Stakeholders call for restoration, conservation of wetlands in Turkana

Turkana County government in collaboration with Wetlands International and Friends of Lake Turkana are sensitising the public on the importance of restoring and conserving wetlands.

They decried the ongoing destruction of wetlands through human activities such as illegal farming and construction, which have led to the extinction of wildlife and the pollution of rivers and the lake. 

The stakeholders planted trees, cleaned the beach in Lake Turkana and distributed more than 2,000 tree seedlings to Kalokol residents in bid to restore and conserve the wetlands.

Turkana County Executive for Tourism, Culture, Natural Resources and Climate Change Iris Mariao said the essence of collaboration is to raise awareness about the importance of conserving and restoring wetlands.

He said the county has Lake Turkana, the largest wetland, Lotekipi aquifer, Napuu and the river basins including rivers Kerio and Turkwel.

Mariao said Lake Turkana is the largest permanent desert lake in the world and a crucial resource for the local communities. 

He encouraged all residents to take action to conserve the lake, adding that the County government is exploring collaboration efforts to secure funding and support for conservation.

“The wetlands support critical ecosystems and biodiversity and are crucial to agriculture and fisheries. There is an urgency to raise global awareness on the rapid loss of wetlands and encourage actions to conserve these vital ecosystems," Mariao said.

“Lake Turkana is the backbone of the economy of this county, all other livelihoods do fail when drought bites. The pastoralism economy and irrigation farming goes down but the lake still stands and people are still able to benefit from Lake,” he said.  

Titus Wamae, Regional Policy and Advocacy Officer of Wetlands International, said wetlands are very important in supporting households for food, biodiversity, infrastructure and mitigation of climate change.

“The Lake Turkana and other wetlands are very important, we also have other wetlands but we don’t know the number soon we are going to establish how many we have in Turkana,” he said.

Wamae said in bid to restore and conserve the wetlands, they have identified a tree planting nursery in Kalokol and they will drill a borehole to address the water shortage and sustain tree seedlings.

Wetlands International project officer Paul Ekwar said Lake Turkana and other wetlands are very important for the ecosystem, supporting livelihoods and preserving life for both wildlife and humans.

Friends of Lake Turkana director Ikal Angelei who is also an environmental activist said there's a need to conserve Lake Turkana which is a critical wetland that supports the ecosystem, livelihoods and national heritage.

“If we really want to protect the wetlands, we need the inclusivity of the local community so that they own it. About 20 per cent of the population who use the lake are fisher folks and they have to be on the frontline to protect the Lake,” Ikal said.

She decried the dumping of plastic bottles in Lake Turkana which she said are hazardous to the wetlands.

She noted that for years, Kalokol has faced water problems and that encourages the fisher folks, community and traders to come with plastic bottles and dump them to the Lake.

“If we don’t ensure the Kalokol residents get access to water they will continue to use plastic bottles and dump them into the lake, and because of the hazardous impact of the plastic wastes it will continue to ruin the lake and wetlands,” she said.

-Edited by SKanyara