WETLANDS: THE SLOWLY DISAPPEARING WEALTHLANDS

By Linda Ogwell

Although Wetlands were the first ecosystems to receive international attention through the Ramsar Convention of 1971, a convention to which Kenya is party to, there is no official information on the types, status or location of any in Kenya, making these resource vulnerable to the threats of pollution, conversion into agricultural and settlement areas and other forms of degradation.

This lack of information has perhaps been a contributing factor to the fact that there is very little knowledge about the importance of wetland and many people see them as smelly swamps that harbor frogs, as clearly illustrated by a politician in a neighbouring country whom when accused of reclaiming one retorted “I am not a frog to live in a wasteland”

“Wastelands” as they are commonly referred to occupy about 3-6% of Kenya’s surface area, this is according to the final draft of the 2005 Sessional paper on National Wetlands Conservation and Management. Some of these include lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Magadi, Elmentaita, and Baringo,; the edges of Lake Victoria , swamps like Lorian, Saiwa, Yala, Shompole swamps; plains like Kano plains and Tana Delta. Coastal wetlands include the mangroves swamps, sandy beaches, sea grass beds and coral reefs.

But what is a wetland? According to the Convention on wetlands (Ramsar 1971) to which Kenya is a party to, “wetlands are areas of land that are permanently or occasionally water logged with fresh, saline, brackish or marine waters including both natural and man made areas that support characteristic biota” This is a general definition that includes swamps and marshes, bogs, shallow lakes, ex-bow lakes, river meanders and floodplains as well as lakeshores and land shores.

In Kenya these rich ecosystems continue to support many communities which depend on them for fishing, hunting, cultivation, grazing and as sources of water and materials for building. Other very important functions of wetlands include flood control, erosion control, water transport, toxicant retention (water purification) and carbon storage which prevents excessive amounts of atmospheric carbon thereby reducing global warming.

Wetlands are also a source of hydropower e.g in Tana River, Kerio River and Sondu Miriu. They are important areas for scientific research, research that are used to monitor global environmental trends. We cannot dispute that they are have a deep-seated Religious and cultural significance.

Some of the major threats faced by wetlands include drainage and reclamation for human settlement and agricultural development. Being regarded as “wastelands” which harbour disease vectors like Malaria has lead to massive drainage of many of these wetlands. Increase human population has lead to a grater demand for land leading to reclamation of these ecosystems which in turn lead to loss in biodiversity.

Another major problem has been pollution from agricultural and industrial waste discharge. Lack of a comprehensive monitoring systems and a non-existent holistic institutional framework has greatly affected wetland management in the country. Currently different aspects of conservational and, management are handled by different agencies e.g KWL, East Africa Wildlife Society among others.

Poverty is another key contributor to wetland degradation. Most riparian communities engage in destructive farming practices, draining of wetlands and cutting of trees to make charcoal. Poverty and wetland degradation are intertwined and any step at conservation must address poverty reduction too.

A lot can be done to rescue our wetlands. Our neighbour, Uganda has already made big strides in wetlands conservation and in Nov 2005, it went on record as the first African country to host the 9^th conference of the parties to the Ramsar Convention whose theme was "Wetlands and water: supporting life, sustaining livelihoods.”

There is need for the government to come up with a national policy into the conservation and management of wetlands. This national policy should encompass cooperation at national, regional and international levels.

There should also be a serious public awareness promotion. This should include public participation more so of communities that are depended on wetlands, the private sectors and NGOs.

World wide, artificial wetlands have gained prominence as alternative technologies in wastewater treatment, food production and other uses. According to environmentalists, in Kenya use of these has been minimal despite their many benefits. It is time the government took a step towards this direction.

The solution to wetland management and conservation lies with the community. Complete public participation into these processes and proper public awareness will make them realize that these ecosystems are not “wasteland” but “wealthlands”.

lindablog:A new Era for journalists

I think ICT knowledge is important for any journalist or communicator. For you to be armed well in your trade which involves giving information, it is important to have access to information. As an environmental journalist, I have and still continues to benefit greatly from my little ICT knowledge.Journalists are change agents, but they must have the will and hunger for change before they can initiate or speed up the process of change.Of course we are faced with a lot of challenges in terms of resource and capital, being a continent that is battling to feed its own, and to many ICTs might look like a dream. But, we need to strive and make it a reality.

EnviComm Blog

A dying Lake Victoria: East Africa’s biggest crisis

Deep inside Uganda in a district called Kalangala, parts of Lake Victoria are no more. These parts have dried to the extent that you can walk on the lake. Moving on to Kenya, fishermen at Sango Rota are also worries that the lake is slowly turning into dry land. These concerns about the lake are widespread across the region and gravity of the situation is better summarized by the words of the Tanzanian regional commissioner for Mwanza, Mr Daniel Ole Njoolayi, who clearly states: "Without the lake, there will be no East Africa. We need to investigate what is happening to our lake."

Lake Victoria has had a volatile and erratic past. Thirteen years of measurements taken by satellite radar altimeters combined with historical ground measurements reveal that in the 105-year history of accurate measurements on the lake, water levels have fluctuated widely.

The year 1902, saw the levels dropping to their lowest ever of less than 10 metres. But the heavy rains rejuvenated the lake in 1961 and 1962, which raised these levels up by 2 meters.

From that time, levels above the gauge in Jinja, Uganda, stayed above 11.9 meters (about 1,134 meters above sea level) until December 2005 when they dropped to alarmingly low levels and were not expected to stop dropping until the April rains arrived. But even with these rains, experts still say that for the levels to rise to the desired levels, heavy rainfall that will cause flooding is needed.

This large water mass located at the heart of East Africa is considered one of the most important shared resources in the Eastern Africa region. As a shared resource, it is a unifying factor for these countries.

Beyond this symbolic importance, the lake is of great socio-economic potential covering an area of 69,000sq km making it the second largest fresh water lake in the world not to mention that it is the source of the Nile.

The, Lake Victoria catchment area covers an area of approximately 193,000sq covering Kenya Uganda, Tanzania and parts of Rwanda and Burundi, an area described as Lake Victoria Basin. Meaning that it is roughly the size of an African country with a population of over 30 million people (i.e. 30% of the total population of three countries, i.e. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and a gross economic product of about US $ 5 billion!

Economically, the lake is a resource we cannot afford to let dry. It still has untapped potential in terms of transport and communication, agriculture, water and energy, trade and industry and if the whole basin is considered, this potential further covers the varied natural resources in wildlife, forestry and minerals only to mention a few.

Specifically put, 80% of the populations in the lake basin are engaged in agricultural production, majority of them being small scale farmers producing crops like maize and cash crops like tea, cotton and coffee.

The fish resource of the lake is a source of sustenance either directly or indirectly for about 3 million people who are engaged in subsistence and commercial farming. The lake harbours over 500 fish species and commercial fish farming earns the region an annual income of about 300-400 million USD.

Other importances include transport where it is the major inland transport linkage with the other East Africa Community partner states. It also serves the major source of water for domestic, industrial and commercial use in these countries and a major reservoir for hydroelectric generation.

This lake also provides hydroelectricity that is used to serve countries surrounding it. The lowering of the levels therefore saw two of these countries, Uganda and Tanzania plunged in darkness in a bid to ration electricity. This load shedding has been and still is a big setback to the economies of these countries.

But the most obvious importance of the lake is that it is rich in biodiversity and acts as a major climate modulator in the region.

Other than its economic importance, lake Victoria being the source of river Nile is also of great concern among countries around the Nile basin who later formed the Nile Basin Initiative, i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, Eritrea, Egypt.

This initiative was formed to resolve the water conflicts as a result of agreements made during the colonial period that did not permit equitable use of the shared water resource. The main conflict revolving around water, water whose source is L. Victoria. It is important to note that a revised agreement to ensure equitable use this was recently signed by member states of the Nile Basin Initiative.

So, not only does L. Victoria’s existence (or lack of) affect the three countries that harbors it but also other countries around it.

Such is the importance of this lake that what experts considered as an ordinary occurrence has grown so big, big enough to spark an international environmental crisis. Africa’s largest lake is shrinking at a very high pace.

The World Bank is equally concerned with the decrease in the water levels of this lake. According to a report released in January 2006, it attributes the falling water levels to the 3-year drought period and over abstraction of water for power generation.

As much as we love to blame the hot temperatures and lack of rain for the drying of the lake, man and his activities is the reason to the drop of water levels. Research has shown that high deforestation rates of forests surrounding the lake, poor agricultural practices and drainage of critical wetlands have contributed greatly to this phenomenon.

The rate at which forests around the lake are disappearing is alarming. These forests play the role of carbon sink and also of catchment hence determining the rainfall patterns of the area surrounding the lake. When they are destroyed, the most likely result is global warming leading to hot temperatures around the lake with no or little rainfall hence the drying of the lake.

This lack often rain coupled with the heavy draining of this water body by the countries surrounding it to serve their economic growth has contributed greatly to its slow but sure demise.

East Africa is in the process of losing the lake before realizing its full potential. It is time these countries took serious measure to combat the environmental threats posed to this lake. It is an irony that though the lakes potential is vast, investments in it and its basin by both local and international entrepreneurs are low and the people living along the basins are greatly affected by poverty.

Sustainable measures need to be taken to ensure that this important resource does not dry out. The formation of regional bodies like the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) must be applauded. But this is not enough. Sensitization at the grass root level must also happen.

The locals living around this lake must be educated and informed on sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of interacting with the lake. They must be part and parcel of any decision made in regard to the lake.

Countries with riparian rights of this lake also need to work together in endeavors to protect the lake. No single country can go at it alone. Unity and understanding will strengthen the initiatives and make them more effective.

By using the lake sustainable, the Eastern African region has the potential of an economic growth that will be the envy of many. If not for anything, then for this reason, let us not let go of the lake, our lives depend on it.

What on earth are we doing to our women?

By Linda Ogwell

Since time immemorial, the woman has had an intimate relationship with the environment, and this cannot be disputed. This connection is even emphasized in the third world countries where women’s gender roles; reproductive roles are mainly centered on their interaction with the environment though different activities, which include food production and health care among others.

This special relationship between the woman and the environment has made her very vulnerable to the after effects of environmental degradation. In other words, the more we degrade our environment through pollution, deforestation and other unfriendly environmental practices, the heavier the woman’s burden and hence the worse effect on her health.

The woman’s health is key because she is the link to the future. Without her there is no future, and hence serious measures should be taken to improve her health. It is because of this importance that the ancient civilizations considered the woman sacred.

But the woman’s reproduction role is under serious threat. This threat is as a result of the damage man is causing to the environment. There is definitely a connection between the environment and man’s health.

According to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) dubbed Preventing Disease Through healthy environments, the environment has a profound influence on people’s health and preventing environmental risk could save more than four million lives a year.

But to be more specific, women’s health problems related to the environment are varied and are caused by different environmental problems. For instance, inhaling of lead substances from petroleum fumes can cause cancer among women and birth defects among pregnant ones.

Women in their early pregnant stages also stand high chances of having miscarriages when they inhale fumes from leaded fuels. Health experts also categorize leaded petrol as a possible cause of various chronic disorders, usually associated with ageing, such as hypertension and cognitive decline. So the more we use leaded petrol, the more at risk the women’s risk is.

Another activity that is affects the health of many women is deforestation. A typical African woman is a rural woman who depends on forests for firewood and its medicinal value. Destruction if this forests has several effects in the woman, which include walking long distances in search of firewood making them physically weak and vulnerable to diseases.

Women are also the main producers of food from their subsistence agricultural practices. Bad environmental practices affect them through changed weather patterns and soil degradation that in turn leads to less production of food and hence diminished family and self-health.

With this realization, it is therefore important to include the women in any environmental conservation measures. By doing this now not only will we be in a position to avert the death of millions of people.

So next time you are told to conserve your environment, please do so because the future depends on it.