Walking around Nairobi estates, one can’t help but notice all the buildings coming up. The place of cool waters is fast becoming a concrete jungle.
The other day a taxi driver was telling me of the good old days when he was young and he and his friends would go to play in the woods in the city. Now all those trees have been cut down to make way for flats.
There’s no denying we need the flats as the population grows. But can we at least replace some of the trees we are cutting down? I’ve noticed the trend is to put up a building and then pave all the land surrounding it with cabro.
How about the government come up with a law that says every compound must have a tree or two?
Buildings do not purify the air, trees do. We need trees all the more as the number of vehicles on our roads also increases. Imagine breathing in all that exhaust fumes and no tree in sight to purify the air.
One can actually feel the difference when strolling in an area with no trees vis-a-vis an area with trees. Places with trees are cooler and peaceful even.
Then there’s the fact that the capital city has received little rainfall this year. Nairobi dwellers should count themselves lucky that they do not grow their own food, otherwise the situation would have been dire indeed.
Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company is unreliable and water is rationed in most parts of the city. So landlords are increasingly turning to boreholes to supplement the little water from NCWSC.
But the boreholes are running dry and I shudder to think what the situation will be like by December if it doesn’t rain.
Clearly, we need trees and we need to be deliberate about it. Let’s make everyone putting up a building in Nairobi include a tree or two in their project plan.
