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By Reporter
The County Governments must not allow rapid urbanization and industrialization being witnessed around the country to infringe on the few remaining wetlands, the African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change (ACCRCC) and its partners in Kenyan have urged.
From Busia, Muranga, Kilifi and Kiambu Counties, communities and partners report of dwindling and polluted wetlands due in part to grabbing of empty spaces, and conversion into farmlands.
“This is dangerous and exposes the country to the dangers of greater impacts in damages to property and infrastructure in event of floods, whose intensity has risen as a result of climate change,” said Dr Rosalid Nkirote, a member of the executive advisors of the ACCRCC Board.
According to Dr Nkirote, as things stand now, communities in the villages are exposed to the loss of ecosystem services derived from wetlands.
Communities in Busia County who live around the Sio wetland catchment are calling for support to have the wetland surrounded by bamboo and vetiver grass to reduce soil erosion, which is currently flowing into the ponds.
Barasa Musungu, whose farm nears River Sio in Mundika Busia said, the river is fast reducing, calling for urgent action to de-silt the river before it disappears.
“People have encroached on the wertland, converting it into farmlands. This is affecting the smooth flow of the river and exposes nearby homesteads to flooding,” he said.
In Murang’a County, communities decry the unplanned settlements and expansion of farming areas to the shrinking wetlands.
Kiambu’s first county government had threatened to demolish houses constructed on wetlands and near riverbanks in the townships of Ruaka, Ndenderu and Kabete.
Dr Nkirote urged the County governments to devise land use plans, including human population, settlement and livelihoods, and environmental conservation to improve on the governance of the wetlands.
She said wetlands function as natural sponges that trap and slowly release surface water and without them; Kenyans will not stop seeing flooded homes and undergo the expenses of millions of shillings to rebuild damaged homes, or payout insurance.
“Trees, root mats and other wetland vegetation slow the speed of flood waters and distribute them more slowly over the floodplain. When someone builds homes around the wetlands, it is risking neighbours’ home to suffer from flooding when it rains,” she said.
The Ramsar Convention of 1971 defines wetlands as areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, including areas of marine water, depth at which low tide does not exceed six meters.
Wetlands areas tend to have soil moisture higher than the surrounding uplands.
They help to reduce sediment loads in surface water bodies, recharge ground water and are home to a wide range of biodiversity.
According to the UNEP, nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests.
Yet, wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies, and more.
Wetlands are a major source of rural productivity by providing fisheries, wet ground for farming and pasture that is vital during dry seasons, preventing resource conflicts.
They are one of the world’s most important environmental assets, containing a disproportionately high number of plants and animal species compared to other ecosystems in the world.
Most of Kenya’s wetlands are rich in offering ecological, social and economic benefits in biodiversity especially for housing birds that forms an important tourist attraction in the country.
But although wetlands are being managed through multi-sectoral laws and policies, they have continued to be degraded.
“It is urgent that we raise national consciousness about wetlands to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them,” said Dr Nkirote.
The African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change is using this year’s World Wetlands Day, celebrated annually on 2 February to work with communities living near wetlands and raise awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and planet.
This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar and it is ideal time to increase people’s understanding of these critically important ecosystems.
