Lamu locals optimistic on end to mangrove logging ban

Lamu County is in already in a celebratory mood as the leaders and residents await the government’s promise to lift the mangrove logging ban today.

A team from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, led by Chief Administrative Secretary Mohammed Elmi, toured the county on Saturday and assured the locals that the seven-month ban will be lifted, possibly by today.

On February 24, Deputy President William Ruto imposed a nationwide logging ban in order to fight environmental destruction, protect water towers, and mitigate the effects of drought across the country.

POVERTY

But addressing the public in Lamu on Saturday, Mr Elmi said the government, having seen how the locals were suffering since they depend heavily on the mangrove business, will ensure the ban is lifted.

“We have toured Lamu today to access the situation, particularly since the mangrove logging ban was imposed.

"We are told marriages are breaking daily because husbands have no jobs after the mangrove business was closed down following the ban. We are told communities here are reeling from poverty while students are out of school for lack of fees since the ban was imposed. We have heard all that and we will be writing to order the lifting of the ban by Monday. So, couples that separated can now return to their marriages,” Mr Elmi said.

The announcement was received with joy and relief by leaders and residents, who said the move is timely.

LIVELIHOOD

Lamu Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo, who led the locals in Lamu Old Town in celebrating the long-awaited message, praised the government for heeding their cries.

On May 3 this year, Mrs Obbo tabled a petition before the National Assembly calling for a review of the ban.

The legislator said almost the whole population of Lamu depends directly on mangroves for survival, and that the proscription had already condemned the community to suffering.

“Although we have to wait until Monday for the ban to be lifted, I am already happy as a leader. It’s as if the ban has already been lifted. I thank the team from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for touring Lamu to look into the ban on mangrove logging. We are now looking forward to the lifting of the ban on Monday,” she said.

HERITAGE

Meanwhile, Lamu East MP Athman Sharif said the logging ban should have excluded Lamu, since mangrove logging is a decades-old trade.

“Let it be lifted. In fact, the ban was unwarranted in Lamu. Mangroves are literally part of the culture and heritage of Lamu and as such, Lamu can’t function without them. Livelihoods were taken away and we thank the government for hearing the plea of our people,” he said.

Lamu West MP Stanley Muthama also thanked the government for the intended lifting of the ban and urged the locals to co-operate with the national government for the betterment of the region.

Mangrove Cutters Association Chairman Abdulrahman Aboud said: “Mangrove loggers right from Lamu Old Town to Ndau, Kiwayu, Faza, Kizingitini, Pate, Siyu and Manda depend on the business for sustenance. You can’t impose a blanket ban on forests, especially mangroves, at a time when the Lamu residents have no other means of survival. As the government lifts the ban, let it also think of compensating us for the time we have been out of the business. We have lost millions.”

He said many of them were forced into the business after their other sources of livelihoods, fishing and tourism, were badly affected by insecurity caused by frequent Al-Shabaab attacks.

At least 30,000 households depend directly on mangrove logging.