Nyandarua deserves compensation for the exploitation of its natural resources where the locals do not benefit, Governor Francis Kimemia has said.
He said it is unfair for the county populace to continue protecting and preserving forests and water catchment areas like the Aberdares and Lake Ol Bolo Osat ecosystems yet they reap no benefits from their efforts.
Kimemia said water from Sasumua dam in Kinangop and Konoike dam at Kipipiri which originates from the Aberdares is consumed in Nairobi and Rift Valley while the locals do not have clean water for domestic use.
The water from Lake Ol Bolo Osat, which main catchment is the Aberdare ranges, is consumed in Laikipia and North Eastern.
The locals also do not benefit from the sale of timber harvested from Nyandarua which prides itself of 22 per cent forest cover, which is above the recommended national average of 10 per cent, Kimemia said.
The county chief spoke on Friday at JM Kariuki Memorial Hospital compound where he led a team of county officials and Dedan Kimathi Foundation to plant over 1,000 trees to mark the World Environmental Day.
Kimemia said soon, Nyandarua will hold discussions with the national government and Nairobi county to agree on what Nyandarua should get for Sasumua water. Such discussions will later be held with other counties that consume water from the county.
He said it is unfair, for instance, that the residents of Njabini - where Sasumua dam is - do not have water. There are no Community Social Responsibility undertaken by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company either in schools, road maintenance or elsewhere, and polluter pay principle is not observed, he said.
Kimemia warned that exploitation of natural resources in Nyandarua has continually endangered sustenance of the county’s rich biodiversity. He said only sustainable management of natural resources and tackling effects of climate change will ensure continued benefits for better livelihoods.
He noted that diversification of on-farm sources of livelihoods has direct benefits in protection and conservation of biodiversity.
His administration, he said, has supported successful piloting of a unique project on an inventory of trees on farms for the Tree Growers Association of Nyandarua, involving the Farm and Forest Facility of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Farm Forest Smallholders Producer Association of Kenya (FFSPAK).
His government, he said, is also in the process of developing legislation and strengthening institutions to support sustainable use and governance of resources for current and future generations.
In the last two years, Kimemia said, his government has planted over three million trees. The aim is to plant 10 million trees in five years. This financial year, 800,000 trees have already been planted in collaboration with various partners, he said.
To accelerate the achievement of the targets, his administration is implementing the Adopt and Nurture a Tree (ANAT) Programme, with the aim of planting two million trees every year.
Kimemia reiterated that Lake Ol Bolo Osat has bio deposits, an environmentally friendly bio fertiliser which can be extracted sustainably and used to enhance agricultural productivity while enriching the quality of soils.
It is also an important wetland, international bird area with over 180 species of birds and home to over 800 hippopotamuses and other aquatic life forms, the lake is also the only major water body in Central Kenya.
Dedan Kimathi Foundation Director and freedom fighter Dadan Kimathi’s daughter, Evelyne Wanjugu, urged the residents to love and be proud as they conserve the environment.
She said Nyandarua is a God-chosen county in that the Aberdares provided shelter for freedom fighters. It is also the source of clean water consumed in the State House, Kenyatta National Hospital, among other government installations and Estates like Muthaiga, Kilimani and Upper Hills among others, Wanjugu said.
She said the Aberdares and the lake Ol Bolo Osat are major tourists attractions and should be jealously guarded.
“Let us all heed the President’s call to plant and nurture trees to ensure the country achieves the required 10 per cent forest cover,” she said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
