Residents oppose report on sand harvesting
Sand harvesting in Nakuru. At least one person died on October 24, 2015 when a vigilante group opposed to harvesting of sand descended on Musaani Village in Makueni County. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The sand harvesting project will go against National Sand Harvesting Guidelines 2007.
- The harvesting covering Tiwi, Waa, Ngombeni beaches, will have irreversible negative effects on marine environment.
Residents want a report allowing harvesting of sand for construction of the standard gauge railway, expunged, saying it has ignored the value of marine life.
The report by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) which has given China Road and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) the leeway to extract sand from the seabed is now the subject of a dispute that is being heard by NEMA Tribunal in Nairobi following a petition by the residents.
In their petition before the tribunal chaired by Jane Dwasi, the residents are demanding a full Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) study not a project report.
Making their submissions before the tribunal, two conservation experts Casper Van De Geer and Elias Kimaru said a project of the magnitude will cause irreversible impact on fragile marine ecosystem including marine conservation areas and should be subjected to a rigorous study.
“The site proposed for harvesting sea sand borders two important marine protected areas - Mombasa and Diani-Chale Marine Protected Areas.
STANDARD GAUGE RAILWAY
“Considering the connectivity nature of marine system there is a high likelihood that the neighbouring critical habitats and conservation areas will be irreparably impacted during and after the operations. This has totally been ignored by the report,” said Mr Kimaru.
He said the sand harvesting project will go against National Sand Harvesting Guidelines 2007 which requires the exercise to be done during day time so that monitoring can easily be done.
The company has proposed to harvest the sand on a 24 hours basis.
“There is no indication that other sections of the National Sand Harvesting Guidelines have been adhered to such as the establishment of a Technical Sand Harvesting Committee,” he said.
The row between the residents, environmentalists and stakeholders on one side, and the China Road and Bridge Corporation and Standard Gauge Railway, on the other, started with the residents challenging a license issued by NEMA.
According to them, the harvesting covering Tiwi, Waa, Ngombeni beaches, will have irreversible negative effects on marine environment, and also affect them economically.
The hearing resumes next Monday.
