- Commissioner says region’s low forest cover and environmental degradation along the lake have significantly contributed to the dwindling fish stocks in the lake.
- Komora said without sufficient forest cover, the fish ecosystem cannot obtain enough food, forcing the fish to migrate.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
Residents of Siaya county have been encouraged to participate in environmental conservation and tree planting initiatives to counteract the decreasing fish population in Lake Victoria.
During the World Environment Day celebration in Bondo subcounty on Wednesday, Siaya County Commissioner Norbert Komora said the region’s low forest cover and environmental degradation along the lake have significantly contributed to the dwindling fish stocks in the lake.
Komora said without sufficient forest cover, the fish ecosystem cannot obtain enough food, forcing the fish to migrate and breed in waters outside Kenyan borders where the ecosystems are nutrient-rich.
“Fishermen from this region have to venture far into foreign waters to fish because the ecosystem on our side of the lake can no longer support fish breeding. This has led to frequent conflicts with neighbouring countries and untold suffering for our fishermen,” Komora said.
The County Commissioner said the perennial arrest of Kenyan fishermen in Lake Victoria could be avoided if residents took the initiative to improve the ecosystem on the Kenyan side of the lake by planting trees and conserving the environment.
“If we plant trees, which contribute to food in the lake and also prevent soil erosion, our fishermen will not have to go into foreign waters for fish since the fish will breed closer to home,” he added.
Komora said the tree cover in Siaya is currently at 5.4 per cent of the targeted 14.9 million trees by 2032.
He expressed confidence that both the 15 billion national and 14.9 million Siaya tree cover targets are achievable through concerted efforts by multiple stakeholders.
However, the County Commission urged the county forest conservator to improve the documentation of the trees planted in Siaya.
He encouraged the chiefs and their assistants to familiarise themselves with the “Jaza Miti App” to adequately and timely report on trees planted in the region to contribute to the national target.
“I believe we have done a lot of tree planting in Siaya, but the documentation is letting us down. I urge all the chiefs and other stakeholders to report the number of trees planted through the Jaza Miti App,” Komora said.
Siaya County Forest Conservator William Ojijo said the region has only two gazetted hilltops, which are Got Ramogi and Got Abiero, spanning over 600 hectares.
Ojijo said the remaining 13 hilltops, including community lands, are almost bare and need afforestation to combat the effects of climate change.
The Forest Conservator added that his office is collaborating with the county government and other stakeholders to ensure afforestation is undertaken in both the gazetted and non-gazetted hilltops in the county to improve forest cover.
The event, organised by the Sustainable Enterprise for Livelihood Development (SELD) initiative, saw the establishment of a one-acre food forest that will also produce 300 thousand fruit tree seedlings at the Bondo Deputy County Commissioner’s compound.
According to SELD executive director Collins Owade, the initiative will further establish one-acre food forests in each village in the county to act as demonstration sites, which will be used to produce 120,000 seedlings.
Owade disclosed that by leveraging 4K clubs in schools, 10 seedlings will be given to each child each month to plant and nurture as a way of boosting forest cover in Siaya county.