NEMA says plans gazette Ondiri Wetland at an advanced stage » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 4 — Plans to gazette the Ondiri swamp, a protected wetland and peatbog that is the source of the Nairobi River, have reached and advanced stage as the environment regulatory agency seeks to give it formal protection status.

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Director General Mamo Boru Mamo gave the indication during the World Wetlands Day on Wednesday.

Mamo stated that several wetlands have been lost in the country due to human encroachment, adding that reclamation is ongoing.

“We have come up with integrated management plans for a number of these wetlands in our country. We have developed a management plan also for Ondiri Swamp and its now at the stakeholders’ validation stage. Thereafter we are looking at the possibility of gazzetting the swamp to ensure that they are properly managed,” he said.

Ondiri Swamp is located in Kikuyu, Kiambu County and is said to be the second deepest wetland in Africa after the one located in Douala, Cameroon.

The swamp is under pressure because of water extraction, de-forestation and accelerated erosion.

“We have a big challenge in the management of our wetlands in our country due to human encroachment,” Mamo noted.

Conservationists have warned that wetlands are being lost three times more compared to forests, highlighting on the need to focus more on this life supportive system.

“It is not a choice between conservation and development; these two aspects go hand in hand how can we say that we shall develop when what gives us the capital i.e. land and water is not available?” pointed out Githaiga. “Kenya is an 80% nature based economy,” AWF country Director Nancy Githaiga explained.

NEMA is also carrying out a campaign against those polluting the Nairobi River having flagged 148 polluters.

The war on polluters follows a directive given to the authority by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko on July 20, 2021.

“The Nairobi River (from Ondiri to Kirinyaga Road) is now spotlessly clean,” Mamo said.

Wetlands provide essential ecosystem services and support the livelihoods of millions of communities. They host birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, plants and microorganisms, providing food, shelter and breeding grounds.

The Wetlands in Kenya include Tana River, Yala Swamp (two of Kenya’s largest and most important wetlands), Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Dunga swamp in Kisumu , Ondiri swamp to name a few.

Nature Kenya, Africa’s oldest environmental Society has noted in several reports that wetlands are continually under threat despite interventions to protect them. Yala Swamp, for example, currently faces imminent danger from agricultural development.

This is despite the fact that Yala Swamp filters and cleans water entering Lake Victoria, supports local communities and protects papyrus-dependent birds and wildlife.