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Kenya: River Threatened By Human Activity And Harmful Shrub
Nairobi - The existence of Voi river, a vital source of water for man and beast, is threatened by human activity.

A man points at a section of Voi river that has been heavily eroded due to sand harvesting. There is uncontrolled sand harvesting, cultivation on river banks, stone harvesting and brick laying. It is just a matter of time before this vital water source becomes extinct. The river banks have been broken thereby affecting its course through the jungle plains.
 
To compound the problem, the water source has been invaded by a harmful weed locally known as mrashia and in some areas called Mathenge (it is scientifically known as prosopis juliflora). While residents who derive economic gains from the river have been working overdrive to exploit it, little has been done towards its conservation.

Heavy rains

The danger facing Voi river became apparent two months ago after heavy rains in Taita Hills, leading to the displacement of more than 400 people mainly in Tanzania and Bondeni slums who were forced to seek refuge at Voi Primary School.

The families have since returned to the slums and rebuilt their houses, but they still live in fear of floods at the onset of the rainy season.

The major problem that has led to the destruction of the Voi river ecosystem is sand harvesting, which has led to massive erosion of the river banks.

Apparently aware of the grave danger uncontrolled sand harvesting poses to the vital water source, Mrs Hannah Kijala says it's time the activity was regulated.

"Even though we are in the sand harvesting business, we have made sure that we exploit reasonable amounts of sand to ensure the river is not completely destroyed," says Mrs Kijala, a mother of two and grandmother of three.

She is the chairlady of Sere Kwa Wose Women's Group at Tanzania slums. The group mainly deals with sand harvesting.

"The locals need to be empowered to sustainably exploit sand as a resource and at the same time conserve the environment," Mrs Kijala says.

New regulations

Coincidentally, this issue and others, form a raft of new sand harvesting regulations recently adopted by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) which could go a long way in ensuring the sustainable exploitation of sand.

In fact, for many years, the issue of exploitation of sand harvesters by middlemen has been a major bone of contention for sand harvesters.

Mrs Kijala, together with Vigilance Chadi and Shalety Chao, the secretary and treasurer of the Sere Kwa Wose Women's Group respectively, concur that sand harvesters deserve better prices for the commodity.

"While a tonne of sand costs Sh2,500 in Mombasa, were are paid a paltry Sh120 per tonne," the sand harvesters lament.

At the same time, the sand harvesting business in Voi river should be viewed together with the block laying and stone harvesting which contribute to rapid degradation of the Voi river.

While the Sere Kwa Wose Women's Group also engages in block laying at the banks of the river and currently has more than 4,000 blocks ready for sale, its members, however, are conscious of the need to conserve the environment and have set up a tree nursery of 3,000 indigenous seedlings which they intend to plant in the gullies left behind through sand harvesting and block making.

Another issue that has to be grappled with is the invasion of the river by mrashia. The shrub, which was introduced in the district by the Government in 1992 to check soil erosion, has now turned into a curse. Estimates show there are slightly over 50,000 such shrubs from the bridge near Voi Sisal Estate up to Aruba Dam in Tsavo East National Park along the river course.

Keeps on spreading

The species is known for its high water consumption and its ability to spread widely in a short time.

The Sere Kwa Wose Women group who have so far established a tree nursery with about 3,000 indigenous trees, said they plan to plant these trees by the river banks after destroying mrashia.

"We intend to plant two indigenous trees for each Mrashia tree destroyed," says Mrs Kijala.

A farmer by the banks of the Voi river, Mr Tole Mbula, says the river has been drying up rapidly due to uncontrolled sand harvesting and the invasion by mrashia.

Mr Tole says the shrub has encroached on his farm and, try as he does to control it, it keeps on spreading. He says he cuts it on a regular basis. Mr Gabriel Madoka who has laid 4,000 blocks by the river bank near the Voi bridge, also laments about the drying river. Probably unaware that his activities could be contributing to the predicament, Mr Madoka instead wants the price of one block raised from Sh6 to Sh10.

Mr Octavian Mghanga, an environmental activist in Voi, says if the local sand harvesters and block dealers have to benefit from their labour and at the same time conserve the environment, they should be paid better prices. When the sand harvesters and block makers are paid peanuts for their commodity, he says, they will be forced to exploit more of the available resources to raise their incomes, thereby aggravating the environmental risk.

Mr Mghanga, the founder of Coastal Aid Kenya, an environmental NGO, says the new sand harvesting guidelines recently enacted by Nema are a godsend and will go a long way in saving Voi river and other water sources in the district from extinction. Mr Mghanga was the brainchild of the Voi Dololo Rehabilitation Project which came a cropper five years ago due to lack of funding and community support.

Most of the tree seedlings planted by the banks of the river were devoured by goats while the rest dried up due to inadequate water.

Rehabilitate sections

At about the same time, the Voi municipal council working hand in hand with the German Technical Agency, spent about Sh7 million to rehabilitate sections of Voi river.

However, all the gabions erected by the river banks were washed away by flood waters during heavy rains. According to Nema, the new guidelines are applicable to all sand harvesting activities pending the enactment of the proposed new Mining Act and will come into effect upon its gazettement. "The guidelines are for sustainable management of sand as a natural resource and stakeholders are required to submit their oral or written views to Nema so that the business can take a new turn for the better," say Voi district officer Hezron Nyamberi.

Appropriate vegetation

According to the new regulations on sand harvesting, special sand harvesting locations must be identified, the quantity of the commodity extracted and the restoration of the environment have to be clearly spelt out. The lorries accessing the sand harvesting sites will be required to use designated routes to and from the sand sites, which have to be refilled and appropriate vegetation or crops replanted by the licensed dealers who should be certified by the district environment officer.

Under the proposed guidelines, designated sand collection sites should be 50 metres from the river banks. Subject to the Local Government Act, proceeds of sand cess or revenue collected through harvesting of the commodity should be reinvested into local community projects.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802060569.html?viewall=1
 

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