Kenyans asked to replace mangrove destroyed by state projects

Major government projects at the Coast are destroying mangrove trees and hurting fishing activities, according to a conservation lobby.

Mombasa Kilindini Community Forest Association (Mockifa) on Sunday said though the projects will help open up the area to trade, the environment is being destroyed.

“We welcome these projects because they are meant to make our lives better. But then again, the mangrove trees are being destroyed with the construction of bridges and roads,” Mockifa treasurer John Nyamwaya.

Kenya Trade Agency CEO Amos Wangora said on Saturday since it is impossible to stop the government from doing projects, Kenyans have to plant more trees, especially mangroves.

He spoke after planting 1,100 mangrove trees at Mkupe along the Port Reitz creek.

“You cannot do business in a bad environment. It is our duty as Kenyans to conserve our environment to ensure continuity of business and life,” Wangora said.

Regional coordinator John Elungata said the Coast has over 455 government projects, the most in any region.

Nyamwaya said the ongoing Dongo Kundu and other projects in Mombasa have so far destroyed about 88 acres of mangroves.

“These need to be replaced,” he said.

He said unknown to many, Mombasa has forests that are unseen along creeks.

“The more the forests are destroyed, the more the fish become scarce and the more fishermen are affected,” Nyamwaya said

Most fish use the mangrove trees as their breeding places and destroying them means destroying their breeding habitats.

Chindoro Mwingo, the Mkupe Beach Management Unit chairman, said before the projects came, fishermen used to catch an average of 30 kilos of prawns per trip.

Today, they only catch about three kilos. Prawns go for about Sh700 per kilo.

“Fish are like tourists. When they go somewhere, they like peace, quiet and tranquillity. When there are any disturbances, they run away,” the fisherman said.

Edited by A.N