By Mary Mwendwa.
A group of wetlands experts and youth have raised an alarm over the rate at which wetlands are disappearing in Kenya.
During a heated World Wetlands panel discussion at National Museums of Kenya, it was noted with a lot of concern that more than 64% of wetlands are now gone.
Professor Nathan Gichuki, senior lecturer in Biology of Conservation at the school of Biological Sciences, and a specialist in wetlands ecology , National Museums of Kenya ,Opened the discussion by pointing out the various important roles wetlands offer to the people and other living creatures. ”Wetlands have important ecosystem roles they play which are very important for livelihoods. They are resource basins which we depend on, they provide goods in terms of Eco- Tourism, help in regulating climate and detoxifying pollutants. We must understand why we need to conserve wetlands, otherwise if we lose focus then our target is lost.Youth consist of a large population and therefore they need to be targeted to have a holistic approach in this matter.”He advised.
Prof.Gichuki further said that issues of wetlands are strongly tied to county governments.”Counties have a role of planning and managing wetlands. Some of the wetlands that have fragmented connectivity which need counties to engage are Ewaso Nyiro and Tana Delta.”
He similarly noted challenges that Kenyan wetlands face;”We need a national audit of all wetland resources and map out which ones need priority.We also need to look for wetlands within basins and we have a general attitude where people assume when a wetland is left on its own it is protected.”
Prof.Gichuki concluded by saying, inadequate scientific understanding of wetlands, uncertainity of ecological responses to management actions and lack of enough technology were some of the challenges facing wetland protection in Kenya.
Dr.Geoffrey Mwachala, Director of Research and Collections , National Museums of Kenya , called for wise use of principles on wetland management. He also noted the need to bring youth on board on this critical matter of wetlands.”We have a role to play in wetland management because they help in protecting our coastal lines and surge carbon dioxide among other important roles they play. As we look forward to celebrating World Wetlands Day (WWD) on 2nd of February, our message will be to help people understand the role they play in wetland conservation.’’
Paul Kele , Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and Rural Development Authority (MENR &RDA ) updated the forum on wetland policy which is ready and will be launched soon.”We have never had a policy on wetland sin this county and now we can happily report that we have one on the table now.We believe that this framework will help in protection of the many threatened Kenyan wetlands.
Isaak Elmi, National Environment Management Authority ,(NEMA),said Nema as a regulatory and coordinating agency in management of wetlands in Kenya has a big role to play.”Many wetlands are encroached and without a regulatory body like Nema we may lose them completely.”
Students from higher learning institutions and conservation projects representatives poured their outcry for the restoration of the many wetlands that are under threat in Kenya. A student from Kenyatta university challenged the discussants about the Nairobi Dam which is under threat because of the human settlement around the wetland.”How do we restore Nairobi Dam with the huge population of people around it, where do we resettle the people so that Nairobi Dam regains it’s glory?” He asked.
Ramsar Convention, intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources, has recognized six Kenyan wetlands as Ramsar sites.Lake Baringo, Bogoria, Elementaita, Naivasha, Nakuru and Tana Delta .These wetlands are also, Important Bird Areas (IBA).
This year’s theme for WWD , The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2016 is Wetlands for our future: sustainable livelihoods, will be celebrated at Tionosoyiet wetlands in Kericho County on 2nd February 2016.
