Residents clean up beaches to tackle pollution

Hundreds of volunteers on Saturday poured onto the Kenyan coast to collect trash as a way of celebrating this year’s International Coastal Clean-up Day.

Several officials from the US Embassy in Nairobi travelled to the Coast to take part in the exercise of clearing sea debris and marine pollutants, which have become a global threat to fisheries and marine life.

The volunteers scooped plastics, pieces of metal and other pollutants from the seashore and underwater.

School children from both primary and secondary in the county participated in the exercise carried out at Shelly Beach, Mombasa Island, Pirates (Jomo Kenyatta) Public Beach and Mtwapa area.

Additionally, pupils performed poems hinged around the importance of conserving marine life.

“Kenya is under severe threats from marine pollution. Recent research indicates that the Kenyan waters have less fish than the Somali waters because we are more industrialized and pollute our sea more than Somalia,” said David Ondiege, Kenya Conservation of Aquatic Resources officer.

He said that sea turtles eat plastic material mistaking it for jelly fish.

Coast Conservation Area assistant Director George Osuri said the national government had taken several measures to address pollution.

“The formation of the National Solid Waste Management Strategy is a major step in addressing these challenges. It’s the blueprint to guide the country on these matters,” he said.

He said that Kenya Wildlife Services was also concerned with promoting awareness on environment conservation in order to reduce activities that damage it.

“We collaborate with other sectors and stakeholders to create as much awareness as possible to help the public change negative attitudes towards conservation such as dumping plastic bottles and paper bags in public and at the beaches,” he said.

He stressed that the county government should do more since the function of environment was a devolved one.

This year’s annual event also coincided with the 'Our Ocean Conference' in Washington DC, USA.

Edited by Philip Momanyi