Demolishing Makupa Causeway a recipe for disaster— scientist

Demolishing Makupa causeway will have a negative impact on marine life, a scientist has warned.

Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean East Africa director David Obura Tuesday said removing the causeway, which was built in the 1920s, should be halted and alternatives sought.

TOURISM

The scientist said if the beaches are polluted, it would destroy the country’s tourism.

Tourism stakeholders were excited last month when Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho announced that President Uhuru Kenyatta had ordered the removal of the causeway in Kibarani to protect the island status of Mombasa.

Dr Obura said the removal of the causeway, which links the island to the mainland on the western side, will damage and pollute Tudor creek, spewing waste water from Kibarani to Nyali and Bamburi beaches.

Makupa causeway is one of the three road links between the island and mainland — the other being Nyali bridge and Kipevu causeway.

The mainland linked by the causeway to the island is the region's industrial and transport hub.

Moi International Airport, the standard gauge railway, Kenya Pipeline and other key State agencies and infrastructure are found in the area.

The scientist told the Nation that Kibarani is polluted due to the landfill which used to spew garbage into the sea.

“Removing the causeway will damage Tudor creek. The fish in the area are highly poisonous because of the dumpsite,” Dr Obura added.

He said the causeway damaged the creeks 100 years ago.

According to the Kenya National Highways Authority, constructing a bridge would be part of the plans to expand the Mombasa-Jomvu road into a dual carriageway.

“Those waters are so polluted that if we remove the causeway, it will create more damage to the creek. All the waste in that area gets washed away by tides. Mombasa is less polluted than it would be because we have a natural three metre tidal range,” Dr Obura said.

Three times daily, coastal areas experience three-metre tides. According to Dr Obura, the tides act as "a natural toilet".

“It is a very big tidal range for coral reef area. The water comes in and flushes everything out. If that was not the case, we would not have clean Nyali or Bamburi beaches,” he said.

“There so much pressure and if we open up the causeway, all that material will be flushed out and end up in the Nyali and Bamburi reef systems, yet these are our main tourism sites.”

Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve would also be destroyed by pollutants from Kibarani if the causeway is opened, he added.

The blue watered park, which lies between Mtwapa and Tudor creeks, is home to a variety of marine animals including crabs, starfish, stone fish, cucumber sea urchins, corals, turtles, grasses and migratory birds.

“Kibarani is a big environmental and infrastructural issue. The dumpsite has been closed but its alternative has not been worked out properly. The turning of the area into a recreational park looks good but it just shifts the problem elsewhere,” Dr Obura said.

EXPANDED INFRASTUCTURE

He urged Mr Joho to consult experts in coming up with alternatives, proposing extending the island to Kibarani.

However, Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers official Sam Ikwaye asked scientists to come up solutions that would ensure the beaches are not damaged.

Mr Ikwaye said any delays in implementing government projects would affect tourism.

“We are happy with the road projects in the Coast. The outlook of the tourist destination should be improved and infrastructure must be expanded. It is a critical causeway and we should consider technology like bypasses,” he said.