Why it is hard to save the wetlands of Kisii
Rivers are drying amid invasion by squatters and pollution by industry. For a while now, invasion by exotic tree species and environmental pollution, such as the disposal of sewer waste from households and industrial effluent by trucks, has posed a danger to the wetland. This adversity led to the establishment of the Friends of Ondiri organization in 2016. The creation of awareness on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, lobbying and advocacy on policy matters are some of the main reasons behind the formation of the organization. The Ondiri swamp is now steadily picking as an ecotourism destination, enveloping activities that resonate around enhancing conservation. Tourist activities include taking a walk around and on the peat bog, bird watching, team building, tree planting and taking a nature trail in the surrounding forest cover. Samuel Njoroge, 40, a father of three and the founding director of Rhodes Holdings Limited, heads the ecotourism department in the organization and also serves as a tour guide as well as a coordinator.
Samuel formed his company in 2015 together with his wife, Rhoda Nyambura, and established three different subsidiaries. Rhodes tours and travel was founded the same year, Rhodes daycare in 2017 as a way of giving back to the community and Mizpa guesthouse in 2021, which serves as an Airbnb to tourists who visit the area. Upon the formation of the organization, Samuel joined the team due to his personal interest in conservation and also volunteered his time to educate people about Ondiri. Members of Friends of Ondiri felt the need to commune as volunteers to conserve the water in the wetland, try to restore the indigenous forest that existed and create community awareness of the beauty of Ondiri.
People from abroad who understand what we have here in Kikuyu would come all the way to bird watch, for example
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The wetland serves as a habitat for different species of birds, a good research place for individuals and institutions, and the swamp serves as a carbon store, sucking the already existing element in the air and storing it. This purifies the water, making it a lot cleaner for consumption. Samuel said it is unfortunate that the people of Kiambu fail to recognize Ondiri as a tourist destination. “When I ask you where you would want to go for a trip, you would probably tell me the Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara, Amboseli or even Samburu. People from abroad who understand what we have here in Kikuyu would come all the way to bird watch, for example,” he said.
The peatland area in Europe is more than 1 million sq km, almost 10 percent of the total surface area. Samuel said peatlands are a rare occurrence in Africa, specifically in Kenya. In a bid to restore the face of Ondiri, Friends of Ondiri established a Wetland Information Centre as a repository of information about the surrounding environment, water and other natural resources. It also serves as a contact center manned by the group’s members, who are solely volunteers and a community meeting point. Samuel said that through the group’s lobby activities, they brought on board government agencies, such as Nema, Water Resource Authority, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Forest Research Institute, the Kiambu county government and the Environment ministry. “We have worked closely with Nema since 2021 and, therefore, we requested support in putting up an eco-toilet and some small shops to generate income. The money generated is regenerated back to aid in the operations of the organization,” Samuel said. The eco-toilet cost about Sh2.5 million to construct and was launched on February 2, 2022, in celebration of World Wetlands Day by Environment CAS Mohammed Elmi on behalf of CS Keriako Tobiko. It runs fully on green energy and is intended to recycle water used in the near future to serve as a role model to the community on waste management. The land on which the toilet stands was donated by a veteran who is also a riparian land owner of more than 50 years around Ondiri. The Water Resource Authority has done a 3.7km fencing at a cost of Sh4 million. This has mitigated encroachment into the wetland. Riparian land owners around the wetland are encouraged to practice organic farming as the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, especially in greenhouses, can introduce toxins into the water. “There is a thin line between agricultural activities occurring and ongoing forest conservation. Those who had already farmed near the wetland were told not to extend because for arrowroot farmers, for example, the crop does well near water sources,” Samuel said. “They were told they do not need the warning to vacate. In a few years to come and when the trees have grown and they form a canopy, this will adversely chase them away as nothing will be able to grow beneath and the forest will have been restored.” Today, the wetland still awaits gazettement, which would ensure it is protected and considered an area of importance. It also means that they can adequately enforce their management plan, once launched, and they can take action towards the cause of Ondiri. “As of now, we lack the capacity to exercise some level of power and take legal action. We depend and work closely with different environment offices to fight against illegal activities that occur around the area. We ask the government to hasten this process,” Samuel said.
