Upcoming blue economy summit beneficial if tapped by our officials

Demolitions of properties built on riparian land in Nairobi to continue in an effort to regenerate Nairobi River. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Demolition of properties on riparian zones will come to naught if it does not end in giving the city clean and healthy rivers.

  • Healthy rivers are not just about water but also carry nutrient-rich sediments and dissolved minerals that replenish the land.

The demolition of properties erected on Nairobi’s riparian zones, that is, the interfaces between land and rivers, will come to zero if it is not aimed at, or anchored in, the larger picture of promoting, developing and sustaining Kenya’s blue economy.

That naturally says that the demolitions cannot be confined to the capital unless Nairobi is acting as a pilot. Let me explain. First, what is a blue economy? This is the sustainable use of and conservation of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and other water resources.

Kenya must be part and parcel and in the forefront of developing its blue economy by taking care of and developing its ocean, lakes, rivers, rivulets in a sustainable manner. These present a platform with immense potential for inclusive economic development.

MITIGATE FLOODS

Witness the position of International Rivers, an advocacy group: “They mitigate floods and droughts, support forests, recharge groundwater supplies, sustain fisheries and provide byways for travel.” That is what Nairobi River, for example, should be doing.

But it is not doing this because it is itself struggling to survive choking as it does on toxic filth that poisons it and the living organisms in it.

Demolition of properties on riparian zones will come to naught if it does not end in giving the city clean and healthy rivers.

Here’s International Rivers again: “Healthy rivers are the lifelines of our planet. Rivers and their waterbeds — and the rich variety of life they sustain — provide people with water, food, medicines, building materials, land-replenishing, silts and more.’’

Healthy rivers are not just about water but also carry nutrient-rich sediments and dissolved minerals that replenish the land. Now, can we talk thus about the importance of rivers and their economic significance and not do the same for our lakes and ocean?

SHIPPING

Fortunately, there is a point of departure: The fit-for-purpose two-day Sustainable Blue Economy Conference (SBEC) which will be co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Canada in Nairobi in November.

SBEC is important first because it is clear that we are as a country yet to grasp, or greatly underestimate, the potential of the blue economy and second because it is aimed not at Kenya’s and Canada’s bodies of water but the world’s.

This, of course, must mean that Kenya’s governors in whose counties are found rivers and lakes and face the Indian Ocean, experts in fisheries, aquaculture, environment, forestry, maritime and shipping from Kenya’s public and private universities attend, present and benefit from discussions of position papers on the blue economy.

These discussions should centre on the use of water resources to, inter alia, help end hunger and make our counties and country food secure, manage and sustain marine life, enhance transportation and global connectivity, promote the growth of cities, tourism and create employment opportunities.

DEPLETED FISH STOCKS

I submit that SBEC will benefit Kenyans immensely if Governors Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu), Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay), Okoth Obado (Migori), Cornel Rasanga (Siaya) and Sospeter Ojaamong’ (Busia) tackled the matter of depleted fish stocks in Lake Victoria and invited experts to share with them ways and means of replenishing them.

And would Governor Gideon Mbuvi not secure healthy funding if he presented a paper on, for example, making a healthy Nairobi River a byway for ferrying farm produce from Kikuyu to Nairobi and for transporting merchandise from Nairobi to Athi River? Would he not provoke interest in investment in a tour of Nairobi by boat?

After all the online brochure markets the conference as seeking to address the challenges of protecting oceans, seas, lakes and rivers in order that they may be harnessed to create jobs and combat poverty by encouraging businesses to collaborate with governments and civil society.

Of course, SBEC should aim to bring to Nairobi experts in all sorts of innovative and cutting edge technologies that help or will help make rivers, lakes and oceans healthy, safe and productive for local people and communities.

FRESH WATER

SBEC should cause Kenyans to want to know the bodies of water closest to them better. Do the Tana Delta communities appreciate that the river’s estuary, where its fresh water mixes with the Ocean’s salt, is its most biologically productive part?

According to International Rivers, most of the world’s fish catch comes from species that depend for at least part of their life cycle on estuarine habitats, themselves the most productive parts of the planet.

I commend SBEC to the national government, governors, Parliament, universities, Kenya Private Sector Alliance and civil society.