• Where there are legal disputes, involving wetlands, farmers cultivate the land, destroying its ecological value. Government pledges rehabilitation.
• Fences torn down, wild dogs kill Situnga antelope, other animals.
Image: IUCN
The national government has pledged to stop encroachment on Nandi wetlands, saying plans are underway to rehabilitate destroyed parts of the ecosystem.
National Environmental Complaints Committee chairman Lumumba Nyaberi said Nandi county has excellent wetlands, making it an important region for conservation.
Nyaberi said the NECC has partnered with the Ministry of Environment, Nema, KFS, and other departments and ministries to provide laws for enforcement and find ways to end environmental degradation.
He spoke during the environmental stakeholders meeting at county headquarters
“We need to take care of our environment and leave it a better place than we found it for posterity so each of us can enjoy the environment," he said.
NECC has facilitated the planting of more than 50,000 trees around the county,” Nyaberi said.
He said they have received complaints over environmental degradation, saying Nandi used to receive rainfall for almost three quarters of the year but it has become unpredictable due to climate change.
“The water levels have decreased at an alarming rate. For instance, one could get borehole water at 50 feet but now we need the aid of drilling rigs, which is costly,” he noted
Speaking at the same function, Nandi county environment director Simon Tonui said the county has two major wetlands, Kibirong and King’walwhere a lot of encroachment has been taking place.
Tonui said King’wal has ownership claims and so people are farming there, degrading the wetland.
The wetland stretches from Moi University to the South Nandi Forest is home to a rare Sitatunga antelope. In the year 2000 to 2010 Nandi had about 300 Sitatungas.
Nowadays they are endangered because dogs are freely marauding around the wetland attacking and killing the animals because of poor fencing,” Tonui said.
He added a lot of sand harvesting in the rivers and cattle grazing in the swamps due to poor fencing has led to degradation and water pollution.
NECC has partnered with the county government to ensure rehabilitation and expansion of key tree planting projects to save the wetlands.
Laws against enrichment and farming in wetlands at will be enforced, he said
They agreed to promote income-generating activities like bee keeping around the wetlands so people don't cultivate the land.
(Edited by V. Graham)