• Wetlands are fast disappearing as land grabbed for farming and construction.
• Farmers begging the government to help plant bamboo and vetiver grass to control erosion and keep soil from silting up wetlands.
County governments have been told not to allow rapid urbanisation and industrialisation witnessed around the country to encroach on the few remaining wetlands.
The Ramsar Convention of 1971 defines wetlands as areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary.
They are static or flowing, fresh or brackish. They include of marine water not deeper than six metres at low tide.
Wetlands help to reduce sediment in surface water bodies, recharge groundwater and are home to a wide range of biodiversity.
Rosalind Nkirote from African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change said communities in counties like Busia, Murang'a, Kilifi and Kiambu have reported dwindling and polluted wetlands.
She said this is in a statement to mark World Wetlands Day on February 2. Loss of wetlands is largely due to grabbing empty spaces and turning them into farmlands.
“This is dangerous and exposes the country to greater impacts in damages to property and infrastructure in the event of floods. Flooding intensity has risen as a result of climate change," Nkirote said. She is a member of the executive advisers of the ACCRCC board.
Nkirote said as things stand now, communities in villages are exposed to the loss of ecosystem services from wetlands.
She said communities in Busia county who live around the Sio wetland catchment are calling to have the wetland surrounded by bamboo and vetiver grass to reduce soil erosion. The soil is currently flowing into the ponds.
Barasa Musungu, whose farm is nears River Sio in Mundika Busia said the river is fast reducing. He called for urgent action to de-silt the river before it disappears.
Image: Agatha Ngotho
“People have encroached on the wetland, 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 deplore 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.
Nkirote urged county governments to devise land use plans, including human population, settlement, livelihoods, and environmental conservation to improve management of wetlands.
She said wetlands function as natural sponges that trap and slowly release surface water. Without them, Kenyans will keep seeing flooded homes and spend 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 risks neighbours’ homes to suffer from flooding when it rains,” she said.
UNEP says nearly 90 percent 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 benefits.
Wetlands are a major source of rural productivity by providing fisheries, wet ground for farming and pasture that is vital during dry seasons.
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, UNEP says.
Nkirote explained that most of Kenya's wetlands are rich in ecological, social and economic benefits in biodiversity, especially for housing birds.
“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,” Nkirote said.
She said ACCRCC is using this year’s World Wetlands Day, to work with communities living near wetlands and raise awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and the planet.
(Edited by V.Graham)