Nyeri County Government has prepared a draft policy document to help step up efforts in safeguarding key wetland and riparian areas in the eight sub counties.
The document, Draft Wetlands and Riparian Lands Policy currently undergoing public participation, aims among others to address challenges facing wetland and riparian areas and help come up with possible redress measures.
To address some of the challenges, the County plans to lay down guidelines and regulations for land use near wetland areas with the aim of minimizing negative impacts.
In addition, according to the draft, the County Government through the Department of Water, Environment and Climate Change hopes to promote the sustainable use of natural resources such as fisheries and timber, while ensuring long-term ecosystem health.
The policy similarly calls for enhanced rehabilitation of degraded wetlands and riparian areas and their ecological functions and services.
Nyeri has a total of 49 permanent rivers which include Nanyuki, Burget, Naromoru, Gura, Honi and Ragati.
Wetlands in the County are unevenly distributed with the majority of them being in Mathira and Mukurweini.
Some of the wetlands include Githwariga swamp (Nyeri Central), Kiamwangi swamp (Mathira East), Hohwe swamp (Mathira West), Wandumbi dam (Tetu), Gitwe swamp (Kieni East), Kabuta swamp (Mukurwe-ini), Chinga swamp (Othaya) and Joshua in Kieni West.
Water, Environment and Climate Change CEC Fredrick Kinyua told KNA that the County has planned a two-day public forum exercise to offer residents an opportunity to air their views in regard to the draft policy document.
Kinyua says the forums would also provide opportunities to the public to give their recommendations on some of the ways in which the government could step up efforts in safeguarding wetlands and riparian areas especially in the face of changing climatic conditions.
“We have invited all the Nyeri County residents to a public baraza on the Drafts Wetlands and Riparian Lands Policy which will take place at Wambugu Farm Agricultural Training Center on May 6. The purpose of the baraza is for Nyeri residents to provide their input, comments and concerns regarding the draft policy. The Department (Water, Environment and Climate Change) will also hold an X space engagement forum on May 7 (tomorrow) at 2 pm to tap the views of technocrats and young people such as Gen Z,” he said.
Residents could also access the draft policy by logging into the department’s website and afterwards submiting their written memoranda via email.
The draft policy has highlighted at least 11 challenges facing the county in regard to conservation and management efforts of wetlands and riparian zones ranging from lack of prior policy framework to emerging threats like climate change.
Lack of coordination by relevant lead agencies and departments has also been cited as a hindrance in wetlands and riparian areas conservation efforts.
“Wetlands and riparian areas in Nyeri County are subject to overexploitation including unregulated agricultural activities, over abstraction of water and logging around vegetation around wetland. Various lead agencies and departments are mandated with different components in conservation and management of wetlands such as National Environment Management Authority, Water Resource Authority, Water Resources Users Association. However, inadequate coordination among these entities County Wetlands and Riparian policy,” reads part of the draft.
“Inadequate awareness poses a significant challenge to wetlands and riparian lands management on different aspects. The Community lacks sufficient knowledge on the ecological, and economic benefits of these ecosystems. This poses a major threat in the efforts to conservation,” continues the draft policy.
According to the draft policy, the County has nevertheless embarked on local regulations and initiatives aimed at conserving and wetland and riparian areas including through community-based approaches and use of planning regulations by both county and national government entities.
Other stakeholders in the conservation crusade include non-Governmental Organizations such as Upper Tana Nairobi Water Tower Fund, Flora, Green Development Initiative and Fauna and the Green Belt Movement, RODI Kenya, PELLUM and Caritas among others.
In May 2023, County Climate Change Director Yvonne Mathenge said the aftermath of the long dry spell in the country that resulted in drying up of rivers and depressed yields on major cash crops such as tea and coffee in Nyeri should be a wakeup call for urgent intervention measures.
Ms Mathenge said the county had decided to take a Participatory Climate Risk Assessment Change (PCRA) in all the 30 wards to identify existing climate change risks and hazards in each locality and come up with workable mitigation and adaptation measurers.
“Climate change is bad and this has been witnessed by the long drought that we had and the failed crops. And also, when we get into the highlands, we’ve had very low yields for a crop that was otherwise doing very well, a case in point (being) coffee and tea,” she said.
“I think these were the biggest indicators and if you have the highlands affected you can only imagine what the semi-arid areas are going through which also included a number of water conflicts that the Water Department had to solve in the various communities because there was not enough flow of water,” she noted.
By Samuel Maina
