Wildlife Service Deputy Director, Robert Njue has asked ranchers and pastoralists to harvest water and dig pans in their localities.

He said that they should make use of the short rains expected to start any time from now in order to avoid human –animal conflict.

He noted that such conflict is created by prolonged drought which results in water scarcity in the conflictprone arid and semi-arid regions. ‘‘Ranchers and pastoralists can harvest water as a way of solving the water related challenges. It is a good approach towards taming the persistent human conflict and animal-human conflict,’’ he told a meeting in Garissa.

He pointed out that an area like Taita Taveta has 28 ranches which mostly serve as rangelands and wildlife corridors.

He also blamed overstocking and illegal herding in ranches which is common amongst the pastoralists

Camels on the Garissa streets in search for pasture. Photo/Dennis Amoto. for triggering human-animal and human -human conflict as many herders invade other areas . ‘’ The influx of herders from elsewhere has been linked to bush fires, poaching and insecurity in some of Kenya’s largest conservancies like Tsavo National Park,’’ he said regretfully.

He lamented that cases of human-wildlife and human–human conflict have always resulted in deaths, loss of property, deforestation and injuries.

Njue called on the ranches to embrace conservation and plant more trees because they occupy huge areas in the coastal region and need to be at the forefront in reforestation programs.

Garissa County Commissioner Meru Mwangi asked the communities to plant more indigenous and exotic trees and fruits during the oncoming short rains in homes and farms to attain 10 per cent forest coverage by 2022.

He said Kenya as a country plans to plant at least one million seedlings annually in schools, farms, ranches, river lines, and soil eroded regions like NorthEastern and Coastal regions. ‘’Only 200,000 seedlings have been planted this year, leaving a deficit of 800,000 seedlings,’’ he lamented.

The County Chief said past forest cover baseline surveys indicate that the country has 3.6 percent forest cover.

That he said poses a challenge to the ambitious plans of planting a million seedlings which now looks like an annual mirage.

The county boss called on the youth, community and farmers to join the war against deforestation by having more seedlings in tree nurseries as a source of income earning.

THE WATER WORLD, may 2021

COAST

Alarm bells over destruction of Kaya forests

By Tsozungu Kombe Concerned residents of Kilifi South have urged the government to save Kaya Chonyi Forest from destruction.

Speaking to WaterWorld in Kilifi town recently through their representative, Mr Samson Kazungu, the residents decried the wanton destruction of the forest.

They further claimed the forest has been neglected and is currently under threat from logging by some local residents.

They claimed that many local residents have invaded the forest, cleared bushes and settled down to serious farming.

“The forest which attracts rains among other things is currently facing extinction unless the government intervenes “, said Kazungu.

He said they are very disturbed by the illegal felling of indigenous trees in the forest.

Among areas invaded are the Kaya Chonyi Forest measuring 194 hectares, where clearing was done before they allocated themselves plots and settled down to farming.

They claimed that the forest has now been reduced from 194 hectares to 20 hectares only.

When contacted for comments, the Kilifi County Government Environment Minister, Mr. Kiringi Mwachitu said that all forests and Kaya forests in the county will be protected.

“The government cannot sit back and watch unscrupulous

The destruction of Kayafungo Sacred forest in Kaloleni, Kilifi County. Photo/ Tsozungu Kombe. timber merchants and wood carvers destroy forests in the county,” said Mwachitu.

He urged county residents to report suspicious characters to the police and administration officials so that legal action be taken against them.

Meanwhile residents of Kayafungo location in Kaloleni, Kilifi County have decried the wanton destruction of Kayafungo sacred forest.

Speaking to WaterWorld outside the forest, a cross section of the residents led by their spokesman, Samson Kaingu alleged that the forest is currently under threat.

They argued that the forest

will be extinct unless it is rehabilitated and maintained by local residents.

“We are disturbed by the illegal felling of trees in the sacred forest by the local residents”, said Kaingu.

The Kilifi County Executive Committee Member in charge of Environment, Kiringi Mwachitu assured them that all gazetted forests in the region will be fully protected by the county government by all cost.

“Co-operate fully and report suspicious characters to the police and the administration so that legal action can be taken against them,” said Mwachitu.

COAST

Coastal groups urged to embrace cage fishing

By Correspondent Local Communities in Kwale and Kilifi counties have been advised to embrace new fishing technologies.

They were asked to seek Government funding to enable them benefit from Mariculture opportunities along the coastline.

The Principal Secretary, University Education and Research, Amb, Simon Nabukwesi visited two cage culture project sites and told farmers that funds had been allocated to enable researchers initiate fish cage projects to benefit the communities by providing income and creating job opportunities.

He advised farmers to register groups so that they can benefit from the project which has a capacity of producing 2.4 tons of fish worth Kshs 720,000 within a period of six months.

The PS said enhancing food security was one of the Governments agenda four initiatives.

He said they will continue

providing money through the national Research Fund to enable fish farmers have a processing plant and market to sell their produce.

Principal Secretary , University Education and Research, Amb. Simon Nabukwesi.

Currently two such projects run by a technical team consisting of scientists from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and Technical University of Kenya (TUM) are in Kwale and Kilifi counties Amb. Nabukwesi was accompanied by his fisheries counterpart Prof. Japheth Ntiba who said the Government through the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio -conomic Project will disburse Sh10 billion in five years to support the coastal counties.

He encouraged the farmers to form registered groups so as to benefit once the projects begin later this year.

That he said will enable them alleviate poverty and create employment.

The cage culture pilot projects in Kilifi and Kwale countries are currently enhancing production of rabbit fish and tilapia in the two counties.

MERU Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

SPECIAL REPORTS 23

Meru politics blamed for woes facing forest policing

By John Majau

“We have

Pupils and guests of Tiva Primary School in Kitui planting trees. rania, Ontulili, Lower Imenti, Mucheene, Meru (upper Imenti), Ruthumbi, NgareNdare, Nyambene and Ngaya forest stations A CFA is made up of people who live around 5kms around to the forest, who enjoy benefits from the forest such as fetching firewood, beekeeping, grazing and owning tree nurseries.

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“They have to be registered and divided into various user groups as per their interest and activities, the user group then elects a management committee to represent them,” he said.

The Meru County Ecosystem Conservator, John Njoroge said the county is covered by 97,169 hectares of forest.

CFA members are tasked with taking care of the forest alongside the Kenya a measure to safeguard the Kenyan forests.

After the ban, the government formed forest Service and they are able to participate in forest activities, access stakeholder the task force on forest resource management and logging activities where the final funding and related support.

Mr. Njoroge noted that the residents report was presented on April 30, 2018.

The report revealed massive destruchave to be registered as members of CFA tion and depletion of forest cover where for them to benefit from the forest.

“We have also partnered with various the country was losing 12 acres of forest organisations such as Mt. Kenya Trust that annually.

The task force, which was chaired by have been buying trees from the community tree nurseries and also Nature Kenya Green Belt Movement Chairperson, Marithat has helped the CFAs with beehives,” on Kamau, said the KFS board had institutionalized corruption which led to the Njoroge said Logging was among the functions that suspension of senior officials. the government banned some years back as Kenya’s Champion For Water, Environment & Sanitation Issues THE WATER WORLD SEPTEMBER, 2020 X ADVERTISEMENT

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also partnered with various organisations such as Mt. Kenya Trust that have been buying trees from the community tree nurseries and also Nature Kenya that has helped the CFAs with beehives.

We B e l i e v

The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has blamed politics on problems facing Community Forest Associations (CFA) in Meru County.

The CFA groups in Meru had complained of being barred from accessing the forest by KFS officers.

“Forest groups in Meru are hampered by politics and self-interests that has affected their operations,” CFA leader Josyline Thambu said at Meru Forest Station.

KFS however said vested political interests have made the community forest associations in Meru inefficient.

According to Thambu, the Kenya Forest Service is reconstituting all CFAs in the country to conform to the new Forest Policy which became law four years ago.

The move is aimed at ensuring the CFAs coordinate activities within the forest areas including managing finance and projects that are donor-funded.

There are 255 CFAs countrywide, the majority of whom were operating using the old law but will be reconstituted to conform to the new laws.

Meru has nine forest stations at Ma-

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24 ENVIRONMENT

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Rare birds disappear after two year visits in Garissa

By Amoto Dennis The Northern Carmine Bee – Eater (Merop –nubicus) bird has disappeared after visiting Garissa County for two years and was last sighted between December and February between Mororo Township and Garissa town, 0.26S and 39.40E. Local ornithologists led by Farhia Hajir of Pastoralist Girls Initiative (PGI) has raised the concern over the bird’s absence saying wherever the birds have been for the last twenty four months remains a mystery.

“Thoroughly attractive in plumage colour and sleek shape, the Carmine Bee- Eater is a pride of the Tana’s tiny MunyuYahya community of Tana County,” says Katelo Dadosa, an activist in Mororo.

His praise for the birds is captivating: “The Carmine fam-

ily is an epic of comparison to the graceful and beautiful girls in our poems and songs.’’

Farhia says the birds normally move in near-inseparable pairs of both sexes and forage in

Another Carmine bee eater is also absent for long.

Photo/Dennis Amoto.

the open in magnificent acrobatic display while hunting “in the airborne hotel” for flying insects.

“The birds are often attracted to forest fires, feeding on insects fleeing from the fire.’’ Farhia casually explaining that for the insects, it is a situation of flying from a frying pan into the fire.

Although the Carmine Bee Eeater love for bushfire has earned it a nickname ‘cousin of fire’ from the MunyuYahya community, the resultant habitat loss places environmental challenges on the bird’s existence.

Like the proverbial Amalize, the cat in Chinua Achebe’s novel, ’Things Falls Apart,’ whose back never touched the ground Farhia says carmine is yet to be seen landing on the ground . ‘’It is always seen on trees and power lines,’’ She says, add-

TRANS NZOIA

Supermarket chain launches environmental conservation campaign

From left is the Director, Khetia’s Super Market, Mr.Ashok Khetias, on the right, Trans-Nzoia County CEC in charge of Trade, Mr Simon Kisigei. Photo/Eunice Lanya.

By Osborne Ben Western Kenya’s leading Supermarket Chain, Khetia’s Supermarket, has launched an environmental conservation initiative that seeks to collect and recycle used plastic bottles.

The initiative dubbed “Go Green” will see customers of all its outlets in the region mentored to dispose the bottles in special bins upon which they will be collected and subjected to a recycling process.

“We have realized that most consumers don’t dispose the bottles in the required manner hence we want to change the culture by

giving them an option to do it in the right way,” said Mr. Ashok Khetia, a Director at the supermarket.

The Trans Nzoia County Director of Environment, Godfrey Wekesa said the initiative is handy since most residents resort to incorrect ways of disposing the bottles impacting negatively on the environment.

“Most residents are ignorant of how to rightful dispose the bottles, resorting to burning them not knowing that it creates a Carcinogenic effect on the environment which may lead to health hazards like cancer,” said Mr. Wekesa.

The County Director of the National Environment Management

Authority (NEMA), Mr. Valentine Lala said the programme will also be educative since consumers will be enlightened on the rightful ways to dispose bottles.

The Trans Nzoia County Executive Committee Member in charge of Trade Mr. Simon Kisigei lauded the directors of the supermarket saying the move was a perfect example of doing business responsibly.

“The process of recycling the bottles will be done at an industry which will have an economic value by creating jobs. This will hence conserve the environment and boost the economy of this region,” said Mr. Kisigei.

ing that their fear lies in the disappearing habitat which reduces the trees for perching, their aerial abode around River Tana.

Habitat loss by charcoal burning, logging and bush fires not only reduces places the birds roost but spells also danger to the riverine ecosystem and their insect food base.

Another ornithologist, Josephine Mwende faulted residents for destroying the land with fire, saying fire and an axe are inseparable from pastoralism and agriculture.

“The fire clears farms and what remains is plundered for fuel and timber for building houses, dugout canoes and with clinics few and far apart the forest is also the pharmacy,” said Mwende.

Rare recent Carmine sighting registered very few number of birds compared to earlier

White throat Carmine bee eater no longer in Garissa.

Photo/Dennis Amoto. sightings but hope was raised when unconfirmed reports said a small flock was heard clucking and brooding over the bridge in Ngamia Road and Mororo.

The sounds could mean the birds have been breeding around says Josephine Mwende.

“Since they have been away for the last 24 months I wonder whether they’ll be seen again despite the strong suspicion that the birds could be cooing and brooding around Tana riverine,” said Mwende.

Water project boon for semi-arid Mbeere

By Kamundia Muriithi More than 1000 households in the semi-arid Mbeere South region of Embu County will benefit from the Sh298 million Rupingazi-Weru irrigation water project.

The joint project that is funded by the National Government and the Embu County Government commenced in August last year. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and Embu Governor Martin Wambora presided over the launch of the phase one of the project then.

Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary Annie Nyagah visited the project construction and assured residents that it was progressing as planned.

Speaking during an inspection tour of the project at Ndunda area of Ruguru-Ngandori ward, Ms Nyagah reported that the materials used wre of high quality.

Local youth and women were also engaged in the construction works thus creating employment in the area She explained that phase one cost Sh148 million of which the national government provided Sh100 million while the Embu County Government contributed the rest.

Some 750 households in Mbeti ward will benefit with irrigation water from the project.

According to the CAS, phase two of the project kicked off in March thisd year and will cost Sh150 million.

“The project is going on well and is on the timeline. Already, 6.5km of trench has been dug while 4.8 km of pipes have

been laid,” she said.

Ms Nyagah added that the project will immensely benefit residents in the lower region of Embu County, who will get water for irrigation farming to improve their lives while promoting food and nutritional security in the area.

She was accompanied by Embu Agriculture Executive Jamleck Muturi, the project manager Jeremy Nyaga and other officials.

“This irrigation project will enhance value chain for farming under the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive (Narig) project,” said Muturi.

Farmers will access water to undertake mango and Hass Avocado, dairy, poultry and green gram farming, which are under the Narig project.

The project chairman expressed optimism that the irrigation project will be a game charger to farmers who will diversify their farming rather than relying wholly on muguka (khat).

“The Mbeere region has vast fertile lands, but water scarcity has impeded farmers from tapping that agricultural potential but we expect farmers to thrive in horticultural farming through this project,,” he said.

He added that for decades the Mbeere region has experienced frequent drought but with the completion of the project, people will continue to be food secure.

Agriculture CAS Annie Nyagah accompanied by Embu County Government officials tour Rupingazi-Weru water project construction site in Ndunda area of Embu County.

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

SPECIAL FEATURES 25

NEWS FEATURE

Lack of water is no impediment to aquaculture

By Kamundia Muriithi Fish eating is no longer alien to the Mt Kenya region considering the mushrooming of serving places in towns and villages as well as the sprouting fish farms.

The Mt Kenya region has few big water bodies such as lakes and its rivers are also far apart but that has not prevented enterprising farmers from using technology to practice aquaculture.

In Muthatari area of Embu County, Lekim Fish Farm has sunk a borehole and channeled the water to several fish ponds, and it is successfully rearing thousands of fish and fingerlings.

Started by water expert, Samson Kimani and his family in 2017, the farm specializes in breeding fingerlings for sale in addition to selling mature fish for eating.

The farm is run by two young men Adams Kipserem and Shadrack Kiprono, both holders of Diploma certificates in Fisheries and Aquatics Science from the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute.

They have three breeds in their ponds: Cat Fish, Tilapia and Goldfish (ornamental), which are all in high demand in the area.

Upon entering the farm, one’s attention is captured by two giant greenhouses but after venturing inside, you find several concrete ponds in each of the greenhouse whose humidity is higher than outside.

“Fish require high temperature for optimal growth and productivity so we try to maintain that by using these greenhouses or even water heaters,” explains Kipserem.

Lekim Fish Farm also has seven liner ponds, and four raised ponds which are supported by timber. There are also two plastic tanks that act as nurseries for the catfish while four of the raised fish ponds are reserved for the tilapia fingerlings.

Kipserem explains that they use an electric pump to get water from the borehole and channel it to the ponds using Polypropylene (PPR) pipes.

Since the water is stagnant,

When starting the farm, the owner sourced for the fingerlings from certified hatcheries and raised them to brooder stages.

According to Kipserem, catfish breeds when it is about 500g while tilapia when about 150g, a weight they attain after around four months.

“We rear the catfish fingerlings in hatcheries for two weeks then transfer them to the nursery ponds and sell them at one month,” he says.

them.

The farm also utilizes a technology to reverse sex of the fish where tilapia fingerlings are fed on hormones to make all of them males then grown for consumption.

They buy fish feed that has 40 percent protein and 30 percent carbohydrate that is manufactured in Egypt and Israel, which though expensive Kipserem says is of good quality.

That is supplemented by the algae and planktons in the fish pond.

Other supplements fish farmers can use are maggots, chicken droppings and fresh water shrimps.

According to Kipserem a 25kg bag of the fish feed costs Sh5,000, making fish feeds quite expensive.

They feed them twice in a day at 10am and 4pm but cut cost through practicing poly-culture by rearing Tilapia and Catfish in the same pond.

Since catfish is cannibal, Kipserem says they manage by ensuring tilapia is older than catfish and providing adequate feeds to the fish.

Apart from the high costs of feeds, the other challenges they face include predators such as lizards and kingfisher birds.

Adams Kipserem (left) and Shadrack Kiprono working at Marketing is good and the farm Lekim Fish Farm in Muthatari, Embu County. Photo/Kamundia sells a fingerling at Sh10, a kiloMuriithi. gram of Tilapia at Sh300 and that of catfish at Sh400.

Kipserem says they constantly For the shooters (fast grow“Fish farming is profitable in check and change when it turns ing fingerlings) they transfer them that a Tilapia can produce 500 fingreen usually after a month but be- to growth ponds and rear them to gerlings which can fetch Sh5000 or fore it becomes very turbid. maturity and sell them either for reared to maturity and sold for con“The parameters that we use cooking or rearing. sumption,” says Kipserem. in checking if water is suitable for For the small catfish which Demand for fish is high berearing fish include; its PH levels, require fresh and clean water, Kip- cause people are now keen on consalinity, alkalinity, hardiness etc,” serem says they have installed a suming white meat. he says. system that recirculates water for In the Mt Kenya region, people

have adopted a fish eating culture and are rearing fish as a source of protein and a source of livelihood,” notes Kipserem.

For those interested in fish farming, Kipserem advises that lack of a water body should not limit them.

He says they can either sink a borehole or still use the chlorinated piped water supply.

“For chlorinated water, they should first let the chlorine settle to the bottom of the container, then pump out the water leaving out only bottom decant,” he notes.

Kipserem further advises farmers to check on the topography of the farm since flooding can wash away all the fish.

He advices farmers to source fingerlings from certified hatcheries to get high quality fish.

In addition, they should check the water quality and further advises that they should get trained.

The Kenya’s Aquaculture Brief 2017: Status, Trends, Challenges and Future Outlook by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute gave the proper picture.

The fisheries and aquaculture sector contributes about 0.8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing direct employment opportunities to over 500,000 people and supporting over two million people indirectly.

Kenya’s Vision 2030, together with other policy frameworks recognises aquaculture (fish farming) as a source of food security, poverty reduction, and employment creation.

Man’s dream to plant 5million trees

By Andanje Wakhungu Kenya still lags behind other East African countries in forest cover that plays an important role in mitigating climate change.

Cases of forest encroachment and logging are to blame for the quick disappearing of the country’s forest cover, hence the need to bring everyone on board to protect the green economy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has already reviewed the country’s Vision 2030 and decreed that the 10% forest cover should instead have been achieved by the year 2022.

By that time, it is expected that the country will have attained the target of planting a total of two billion trees.

It is a tall order that calls for involvement of every Kenyan, and that is why Caleb Burudi is walking the talk of greening the country.

He has developed a five million tree nursery in Nairobi’s Karen area and another with one million seed-

“I chose to use police stations as our distribution points since they are all over the country and easy to trace and are well placed to serve other nearby institutions.”

He says institutions have the capacity to plant many trees and in the process broadcast the importance of preserving the environment through tree planting.

He has already engaged the administration in Ngong where over 20,000 trees have been issued to local residents.

Burudi has also brought on board the administration in Ngong to assist set up more tree nurseries in Kibiko and Ololuwa forests.

Burudi handing over tree seedlings to Police officers for Already 1,000 tree seedlings distribution to various parts of the country. Photo/courtesy. have been given to the National Youth Service (NYS), Starehe, Panlings in Kakamega County along the junction with various organizations gani, Huruma and Muthaiga police Kakamega-Webuye road. ,Burudi has embarked on supplying stations plus Police headquarters at Through his initiative “Police seedlings to all of the country’s po- vigilance house.

1 Million trees to arrest climate lice stations.

Burudi has also spoken to the change in Kenya”, he distributes Police officers are also expected Administrative Secretary for Public hundreds of trees per police station. to distribute them to schools and Works Wavinya Ndeti at her TransThrough his Calexo Tree Nurs- other learning institutions for plant- com House office in Nairobi. ery and Casteline Africa in con- ing.

In Karen he has engaged the Kileleshwa Ward Neighbourhood Association that will in turn distribute the seedlings to police and schools within the area.

Over 300 trees have also been issued to Macha Beach Resort in Machakos where local residents have taken up the challenge of greening their environment.

In the western region, he has donated the same to the Kakamega County Commissioner and various police stations within the area.

The Malava Catholic Church also received 1,000 seedlings that were planted during this year’s Forest Day celebrations.

He is also eyeing to commence the 10 trees per kilometre initiative on all tarmacked roads within the country.

“Covid-19 came with devastating effects but to me it gave me a lifetime commitment that will see me plant up to 50 million trees in my lifetime to assist in the stabilizing of our environment,” said Burudi.

26 ENVIRONMENT

Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

THE WATER WORLD, MAY 2021

The canine capability and a well-trained team of handlers will enhance KFS capacity to scan and detect trespassers and deter forest crimes with greater precision, accuracy, and with fewer distractions - Kamau

Trained dogs to protect forests

By Michael Opiyo The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) will soon use trained dogs to increase its capacity of forest protection and conservation.

The process of integrating canine security into pre-existing human and technological security systems will help KFS to provide greater security capabilities.

New protection measures were informed by the need for KFS to remain responsive to the ever-changing dynamics of security risks and threats facing the vast forest ecosystems in the country.

Two forest rangers; George Adero and Joel Omondi who have undergone four months training on dog handling, recently conducted a demonstration to the Chief Conservator of Forests (CFC), Mr. Julius Kamau at Karura forest station.

The dogs also underwent a four month training on obedience, criminal or attack work, tracking, obstacle and tunnel work, guardian duties and explosive or ammunition sniffing.

The CCF said the complexity and ever-changing forest crimes threatening the conservation and protection of forest resources in the country have necessitated the new strategies and interventions to complement efforts of securing forests. ‘‘The canine capability and a well-trained team of handlers will enhance KFS capacity to scan and detect trespassers and deter forest crimes with greater precision, accuracy, and with fewer distractions,’’ noted Ka-

mau.

Kamau tasked the Enforcement and Compliance (ENCOM) division to develop a strategy on areas where the canine unit will mitigate and adequately address security threats in installations and forests prone to crime and violence.

They are also expected to develop a strategic plan that would guide the KFS to deepen resource mobilization.

Some of the forests that need adequate protection are the Mau Forest in Narok County, Ngong’ Hills and Loitokitok Forest both in Kajiado County.

The community in Loitokitok formed the Community Forest Association (CFA) to protect Loitokitok Forest which is part of the Amboseli National Park ecosystem.

It was established in 2005 and since then, they have been at the forefront to ensure the forest remains green.

The group recently recieved 100 bee hives donated

by Worldwide Fund for Nature ( WWF) to empower them to conserve the Loitokitok Forest.

Since its inception, the CFA has planted over 1.6million trees in partnership with Kenya Forest Service ( KFS), Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) and Kenya Power among others.

In preparation for tree planting in the month of November and December this year, the group has procured 150,000 tree seedlings, 60 per cent of them, indigenous trees.

The seedlings will be planted before theend of the year because Kajiado County is receiving enough rainfall.

CFA Chairman, Emmanuel

County.

“This will be the best opportunity to make Loitokitok Forest and Kajiado County at large green,” said Mayiani, who is also a member of Nairobi Conservancy Community Forest Association (NCCFA) Board.

He said apart from the donation the group received, WWF will also help run awareness campaigns on forest preservation and tree planting in Kajiado County by end of this year.

The CFA is aiming to attain the 10 per cent forest cover demanded by President Uhuru Kenyatta by 2022.

The CFA will soon sign down a Memorandum of Understanding with Tourism Finance Corporation.

Environment Cabinet Secretary, Keriako Tobiko visited Loitokitok early this year to encourage the group to plant more indigenous trees.

He said the Loitokitok forest was not only a tourist attraction and a water catchment area but also sustains the Amboseli ecoTHE WATER WORLD october 2020 Kenya’s Champion For Water, Environment & Sanitationsystem County.

1 German shepherd dogs which provide maximum security. Issues in Kajiado Mayiani said farmers and schools will receive 60,000 free tree seedlings to sensitize them on the importance of tree planting and forest preservation.

Mayiani was appointed to head the Nairobi Conservatives covering Karura Forest, Ngong Road Forest, Loitokitok Forest, Mashuru, Namanga and Ngong Hills and also lead the CFA groups in Kajiado

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Kenya’s Champion For Water & Environmental Issues

SPECIAL FEATURE

TOURISM AND WILD LIFE 27

Lake Jipe Tilapia faces extinction

Dr. Paul Orina, a marine scientist with Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute says interspecies competition between the Tilapine species could have endangered Jipe tilapia.

By Amoto Dennis Environmentalists, scientist and fisherman are worried by the dwindling waters of Lake Jipe as her Tilapia that is only endemic to the lake faces extinction.

Fishermen have called on the government to de-silt the lake and stop farmers and ranchers from abstracting large amounts of water from the Njoro Kubwa canals that flow into the fresh water lake.

Fishermen at the lake on the Kenyan and Tanzanian border say the low water level and siltation has curtailed their fishing activities and business.

They fear that the continuing dropping of water levels is driving Jipe Tilapia locally known as Asilia to extinction. ‘’For long Asilia has been our good source of income but now their numbers have hugely dwindled, and so has our income,’’ lamented Steven Omondi who adds that it has increasingly become difficult to catch Asilia.

The Taita Taveta Fisheries County Director Cornel Omondi says that the number of both Asilia species (Oroochromis Jipe and Oreochromis hunteri ) had declined at an alarming rate . ‘’Something must be done to arrest the worrying situation as it is impacting negatively on the riparian communities’ economy,’’ he said.

Omondi who blamed depletion of the species to overfishing by unscrupulous fishermen using unauthorized gillnets that are

Fishermen on a canoe going about their trade at Lake Jipe that lies on the Kenyan and Tanzanian borders. Photo/Dennis Amoto.

1.5-2mm which end up to catch young fish called upon both Tanzanian and Kenyan governments and stakeholders to save the threatened species . ‘’We are unable to monitor illegal fishing at the lake due to staff shortage and lack of surveillance motorboats,’’ he observed.

The officer further blamed catchment degradation for driving the two species to near extinction.

In 2006 International Union of Conversation of Nature (IUCN) listed Asilia, the lake’s native fish as critically endangered.

The IUCN gave a 50% likeli-

hood of Asilia becoming extinct within two decades unless steps are taken to reverse the adverse ecological trend in Lake Jipe, one of the only three lakes in the coastal region.

Joining the fishermen’s cry, Omondi blamed some unscrupulous farmers of obstructing water from river Lumi which descends from Mt Kilimanjaro and other streams from North Pare Mountains, which serve as a water inlet to lake Jipe.

Being on the leeward side of the mountains River Ruvu is Lake Jipe’s outlet.

Besides the endemic fish the lake is known for water birds frequenting the reedy shores. It is also rich in mammals, wetlands plants and lake edge swamps.

These birds include; storks, egrets, pelicans, spur-winged plovers, ducks, and Egyptian geese which are common here but rare in other parts of Africa.

About 120,000 people depend on the Lake Jipe whose waters and two species of fish dwindle towards extinction by the day.

In an attempt to boost the fish stock and save the near collapsing fishing industry in 2015, Nile Ti-

lapine fingerlings were introduced on the Kenyan side of Lake Jipe.

Marine science lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Dr. Johnson Grayson noted the introduction of Nile Tilapia endemic to Lake Victoria came after heavy rains reportedly pushed Singinda Tilapia (Oreochromis Hunteri) to swim from Lumi River to lake Jipe.

The introduction of these nonendemic fish species has led some researchers and fishermen to fear it will increase competition in Lake Jipe, thus further severing population of critically endangered Jipe Tilapia.

Dr. Paul Orina, a marine scientist with Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute says interspecies competition between the Tilapine species could have endangered Jipe Tilapia. ‘’If one of the species becomes more aggressive and competing for the same, the Jipe Tilapia could be outcompeted and in few years’ time it could be gone for good ,’’ said Dr. Orina.

Peter Odhiambo a fisherman in the lake said that from April through July 2020 out of 15.7 tons fish caught in the lake , Jipe Tilapia made only 5% of the catches.

“The Johnnie come lately -Nile tilapia being the dominant catch,’’ he noted.

However, that is a drop compared to 2016, a year after the introduction of the Nile tilapia when data from the fisheries department indicated a catch of 26.3 metric tons.

Reaping from tree nursery business

By Hillary Muhalya Siyoi ward which borders Marakwet and Trans-nzoia is home to many exotic and natural trees species, some of which were planted by the colonial government from the 1930s to 1950s.

They are a reminder of the torture and very hard labour the colonial government put the local people they referred to as natives through.

Farmers are now using seeds from the trees to develop commercial tree nurseries.

The famous Cherangany hills forest has also influenced and created an atmosphere for sound establishment of both domestic and commercial agroforestry.

There are numerous places where such nurseries have been pitched in the area.

Allan Okach started his tree farming on a half-acre of land with a paltry capital base of Sh.15,000

“This job has helped me pay fees for my children and save additional funds for other use -Okach which has grown over the years to over half a million.

“I have been in Agro-forestry for three years now and would like all people of good-will to embrace this business. I invite the youth to come and learn from me,” he said.

Okach has received overwhelming support from the area Member of the County Assembly (MCA), Renson Longit.

The MCA said: “It’s my sole duty to ensure that our environment is redeemed for the benefit of our country.”

Okach started with five hundred seedlings but now he has over 40,000 and invites people in need of seedlings to visit him at the Siyoi.

He however said the job has many challenges like lack of water, lack of reliable market and lack of space to expand his farm and paying rent for the plots.

“This job has helped me pay fees for my children and save additional funds for other use,” he said.

He has five children, two of them in college courtesy of the

Allan Okach attending to some of his clients at his tree nursery in Siyoi, West Pokot. Photo/Hillary Muhalya. job. He lacks capital to expand because he is landless.

Getting good loam soils from Cherangani forest is also a chal-

lenge and he also finds it difficult to get plastic for seedling pots because their use was banned.

Tale of the bearded snake

Technology to boost coconut profits Page 15

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KENYA’S CHAMPION FOR WATER & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

University constructs dam for irrigation Page 6

For more information, visit our website: www.waterworld.co.ke MAY 2021, THE WATER WORLD

The government is seeking public private partnership to boost regional trade as a post Covid-19 pandemic strategy because Agri-business constitutes 70 percent of total business in the East Africa market -Dasai

Cross-border aflatoxin alert at Namanga

Namanga Border Customs and Border Control Manager, Sally Serem (R) guides Principal Secretary, State Department for East African Community, Kevit Desai (second left) and his entourage at the one-stop border.

By Abdi Hussein husseinabdi527@gmail.com

T

he Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development (EAC) has engaged manufacturers and other regional trade stakeholders to stop the entry of aflatoxin-infected cereals into the country.

Among the measures to be taken include streamlining surveillance at the Namanga One-Stop Border Point (OSBP) to streamline cereals importation within the East Africa market.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, regional trade has been facing a myriad challenges including trade in aflatoxin infected cereals leading to traders incurring colossal losses estimated to be between USD 39 billion and USD 70 billion in the last six months.

To address the teething challenges, the ministry convened a stakeholders meeting that brought together local manufacturers, custom officials, East African Business Council (EABC) transporters, traders and local security officers at Namanga.

The stakeholders meeting was prompted by complaints raised by industrialists and other private sector players that some food products imported into the country were not safe.

They claimed the food especially cereals was contaminated with aflatoxin and carcinogenic

substances, endangering lives and making the private sector incur huge losses.

During the meeting, Principal Secretary, State Department for East African Community, Kevit Desai emphasized the need for seamless safe trade in the region.

He said the region must embrace value addition in free aflatoxin agriculture produce, food and beverages to tap into the global market.

“The government is seeking public-private partnership to boost regional trade as a post Covid-19 pandemic strategy because Agri business constitutes 70 percent of total business in the East African market,” said Dasai He asked local manufactures to embrace farm produce value addition to reap more benefits in global market.

The government will now upgrade the current laboratory at border entry into a micro toxin lab to increase efficiency in detecting aflatoxin before cereals are imported into the country.

“We have identified gaps in aflatoxin surveillance, prevention and control and we have come up with mitigation mechanisms to solve the problem at our entry points. We want to improve food and safety, investment and ensure safety of trade and market of agricultural products,” he added According to Customs Department data, about 170 trucks use the Namanga border entry daily with

130 trucks importing cargo into the country from Tanzania compared to 40 trucks from Kenya to Tanzania.

That translates to USD 170 million of trade transacted daily across the Namanga border entry point with Tanzania, which enjoys USD 130 million of business trade compared to Kenya’s USD 40 million daily.

Kenya mostly imports farm produce including onions, tomatoes and cereals in large volumes.

A spot check indicates normalcy is returning at border entry with Covid 19 protocols observed and the tourism sector is also peaking with visitors streaming in at border entry.

Kenyan authorities have been on high alert not to allow aflatoxin-affected cereals into the country from neighbouring countries.

Dozen trucks are said to have been turned away at the border in the last six months especially when a stand-off was witnessed between Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities over Covid 19 protocols.

Director, Kenya Manufacturers Association, Bimal Kantaria said East African trade is significant to Kenya’s economic growth considering Kenya imports large volumes of raw materials from Tanzania.

“Most local manufacturers have been importing raw materials from Tanzania signifying the importance of regional trade. It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure high quality imports in raw materials and farm produce,” said Kantaria Director, East African Business Council (EABC), Peter Mathuki said Kenya’s export volumes have reduced significantly and called for public-private partnership to revive the regional trade.

He urged the government to offer stimulus packages to boost Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Agri business as a post-Covid 19 pandemic contingency plan.

Mathuki said Kenya’s exports to Tanzania has nose-dived from USD 336 million in 2019 to USD 160 million in 2020.

Imports volumes from Tanzania have also reduced from USD 270 million to USD 130 million in the same period.

The East African Business tics sector with a cashflow cut of 75 Council data shows that since percent.

March 2020, trade cashflow has The manufacturing and condecreased significantly within EAC struction sectors have also not been market. spared suffering 46 percent and 40 Tourism bears the major brunt percent cuts respectively. of 92ADVERTISEMENT percent followed by the logis-

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